The term “stress” was coined by Hans Selye in 1936, and his definition is “the non-specific response of the body to any demand for change”. “Stress” is also defined as literally a function of every adaptation to change. Since its rise in popularity in the 50’s, it has been perceived negatively as something to avoid and totally prevent. But let us pause and take a look at this word with a new pair of lens. This article was inspired by Kelly Mc Gonigal. Let’s get to it!
1. Improves Cognitive Function
You are stressed out when you are about to encounter an event wherein something important to you is at stake, your brain fires up new neural connections, your heart pumps more blood to the brain, your options get clearer, you become a version of yourself who is capable of overcoming this unavoidable event. When faced with a stressful situation, your values get exposed, you untap hidden cognitive functions of the brain, you enter a state called “Pause and Plan” and you immediately get creative on ways of solving the problem. This biological instinct called “Pause & Plan” decelerates your heart rate, increases focus, and helps you remember your goals and values. So moderate amounts of stress gets your cognitive function in tip top shape.
2. Boosts your Immune System
Moderate stress stimulates the production of a chemical called interleukins and provides the immune system a quick boost to protect against illnesses.
3. You Become Resilient
Exposing yourself to moderate stress stretches out your capability to adapt. And adapting to new and always changing things is a very good skill to acquire. Upon resolving a stressful situation, you have then become a newer version of yourself. Your domain of familiarity expanded and now open to more worlds that offer more opportunities and ready to venture new worlds.
4. Increases Focus and Learning
In the pursuit of your goals, you will be facing stressful situations, uncertain things, different personalities and inevitable chaos. This will call you to become more focused and be quick on your feet on learning what works and what is needed to be let go. So if there is a stressful thing you need to do, just muster up the courage to face it, get focused and learn as soon as possible. So make a commitment to daily rise up to moderate stresses and soon enough you’ll increase yourself beyond that stress if you deliberately face it. Use stress to your advantage to get more focused and be a better learner.
5. Oxytocin is increased
When stress becomes overwhelming, we are left with no choice but to reach out for support. Friends, family and social contact enhances oxytocin. Oxytocin a.k.a the love hormone dilates blood vessels and decreases blood pressure.
6. Better Memory
Mild and short lived stressors cause new stem cells in the part of the brain called the hippocampus. This is the part of the brain responsible for stress response and memory. If you’re going to a certain place and you encounter something stressful, it’s important to remember exactly what caused the situation in order to avoid that situation in the future. Moderate stress increases your brain’s capability to remember.
7. Use Stress to Increase Confidence
Going through something overwhelming and accomplishing it creates a new person in you that is now more confident and capable. Use visualization getting through a stressful situation and it will be likely that the expected stress won’t be enough to overwhelm you. Try preparing yourself through visualization and turn overwhelming stress to manageable stress.
Conclusion and tips
According to Kelly Mcgonigal, Stress is neither good or bad. It is how we perceive them. Running away and avoiding turns stress to chronic stress and will cause damage to the body, meanwhile perceiving stress as a tool to get you focused, a better learner, more confident, alert and courageous. One very inspiring thought that closed Kelly’s Ted talk was. “It is better to chase meaning than to avoid discomfort, and trust yourself that you can overcome”
Hope you have a slight shift in the way you see stress and use it to enhance your life.
Always remember to start early!
Link to the talk here: https://youtube.com/watch?v=RcGyVTAoXEU&feature=shares
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