Good stress against Chronic stress

As we live in this times of distress, most of us may have stress at a certain point in our lives. It may be because of work, school, poverty and many other reasons. Today, we are going to look at some anti-stress techniques that can help us when we encounter stress. But first, what is stress? According to the Oxford Dictionary, stress is pressure or worry caused by the problem's in someone's life. It is the pressure, the worry we feel that just makes us feel so bad. But is stress really that bad?

There are two types of stress: Good stress and Bad stress.

Good stress.

Feeling stressed can be perfectly normal. Actually, stress has benefits we can hardly imagine.

Here are some benefits of stress:

1.Stress motivates you.

Moderate stress can push you forward, make you go from down to up in a matter of seconds. Stress motivates you. In order for you to understand my point, picture this. You are working for a prestige company. Your boss comes and gives you an assignment with a tight deadline. Failure to accomplish the task will lead to severe punishment which MAY getting fired.  So, imagine these two people. One begins to develop stress, starts worrying, does all he can so he can finish the work on time. His mind goes on and on till finally, he accomplishes the task. Seeing his work, the boss decides to promote him because even under a tight deadline, stress motivated him to finish the work.All his stress paid off, didn't it?

Now imagine if the second person relaxes, doesn't worry. After all, maybe his boss will forgive him. It was a tight deadline after all. He does the work slowly. He is not worried at all. Finally, the day comes. He has not accomplish the task and is fired. 

So, who was more successful in the end? It's the person who had stress. He was motivated and moved on.

But, note that too much of stress may also make you have mental problems and can make you even give up on life. So, it's important to have moderate stress.

2.The fight-or-flight response.

The fight-or - flight response you experience when you are stressed is aimed at protecting you, be it from an injury or even another potential threat. How can you run from a lion if you're not stressed it will harm you? So, the next time you experience some situation and you are stressed remember that your stress may just protect you. 

3.Makes you more resistant to challenging situations.

I just hate when I feel so stressed. We all do. But, our endurance develops by living through a challenging situation.The first time you experience that situation, you might think that's the worst scenario and fall to pieces because you don't know how to handle the problem.But you are training yourself to deal with similar incidents in the future. As you continue facing that situation, you get more resilient day by day.

4.Stimulate memory and cognitive functions.

According to research, chemicals secreted during anxiety help stimulate memory and cognitive functions.

Bad stress/Chronic stress.

Too much stress can be bad for your health. Chronic stress can infiltrate your immune cells, increase the risk of cardiovascular attacks, upset your digestive and reproductive systems and speed up the aging process.

So, how do you identify if you have chronic stress. Here are some symptoms you may have:

•     Body aches
•     Changes in appetite
•     Irritability
•     Insomnia
•     Low concentration

If you have any of these symptoms, see your medical practitioner for help.

Stress in a nut shell may be good for you. It is now our responsibility to differentiate between good stress and chronic stress. Let us keep ourselves safe!

Be sure to catch up with us at our next blog where we will discover some anti-stress techniques. Catch you later.😊