Your to-do list has spilled on to a second page, you can’t find your car keys and you should have left the house 10 minutes ago. If someone asked how you felt right now, you would probably give a one-word answer: ‘Stressed!’ But, believe it or not, this may not be a bad thing. In fact, there’s a growing body of research to suggest that stress could be beneficial for your health in many ways. This may offer precious little comfort as you run around looking for those missing keys. But, just for a moment, stop and ask yourself how unchallenged your brain and body would feel if everything always went to plan.
The term ‘stress’ was first coined in the 1930s by hormone specialist Hans Selye. Put simply, he defined it as the “response of the body to any demand put on it”. Interestingly, Selye also came up with words to differentiate between the nature of these responses: distress (bad stress) and eustress (good stress). We hear about distress on an almost daily basis, but how many of us have even heard of eustress?
Eustress is not defined by a type of stressor, for example hurting yourself or getting some bad news, but about what your response to that stressor is. If you can react with a sense of meaning or hope, rather than feeling overwhelmed or anxious, then that’s eustress. Or, as Selye himself put it, “It’s not stress that kills us, it is our reaction to it”.
POSITIVE EFFECTS
The problem is in such a fast-paced world, the word stress is used with such hugely negative connotations it can be difficult to think about it in any other way. In the news, we’re told 3.3 million working days are lost per year due to stress and related health problems. This can make us more inclined to panic and overreact when we experience stressors, rather than looking for the eustress, or in other words, the upside of an event. And that’s where we’ve been going wrong, according to psychologist Dr Kelly McGonigal, author of new book The Upside of Stress.
“Recent studies have linked higher levels of stress to everything from greater life expectancy and stronger brain health, to greater compassion for others,” explains McGonigal. “While some kinds of chronic or traumatic stress can lead to harmful outcomes, such as depression or physical illness, these outcomes are not inevitable.
“A lot seems to depend on whether we’re able to draw on our best natural instincts for coping with stress – courage, connection and growth. We need to make meaning out of suffering by allowing the experience to change us, to take positive action and draw strength from something bigger than ourselves – whether that’s our family, faith or a personal purpose.”
Still, when you’re experiencing a period of extreme stress, it can be hard to believe any good will ever come from it.
“But even with situations that are clearly traumatic, such as losing a loved one, the most common long-term outcome is often post-traumatic growth,” insists McGonigal. “This can manifest itself as a greater appreciation for life, more empathy for others, a sense of personal strength or a feeling of more purpose. That doesn’t mean we should strive to experience this kind of stress. But it’s good to know we’re capable of surviving stressful events, and, ultimately, growing from them.”
HORMONE RESPONSE
Faced with stress, your body and brain are quick to respond. Your breathing quickens and your muscles tighten. The ‘stress circuit’, which comprises the brain and nervous system, is primed for action, and a surge of hormones are released into the bloodstream. Among them, cortisol helps turn sugar and fat into energy and boosts the ability of the body and brain to use that energy. It also helps suppress any non-emergency physical functions, such as digestion. Another hormone, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), acts as a neurosteroid, enabling your brain to grow – sharpening your thinking under pressure. Your body is preparing you to do battle or bolt.
However, while the fight-or-flight response is undoubtedly very useful if your house is on fire, running away isn’t a viable option when faced with everyday stressors: the traffic jams, job interviews and missing keys that challenge your sense of calm. In fact, says McGonigal, the stress response has evolved to better fit the world we live in now.
“There is no one uniform stress response that’s triggered by all stressful situations. The specific cardiovascular changes, ratio of hormones released and other aspects of a stress response can vary widely depending on the nature of the stress itself.”
When your immediate survival isn’t under threat, your brain and body shift into the ‘challenge response’. Your nervous system kicks in and directs your whole body to mobilise energy. That energy boost can help you run for the bus if you’ve finally given up on finding your car keys, for example. But it’s not just there to give you a physical kick. It fires up your brain to sharpen your thinking and helps you focus, too. Studies have proved this concept. Recent research at the University of California found short-lived stress primes your brain for improved performance. In their experiments, the researchers found brief stressful events caused stem cells in the brain to proliferate into new nerve cells to help boost mental agility. There’s even evidence to suggest that, rather than making you ill, stress can protect you from poor health by strengthening your immune system.
A study at Stanford University School of Medicine in the US found periods of mild stress led to a massive mobilisation of key types of immune cells into study participants’ bloodstreams. The researchers likened this to the body ‘mobilising the troops’, so you’re more likely to be able to fight off bugs and infections.
Stress is actually designed to help you perform at your best under pressure – whether that’s giving a presentation, standing your ground in an argument or simply catching a bus. And although certain situations may make you feel insecure and anxious at first, you’re then getting a confidence cocktail from a flood of endorphins, adrenaline, testosterone and dopamine.
TIME TO BOND
In many circumstances, stress can help you connect with others, too. Ever talked through your woes with a close colleague after you’ve both had a bad day at work? This positive effect is known as the ‘tend-and-befriend’ response. The key driver here is the hormone oxytocin, which fine-tunes your brain’s social instincts, enhancing your empathy and intuition.
“Unlike the fight-or-flight response, which is primarily about self-survival, the tend-and-befriend response motivates you to protect the people and communities you care about,” explains McGonigal. “And, importantly, it gives you the courage to do so.”
Therefore, stress plays an essential role in forming and maintaining relationships. It brings us closer to people we care about.
Finally, it’s important to remember stress can help you learn and grow. Following a stressful experience – be it a presentation, car prang or argument – stress hormones increase activity in the areas of the brain that support learning and memory. So, for example, if you keep replaying events in your mind or feel the urge to talk things over with a friend, it isn’t necessarily a bad thing. You are helping to sort out the memories in your brain and teach yourself how to handle future stress; embrace the excitement.
Ultimately, the body’s stress response has evolved to help, not hinder you. Try to suppress it and you won’t be doing yourself any favours. The trick, it seems, is to change the way you respond to this in-built reaction.
In a series of experiments involving students at Harvard Business School, some were told to relax before a presentation by telling themselves “I am calm”, yet they still felt nervous. Meanwhile, another group were told to embrace their anxiety and tell themselves, “I am excited”. Yes, they were still nervous, but they also felt better able to handle the pressure, and performed accordingly. Those who said they were excited gave longer speeches and were independently judged to be more persuasive, competent and relaxed than those who had tried to convince themselves they were calm. Fear and excitement both stem from the same bodily triggers – so why feel afraid when you could simply focus on feeling excited?
“Learning to embrace stress doesn’t mean you have to love it,” McGonigal points out. “Ultimately, you just need to hold a balanced view – to recognise it can be upsetting and harmful, but also acknowledge you have many instincts that can help you thrive. Stress can help you access your own strength and courage, be healthier and achieve things that
really matter to you.”
And what’s so bad about that?
TURN STRESS INTO POSITIVITY
Focus your energy. Stress gives you energy, and you get to decide what to do with it. When you feel overwhelmed, ask yourself, “What’s the one thing I can do now? What actions can I take to improve this situation?” Then, go and do them!
Use stress as an opportunity. This is a chance to connect with others, rather than isolating yourself or trying to hide your problems. Confide in a friend, ask for support or take a break from your own worries by helping someone else. Try to view the stress you are experiencing as an opportunity to connect with other people.
Identify the meaning behind the stress. View it as a signal trying to get your attention so you can focus on the things you care about. So, instead of trying to suppress that signal by comfort eating, drinking alcohol or distracting yourself with TV, listen to your body. Ask yourself, “Why do I care? Why does this matter?”
