Can Stress actually be a good thing? Of course, that may seem strange, but it is not so far from the truth.
Why we even have something that is bad in the first place? Right?
So technically stress shouldn’t be all bad. It is a natural thing that we all have and it helped humans especially in ancient times when we needed to run, hide or fight if we wanted to survive.
If you ask me, I would say: if it is not chronic stress then all is more or less fine. Is it? Let’s explore this subject much deeper and find out how this works.
Could Stress Actually Be a Good Thing?
We always think about the stress that is unhealthy and yeah, mostly we experience stress that is bad for us, because there is too much stress in our lives. Sad, but true.
The interesting part is that hearing that stress is unhealthy and harms us, makes us even more stressed.
So basically there is no way to go out of this. Even thinking about stress makes us stressed. Talking about stress makes us stressed. Right?
Actually, the body’s fight or flight response that shows up when you are stressed is to meant to protective and not harmful as we believe.
Stress can be a good thing in small doses when it is not chronic. When you feel like you are lost control of a situation and suffer from chronic stress, then stress is the thing that negatively affects your well-being and health.
Some time ago an article about good and bad stress was published on this website. So we touched on this subject a little bit and it was interesting to explore something like that. Not all things are white or black.
Here you can find few reasons why a little bit of stress every day could be a good thing that can benefit your body and brain.
1. Motivation to Succeed
Good stress may be something to get your studies tasks or job done. Deadlines may seem stressful but they stimulate your behavior to manage the situation productively and effectively so you can finish your tasks at the right times.
Dr.Shelton said you need to view stressful situations as a challenge than something overwhelming and seemingly impossible.
According to psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s research, good stress (eustress) can help you enter a state of “flow” that is a heightened sense of awareness.
That way you can be completely absorbed into an activity. According to him, flow can be achieved in sports, creative endeavors, or in the workplace, and it is drive by pressure to succeed.
For me, personally being in flow and getting in this state of awareness is when you are doing something you enjoy and love, then you just forgot everything else and I have done it before. For me, it has nothing to do with stress, I was very relaxed then. Anyway, it is interesting to read and found about this research.
2. Boosting Brainpower
Animal studies show that body’s response to stress can boost memory, but it is only temporary.
They are saying that low-level stressors strengthen the connections between neurons in the brain.
Dr. Shelton said that exercise which is a physical stressor helps to boost concentration and productivity. The same effect has short-term psychological stressors.
3. Increase Immunity (short term)
So when the body feels stress, it is responding and prepares itself for possible infection or injury. It produces more chemicals that help regulate the immune system and that way providing a temporary defensive boost, according to Dr. Shelton.
2012 research with rats showed that mild stress caused several types of the immune cell “mobilization in their bloodstreams.
4. Become more Resilient
There is this belief that is more like a fact these days and is used for training soldiers. Learning to deal with the stressful situation could make easier to manage future stressful situations.
According to Dr. Shelton, this idea is behind Navy seal training. If you experience stressful events, you have the chance to develop a psychological and physical sense of control. This way soldiers don’t shut down when there is actual combat going on.
Conclusion
Can stress actually be a good thing? That is a great question that we tried to answer today in this post.
As we know now, there is positive stress and negative stress. The difference between them is if they are short-term or not and if they motivate you or not.
What do you think about this article? Do you believe stress can be a good thing? Please write some examples of when stress helped you to be better and more motivated and productive? Let me know below!
Wanna read more posts about positive stress? Read this 🙂
Explore more about the difference between good and bad stress by checking this.
Thanks!
Have a nice day! Come back for more articles 🙂
Linda Mo
Founder and owner of How To Reduce Stress Naturally