Experts explain why a little stress and anxiety is healthy
| Aug 19, 2019, 14:07 IST
High levels of stress and anxiety can be dangerous for our health and can impact the quality of your life. However, experts say short-term stress can be extremely beneficial.
“Stress causes harm when it exceeds any level that a person can reasonably absorb or use to build psychological strength,” Lisa Damour, author of the book 'Under Pressure: Confronting the Epidemic of Stress and Anxiety in Girls', told a news portal. Adding, “It’s important for psychologists to share our knowledge about stress with broad audiences: that stress is a given in daily life, that working at the edge of our abilities often builds those capacities, and that moderate levels of stress can have an inoculating function, which leads to higher than average resilience when we are faced with new difficulties."
Like stress, you can also use anxiety to your advantage. Damour told a news portal anxiety is like “an internal alarm system, likely handed down by evolution, that alerts us to threats both external — such as a driver swerving in a nearby lane — and internal — such as when we’ve procrastinated too long and it’s time to get started on our work.”
When an individual is under stress, the body adds a lot of adrenaline to the bloodstream. Slow digestion and increased respiration are some ways your body reacts to stress. Clinical psychotherapist Kevon Owen says anxiety is much like caffeine. All this energy can improve how fast you react to a situation, as well as helps you stay more alert. “Caffeine is the external imitation of anxiety,”Owen told a news portal. Adding,“Stress is your mind’s way of prioritizing and organizing tasks that need to be done. These things do not become negative until they interrupt or disrupt motivators or begin causing negative mental or physical anguish.”
Chronic stress can cause heart disease and gastrointestinal issues. A 2018 study conducted by Harvard researchers found extremely high levels of a stress hormone called cortisol negatively impacted memory. “The main reason we view stress so negatively is the dominant narrative put forth by stress research. [It] focuses on the negative impacts of stress, such as chronic and debilitating diseases like hypertension, obesity, and type 2 diabetes,” Jennifer Wegmann, who teaches stress management at Binghamton University’s Decker School of Nursing, told a news portal.
Learning to manage stress is important as it can lead to more serious illnesses. A 2017 study conducted by the American Psychological Association (APA) found that 20 per cent of Americans experience stress. “If Americans can learn to utilize stress in a positive way, it could not only help mitigate the negative outcomes people are experiencing, but lead to improved well-being, more productivity, and personal growth,” Wegmann told a news portal.
“Stress causes harm when it exceeds any level that a person can reasonably absorb or use to build psychological strength,” Lisa Damour, author of the book 'Under Pressure: Confronting the Epidemic of Stress and Anxiety in Girls', told a news portal. Adding, “It’s important for psychologists to share our knowledge about stress with broad audiences: that stress is a given in daily life, that working at the edge of our abilities often builds those capacities, and that moderate levels of stress can have an inoculating function, which leads to higher than average resilience when we are faced with new difficulties."
Like stress, you can also use anxiety to your advantage. Damour told a news portal anxiety is like “an internal alarm system, likely handed down by evolution, that alerts us to threats both external — such as a driver swerving in a nearby lane — and internal — such as when we’ve procrastinated too long and it’s time to get started on our work.”
When an individual is under stress, the body adds a lot of adrenaline to the bloodstream. Slow digestion and increased respiration are some ways your body reacts to stress. Clinical psychotherapist Kevon Owen says anxiety is much like caffeine. All this energy can improve how fast you react to a situation, as well as helps you stay more alert. “Caffeine is the external imitation of anxiety,”Owen told a news portal. Adding,“Stress is your mind’s way of prioritizing and organizing tasks that need to be done. These things do not become negative until they interrupt or disrupt motivators or begin causing negative mental or physical anguish.”
Chronic stress can cause heart disease and gastrointestinal issues. A 2018 study conducted by Harvard researchers found extremely high levels of a stress hormone called cortisol negatively impacted memory. “The main reason we view stress so negatively is the dominant narrative put forth by stress research. [It] focuses on the negative impacts of stress, such as chronic and debilitating diseases like hypertension, obesity, and type 2 diabetes,” Jennifer Wegmann, who teaches stress management at Binghamton University’s Decker School of Nursing, told a news portal.
Learning to manage stress is important as it can lead to more serious illnesses. A 2017 study conducted by the American Psychological Association (APA) found that 20 per cent of Americans experience stress. “If Americans can learn to utilize stress in a positive way, it could not only help mitigate the negative outcomes people are experiencing, but lead to improved well-being, more productivity, and personal growth,” Wegmann told a news portal.