When stress is good for you

We feel stressed when challenges are bigger than the resources we have in hand to cope with.

Experts, therefore, say stress is a process, not a diagnosis. There could be many triggers that can make us feel stressed. These are primarily external factors such as inability to express, children's misbehavior, work-related demands, expectations, and thinking habits.

Constant tiredness or annoyance could be a sign of stress, which could turn into anxiety or depression. So, long-term stress may pose mental and physical health risks that must be avoided with timely help.

But if you cannot avoid stress or unsure of when to approach a doctor, there are free online sites these days for help or to check your stress level. The Harvard Business Review magazine provides one such online test. This test is modified from an original stress scale developed by the US state of New Hampshire. You can access it here.

If the test score is between 5 and 13, it is low stress, but less than four may be considered lacking, suggesting you may need some stress for brain stimulation. A score of 14-26 is believed moderate, but if it goes beyond that range, it is deemed high, and one may need medical attention.

Source: Pixabay.

The American Psychological Association (APA) calls good stress ‘eustress’ and bad stress ‘distress’. Eustress is positive stress like taking care of your baby; on the other hand, distress is negative, like a relationship breakup. Chronic stress is another form of bad stress. It is a psychological and physiological response to prolonged internal or external stressful events, says the APA.

According to an APA survey in the US in 2019, 44% of adult participants in the study said they exercised and walked to manage their stress levels, and 47% of respondents said they listened to music. In addition, around 37% of them said they preferred spending time with friends and family.

Also Read: How covid is changing our fitness habits

Benefits of Stress

Stress is not always harmful. It can improve your brain activity. A person can gain confidence after experiencing a new stressful situation to deal with a similar situation later. They would feel no stress or significantly reduced level of stress when they face the same situation again.

A University of Berkeley study has found that brain stem cells in rats grew into new nerve cells after they were exposed to brief stressful events under laboratory conditions.

Stress becomes harmful when it affects your daily life. It can become chronic or traumatic due to psychological upheavals. It is like inflation in an economy - too much of it can be destructive, but too little can be incapacitating. Mild inflation is good for the economy, and so is moderate stress. Mild stress is good for the mind and body, says the APA.

Finally, if stress starts to get out of control or turn into distress, remember to take steps to return to a eustress state by exercising, eating proper food, relaxing, sleeping well, getting people to talk to, or investing in hobbies, and enjoying life in general.