Good Stress Can Help You
February 3, 2014 Assumptions 13 comments gleclair14
Daily life of teenagers often involves stress in some form or another, often in large portions, whether they’re blown out of proportion by our hormones or true stress. It can come in the form of family issues, school, homework, relationships, and friendships. Stress has often been the start of many health issues, from heart disease to death, becoming one of the biggest epidemics to hit the populace of the world. However, we’re dead set in a time of new thinking, fresher thoughts based on a brighter form of thinking, and although it seems impossible, stress, one of the biggest and baddest issues in our present world, has been found to have a bright side. You heard me right.
Whenever you’re told to look on the positive side of something, you might think of how crazy it might be to think so. For instance, look on the bright side of your cat dying; You no longer have to feed it and it doesn’t have to live through the tortuous things you do to it in hopes of having another viral Youtube cat video. Stress is no different than this form of thinking. We’ve considered it the baddest of the bad, as it can be the root of our problems. We need to consider something we don’t often think about; We’re still very primal, our minds are still developed for a world of survival and our bodies are built to survive. Stress is a natural response to help us survive.
Sure, prolonged stress can really take its toll, but you have control of your thinking and your mind, so you can “fool” yourself into thinking it’s good for you (Even though it’s actually supposed to help you out, society has just told you it’s bad). The increased heart rate helps with reflexive response and quicker thinking, ready to take action and have a better chance at survival. Research has pointed that there’s a considerable difference in how your veins/arteries respond to stress depending on how you think of it; Lower blood pressure and less constriction of the blood vessels was visible in those who considered stress a good response, while those who saw it as bad had higher blood pressure and constricted blood vessels, which often leads to what you feel as headaches or can lead to heart disease.
So in the event that you’re stressed, just keep in mind it’s supposed to help you out. If you’re overloaded with homework, you’ll perform faster. If you are speaking in front of an audience, you’ll be more confident. If you’re playing sports, you’ll be better on your feet. View it as helpful, and the stress will be more likely to pass over quickly, training you to have a more positive mindset. If you remain stressed for long periods of time, well… Find some stress relief, it’s not good for you if you let it get to you like that. Nothing beats the simplicity of breathing exercises, writing, or exercise to clear your mind.
13 Comments
I really like the article! But you said something about making good stress from bad stress? How would you do that? Just a state of mind or are there ways that make it easier to turn bad stress into good stress?
It can vary person to person for such techniques. For some, just thinking “Oh, I’m stressed, my body is trying to help me out” can do the trick to form bad stress into good, but others it can require more extensive mental exercises, such as a sort of meditation or rhythmical breathing. Eventually, it becomes a state of mind and stress becomes easier and easier to conquer!
Just goes to show that everything is mind over matter. A person’s mental intake of a situation can be modified, even if the physical situation may not share the same characteristic. MIND IS POWER.
Definitely mind over matter! Stress may seem bad, but the feeling of accomplishing something on time and successfully is very very rewarding.
Ive never really thought about it that way that kinda cool actually. I’ll definitley have to keep that in mind .
I never really thought of stress as a good thing, but after reading this I now have a different opinion on it. This is such an interesting topic that definitely caught my attention. Very well done!
I will most definitely keep this in mind when I get bogged down by what seems to be an overabundance of English work. I had never considered the possibility that stress could actually have a positive effect on oneself, so I found the piece to be very interesting.
Wow G! That was awesome! I loved the voice and humor you put into it! It’s an interesting concept that something we’ve been conditioned to think is bad can actually be good for us! I’ll have to remember this when I’m stressed about all the homework I have to do! Good job! (:
Wow! Reading this definitely gave me a different outlook on stress. Well done.
Really good piece. I never thought of stress as a good thing. I always thought stress was bad. Great piece though.
I am so glad someone else see’s it that way too! I am a stressed out person, and I’m always being told it is bad, and that I need to stop being stressed out. Although, to a point, stress is bad, but when I am stressed about homework, it will get done on time. When I am stressed out about anything, I personally feel like I become stronger from it. You’re completely right when you say it is a mind thing, because it is. We are young, and as become older, stress will become easier to deal with if only we choose to control our thoughts and mind. Keyword, CHOOSE. I feel that people are always saying they can’t control their thoughts, and how they feel, but they do. I used to think I had no control, but over the last couple years, I do, and when I want to be positive and stress free, I am!
I think that stress can be good or bad, but this article definitely helped point out how it can be helpful! I know that it feels very accomplishing when I am stressed to get an assignment done, but then when I get it done and completed on time it is so satisfying. Great piece, definitely a good way to look at stress!
Great piece, it was well written and something that is relevant to anyone who might be reading. Your topic was great, and as I said before it was well done, however it left me with some questions. How do we know when we’re under too much stress? What can we do to help change our perspective on the stress we’re experiencing? Do you think that stress, both positive and negative is too prevalent in modern life? Do our bodies overreact to the situations they’re put in to? This article is a great start, but I think that it has too much potential to be left the way it is.