Positive Stress

Stress is something that we all have to deal with. Nevertheless, people don't always respond to stress the same way so sometimes stress doesn't actually look like stress. Some people can get angry and agitated, others might get sad and shut down and others may tense and freeze up. Some people are more prone to stress,

Still, stress is inevitable. It is a natural response to both good and bad experiences, in which your body releases hormones, increasing your heart and breathing rates that cause your brain to get more oxygen, so you can deal with the situation. However, chronic stress can affect your health negatively. It is a type of stress that is constant and very high. It causes depression, insomnia, anxiety, hypertension, problems in the heart and blood vessels, nausea and respiratory problems, they also have a higher risk of heart attacks and strokes. People who have chronic stress tend to get sick more often and more easily because their immune system is not working properly. 75% - 90% of all doctors office visits are for stress related complaints, and 43% of all adults suffer from negative health effects that are caused by stress.

Another reason that stress is negative comes from the way people try to relieve it. People tend to use drugs, alcohol, tobacco to get rid of their stress. The problem is that these tend to keep the stress levels high. Nevertheless, when they do help achieve the relief that was being pursued, they become dependant. People begin to rely on the drugs to achieve the relief, they use more and more of them and become alcoholics, or drug addicts. It becomes an escape rout. Others try to ignore the situations, but later on when they finally have to face the facts and problems, they get even more stressed. 

On a Ted talk, Kelly McGonigal, a health psychologist, explains that stress doesn't always have to be a negative thing. She says that stress is negative because we view it as so. However, if we changed the connotation of stress, from negative to positive, stress would be even more beneficial. She says that the only reason stress becomes bad for you and has a negative effect on your health is because you thunk it will. 

This is true until stress becomes chronic stress. If you decide that stress can be helpful and use it to your advantage you can work harder and better. After all, no one can remain completely relaxed unless they meditate, so to do anything at all they need to have at least a small level of arousal. However when stress becomes chronic, even if you don't realize it because it becomes a 'normal level' for you, it takes a strain on the body. You may become ill and you may feel fatigue, and exhaustion. There is nothing you can do about that by thinking about stress a different way.