This is How Mentally Healthy People Define Stress

Amy Taylor November 03, 2014

Stress – most people define it as something terrible and unhealthy. So we try to avoid it. And we get even more stressed when we start experiencing it. Stress is considered a “silent killer”. You may not know it’s there until such time that you have already suffered its consequences.

But stress is not pure evil – and this is what mentally strong people believe. Instead of preventing them from living healthy, stress often serves as a way for them to move forward, thrive and succeed, and find happiness. Sounds strange?

Here’s how mentally health individuals look at stress.

Stress spurs connection.

Stress triggers a lot of physical changes in our body. When we are stressed, our body releases different hormones, including cortisol, epinephrine, and adrenaline. Unfortunately, our body don’t need much of these and excessive levels of these hormones can contribute to high blood pressure, fatigue symptoms, and other physical discomfort. But don’t you know that when you’re stressed, your body also releases oxytocin? This is also called “love hormone” which our body releases during bonding, physical contact, and falling in love. This chemical triggers us to connect, which has a significant role in alleviating stress. Mentally healthy people allow embrace the flow of oxytocin in their body and do not get overwhelmed with the spikes in cortisol and adrenaline. As a result, they are able to figure out healthy outlets for stress, and these include connecting with others.

Stress affects you in the extent you think.

There is no doubt that stress can cause serious health problems. But the gravity of its effects depends largely on how you perceive it. In one longitudinal study of 30,000 people, researchers tracked stress levels, what participants believed about stress, and death rates. As expected, there was a positive correlation between high stress levels and death rates. But surprisingly, researchers also found that when participants had high stress levels and also believed that stress was a good thing, the death rates were no different from those who had reported low stress levels. According to them, the reason for this is that when people believe stress is positive, the physiological response is similar to being excited — as oppose to those who believe stress is bad, where the physiological response was similar to being frightened.

Stress can really be a good thing.

Stress is the body’s biological response to perceived threat. It’s the body’s way to prepare for action. It promotes mental alertness, awareness, and response time. It also stimulates our energy reserve and enhances our muscular system.

Mentally Fit People Take Over

The reason why mentally strong people don’t get overwhelmed with stress is because they know how to take control. They are fully aware of their bodies. That is, they know their stress triggers and what to do when these things start to affect them. Moreover, mentally strong people respond to stress appropriately. They opt for healthy outlets to relieve stress and minimise its impact on their life.

How about you? What do you do when you are stressed? What specific actions do you take? We’d love to hear your thoughts. Feel free to share your comment below.