Good Stress vs Bad Stress
Stress is a natural part of our modern lives. Bills come every month, kids’ activities are year-round and work never seems to slow down. A little bit of stress is inevitable, but oftentimes that’s a good thing. Stress helps you meet your daily challenges and motivates you to reach your goals, ultimately making you a smarter, happier and healthier person. That’s right. Good stress is vital for a healthy life.
Stress. It’s a term that’s thrown around so much that it feels like it’s lost its meaning. Surprisingly, stress can actually be a good thing. In fact, we need stress to get things done and stay safe. It can motivate us or allow us to be proactive about problems in our lives.
However, when stress starts interfering with our ability to get things done (work, school), maintain relationships, or maintain our quality of life, it can lead to unhealthy habits and take a toll on our overall health and well-being. This includes serious health problems, like high blood pressure, autoimmune illnesses, digestive issues, depression and anxiety. So when stress becomes a constant, there’s cause for concern. That’s why understanding stress — the causes, effects, and how to deal with it, is so important.
Most of us have come to think that stress is bad for us, but it is really part of our fundamental survival system. Stress can be harmful and dampen the immune response if it is chronic or ongoing. But short-term stress-the “fight-or-flight” response-may actually be beneficial, according to research by Firdaus Dhabhar, Ph.D., associate professor of psychiatry and behavioural sciences and director of research at the Stanford Center on Stress & Health.
We all have probably experienced a stressful time in our lives or feel stress from everyday responsibilities. We can experience stress from a paper due for school, a work deadline, money, losing a job, or taking care of a loved one. Stress is a natural physical and mental reaction to our life experiences. The symptoms of stress can impact our thoughts, feelings, and our behaviour.
What Is Stress?
Stress is your body’s natural reaction to a life change that causes you to adapt, get organized and work toward a goal. The body has two main ways to manage stress: reduce and increase. It is a powerful adaptor. During times of stress, your body makes enzymes to reduce the amount of glucose circulating in your bloodstream, thus lowering your blood sugar level.
This helps you cope with the challenges of a stressful situation, such as an important meeting, a task at work, or relationship problems. It is a powerful adaptor. During times of stress, your body makes enzymes to reduce the amount of glucose circulating in your bloodstream, thus lowering your blood sugar level.
Stress is the stress response. Your brain is constantly “warning” you of danger. Your brain feels a physical response to the stress hormone cortisol, which is released by your adrenal glands. Cortisol helps your body prepare for emergencies, fighting a short-term threat like a broken arm or heart attack.
This helps you survive. But cortisol can also cause a chronic state of stress that contributes to illnesses like obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease, depression and anxiety. How we respond to stress determines the duration and severity of the response. If you’re in a busy environment or constantly stressed, your body might try to “push back” the “emergent stress.
What Is Good Stress?
The difference between good stress and bad stress is all in duration. Good stress can last a few hours, a few days or a few weeks. Bad stress can last for weeks, months or even years. Bad stress can cause anxiety, sleepless nights, body aches and headaches. Good stress can do that and much more. A new life, a new beginning.
Growing up, I always heard my father say, “there are two types of people in this world: survivors and “sewers.” A survivor is someone who survives and gets through something, a “sewer” is someone who sinks under everything. It is a true statement that has often caused me to question myself. You see, we all have good times and bad times in life. Things have a way of happening in your life that makes you do what you never thought you could.
The stress response tells us to withdraw from any danger that is present. The fight-or-flight response tells us when to move into either the fight or flight state. This usually happens when we are in high-adrenaline situations, such as when we are chased by a tiger, in a high-stress situation such as a domestic argument or after being stuck in traffic for hours on the highway.
The body’s stress response keeps us alive. In a healthy body, there are different states of the body and different ranges of physiological reactions for various situations. Different ranges of physiological reactions can also be based on each individual’s unique physiology. The stress response is activated in response to any type of threat, challenge or change in our life, and can be either chronic or acute.
Effects Of Good Stress
There’s a lot of conflicting information regarding the effects of stress on our bodies. Many believe it can kill us or cause long-term damage, but stress is actually helpful in a variety of ways. It improves our immune system. When we’re stressed, we produce stress hormones and our bodies get ready to fight off bacteria and viruses.
Good stress also increases our levels of love hormones, increasing feelings of affection towards others. It relieves pain. Your heart rate goes up and your blood pressure rises when you’re stressed, but with the release of pain-relieving endorphins, you feel better after a stressful event. It allows us to stay motivated. If you experience a lot of stress from a project at work, you’re more likely to push yourself to finish.
How does stress make you a smarter, happier and healthier person? Here are some tips to remember: Focus on the good. Rather than be overwhelmed by the things that stress you, remind yourself of the things you have to be grateful for. Be thankful for your health and your family, for a job you love, and for your community that supports you. Use your free time wisely and give yourself time to think.
There is nothing worse than spending an afternoon reading the news and taking inventory of all that you have to be stressed about. Try to be present in your life and ignore the noise of the media and your fellow citizens. Your thoughts, feelings and actions are the most important things to take care of. Choose your own adventure. You have the ability to choose your path in life.
The way that your brain responds to stressful situations can change your life. Being under extreme pressure can increase your motivation and emotional stability. This might mean that you can stop procrastinating and make more positive and productive decisions. It’s also important for a person to cope with stress.
Examples Of Good Stress
Good stress gets your adrenaline pumping and often causes you to want to accomplish goals. It also helps you start fresh in life. There is no better feeling than crossing something off your bucket list. Being a different person has a lot of value. Good stress means you are getting a lot of things done in a short period of time.
It gives you a sense of accomplishment. It makes you feel good and take care of yourself. It is important for our daily lives to be constantly learning and improving ourselves. Feeling good, feeling empowered and taking care of yourself are all signs of good stress.
Stress can motivate you to do the things you’re supposed to do. Before you get too stressed out, take on a task that’s needed but not fun. It may be a task you’re required to do for your job or important to your children, such as getting their homework done.
The important part is that you have it done to ensure your family’s safety and needs are met. It also forces you to show your kids how much you care and love them. Stress can help you improve your relationships. If your relationship with your significant other is going through a rocky period, try to be supportive. Don’t try to change your significant other. If you are having a disagreement with a family member, try to remain calm.
What Is Bad Stress?
Stress that is not harmful is good stress. These situations we experience may be an important factor for better mental and physical health. However, prolonged stress can lead to seriously negative health consequences. Common examples of bad stress:
- Being stuck in a traffic jam or in a rush to get to an important meeting;
- Delays or interruptions at work or home that prevent you from getting the important tasks accomplished;
- Stress from constant busyness and constantly worrying about events and commitments
If you feel very stressed or sad, this is bad stress. Sometimes you may get into the habit of letting bad stress dictate your actions and stress levels. Some bad stress can also cause you to be overbearing and pushy, becoming a demanding boss.
Bad stress can be a very different beast. This type of stress involves continuous or excessive anxiety, fear, or other negative emotions. According to research by the Mayo Clinic, bad stress can make people act out of character, become irrational, and may even make them feel guilty. Bad stress has even been shown to lead to changes in the brain that contribute to the development of mental disorders, including anxiety. As a side note, some people are born to have high levels of bad stress.
Bad stress is also a natural part of life. A stressful situation can send your body into a frenzy. Your heart beats faster, your breath is shallow, and you get tense. This is called reactive stress and can be a threat to your physical health. When you are feeling stressed, you might develop aches and pains, have symptoms of headache, dizziness, and insomnia.
Effects Of Bad Stress
Although good stress has many benefits, bad stress can have some disastrous consequences, sometimes even threatening your health and well-being. One example of bad stress is shown in the statistics of anxiety disorders, which affect 30-40 million Americans. The three most common anxiety disorders are generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Sufferers of anxiety disorders have constant worry, fatigue, and irritability. They become restless, confused, and frightened, and experience physical symptoms such as trembling, an elevated heart rate, sweating, and trembling, as well as changes in vision, hearing, and even breathing. Other common bad stress symptoms are irritation, fatigue, and irritation.
When you feel that you are having a lot of stress, then you may be experiencing bad stress. Bad stress is very unpleasant and overwhelming. It can result in feeling more tired, anxious, angry, upset and depressed. It’s hard to focus on the tasks at hand or the important people in your life when you are feeling stressed. It’s a constant feeling of being drained, which makes you less productive and your relationships can suffer.
Stressful life experiences, such as difficult relationships, loss, family issues, or health issues can cause stress. If you feel stressed at work, you could consider asking for more flexible hours. Talking to your doctor about your stress levels is a good idea.
Examples Of Bad Stress
Constant worrying or fear. Bad stress interrupts your daily activities and can interfere with your personal relationships. You are probably wondering how worrying or fear can be good stress. They can actually be pretty bad stress. Your mind will constantly be processing the bad things happening in your life. Not a great feeling.
The feeling that you don’t have control over your life. Bad stress is tied to procrastination.
Being burnt out, job-related stress, sexual abuse, substance abuse, and grief are all examples of stress that are not good for your body and mind. They all cause damage to the body and cause stress-related diseases that can sometimes be fatal.
The good stress is making you the best version of yourself. Good stress is setting goals and living by your instincts. Good stress comes from not only achieving your goals but achieving them the right way. Good stress is a good thing. It doesn’t come from burning out, overthinking or stressing yourself out. In fact, it’s the opposite. It comes from not over-thinking, being relaxed, and going with the flow.
The two most common types of stress are “acute” and “chronic.” Acute stress is brief and often life-threatening. Some examples of acute stress are fighting a fire, receiving a threatening call or being in a car accident. Chronic stress is long-term, and it can cause health problems, including insomnia, high blood pressure and other health issues. It can also take a serious toll on your relationships, your family life, and your sense of self-worth. While some people experience stress differently than others, the truth is, everyone gets stressed out, at some point in their lives.
Habitually feeling stressed makes it difficult to focus on what’s important. You may notice that you have more negative thoughts, which lowers your mood. It can lead to unhealthy behaviour, such as unhealthy eating, drinking, sleeping habits, or unhealthy weight. It can also lead to anxiety, depression and other mental and emotional problems.
Worrying is an important part of life, but when it comes to anxiety and stress, worry turns into worry about worry. We worry about what may happen in the future when we should worry about what’s happening now. We stress about small things and then add to our stress levels because of the worry.
How To Manage Stress
Stress is something we need to manage. When we’re in a bad situation, we tend to shut down and stop doing what we need to do to get ourselves out of it. Conversely, when we’re in a good situation, we tend to get wrapped up in it and can neglect our needs and responsibilities.
One of the most effective ways to manage stress is to be aware of what you’re doing to create it in the first place. Here are some stress-busting strategies that can help: When you feel anxious or stressed, it’s normal. For most people, it’s just a temporary feeling. Try to relax. Breathe in and out slowly. Inhale deeply to the count of four. Exhale slowly to the count of four. Take three big, deep breaths. When you’re able to calm down a little, go ahead and do one more breath.
Fortunately for most of us, we can eliminate the urge to blow a fuse or do something drastic when we experience stress. What’s the problem with screaming, crying, hitting, or other forms of self-destructive behaviour when you’re stressed? Well, most of us know when we’re starting to get a bit crazy, and it is our response to stress, not the stress itself, that causes the problems.
Learning to manage your response to stress is what will help you and your stress level. Here are some ways you can minimize the negative effects of stress, which will ultimately result in a more positive, energized and happy you! First, manage your physical stress. This includes eliminating stress-causing food and drink, drinking enough water and moving your body. Second, manage your mental stress.
Set SMART goals. SMART stands for
- Specific,
- Measurable,
- Attainable,
- Relevant, and
- Time-bound.
As a coach, you have a great opportunity to increase your focus on achieving your goals and to celebrate your progress along the way. Set short-term goals, and take a break to celebrate each small success. Take breaks. Sometimes, the most productive time to focus on a task is during a break. We have a natural resting system and need time to rest and regenerate.
Signs Of Stress
- The distress you feel when something doesn’t go the way you wanted it to go
- Your heart beats faster, and you sweat more
- You have trouble sleeping
- Your stomach churns
- Your thoughts speed up
- You get headaches
- You feel as though you can’t think or work
- You start to get restless or fidgety
- You feel more irritable and restless
- You can’t control your thoughts and emotions
- You start losing interest in activities you enjoy
- You start to get sick more often
- You can’t concentrate as well
- You get low energy and you feel exhausted
- You can’t lose weight
- You have trouble maintaining healthy eating habits.
It starts with a feeling of dread. If you’re feeling stressed, make it a point to do something you enjoy. Take time to relax. Breathe in through your nose and hold it for a minute, and then slowly release. Repeat a couple of times. Then, if you find that this doesn’t make a difference, think about what’s going on in your life that is causing the anxiety. Have you started to avoid certain situations and people?
Do you feel physically or emotionally drained? These may be your body’s signals that you’re under a lot of stress. Should I be more stressed out? Stress is normal and healthy. It helps you adapt to challenges and work through challenging situations. If you’re feeling like there’s too much to handle, you may need to change your approach.
Conclusion
There are many benefits to having stress in your life, but these tips will help you enjoy stress while avoiding the negative impacts. If you’re feeling anxious, overwhelmed or overwhelmed, take a deep breath. Next, think of the things that are great about your life. Finally, get back to doing the things you love, whether that’s going for a run or building a snowman.
Learning about and practicing stress management is very important. Studies show that the more intense the emotion, the greater the impact it has on the body. Consider this. If you carry a heavy backpack up a flight of stairs, your muscles are working very hard to keep the weight on your back.
The more weight you put on the back, the stronger you’ll be. But, when you begin to let the weight of the backpack slide off, you’ll have to work very hard to get it back up. Similarly, stress is like a backpack. It is only beneficial if it is held in place by your mind and your physical body. When we let stress run us down, it affects our ability to think clearly and experiences physical symptoms such as muscle pain, anxiety, and headaches. Let’s all try to manage stress more effectively.
I trust you enjoyed this article about Good Stress vs Bad Stress. Please stay tuned for more blog posts to come shortly.
JeannetteZ
Your Opinion Is Important To Me
Thoughts? Ideas? Questions? I would love to hear from you. Please leave me your questions, experience, and remarks about Good Stress vs Bad Stress in the comments section below. You can also reach me by email at Jeannette@Close-To-Nature.org.
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