Most people say that stress is really bad and everybody should learn how to eliminate stress to succeed in life. According to them, it is unequivocally negative and they always blame stress for every negative event in their life. Are you one among them? If you are one among them, you need to change this perception immediately. It is a fact that prolonged stress is bad for your but stress can be really good for you if you know how to use it effectively.
What is fight or flight response? It can be described as the primitive, inborn and automatic response of the human body that prepares it to fight or flee from the perceived threat, attack or harm. When this response is activated, your body initiates a sequence of nerve cell firing and hormones like adrenaline, cortisol and noradrenalin are also released into your blood stream.
These activities result in dramatic changes in the body and your respiratory rate also increases considerably. Blood is shunted away from the digestive tract and it is channelized into your muscles and limbs that need additional fuel and energy for running or fighting. Consequently, you experience intensified awareness and sharpened sight and, your immune system mobilizes with increased activation as well.
Quite naturally, you become psychologically and physically prepared for fight or flight. That is what happens when becoming stressed and this process can be described as an automatic and natural response of your body.
The fight or flight response is a natural reaction and at this critical juncture, you should not flip the stress-hormone switch to ‘on’ mode and leave it there because the neurons will get tired of being primed and in such a situation, the positive effects of stress become negative effects.
That is exactly where you need to make use of stress to your advantage instead of allowing it to impair your mental flexibility. What do all these aspects indicate? Everybody has to deal with stress because it is natural but you should learn how to utilize stress effectively to succeed in life.
Psychology textbooks clearly state that moderate amount of stress is necessary to keep people alert and occupied. As mentioned earlier, it can be described as human body’s hormonal reaction to change, uncertainty or danger and when you get stressed, you become more energetic to revive your system.
Such a situation makes you more resilient and motivates you to perform a task or whatever you need to handle better. The bottom line is that stress prepares you to face the immediate challenge ahead.
Now, you have to admit that moderate amount of stress is good for everyone. Some people thrive on stress. For example; some accomplished professionals like policemen, air-traffic controllers or emergency room physicians use it to their advantage and stress is good for them.
They love seeking out chaos and then, put things back in order. In other words, these people flourish under it and emerge victorious with better performance. For them, stress is necessary, useful and beneficial as well.
Now, all these aspects clearly suggest that stress is good if you know how to use it to your advantage and it is bad if you flip the stress hormone switch to ‘on’ mode forever.
24 Opinions
5 Opinions
Share
