Is Stress Always a Bad Thing? We Need It, But Not Too Much of It
Lucia Agulla, MA, RCC, Vitality Collective Vancouver Therapist & Registered Clinical Counsellor
During the 20th century, research about stress and its effects on humans grew exponentially…
and two approaches were developed: the first one focused on the body’s response to stress, while the second one had a psychosocial take on it.
The first scientists to use the word stress defined it as a force that disturbs homeostasis – which consists of the dynamic stability of all living beings. In their research, the action of stress is the somatic response that we all know as the fight or flight reaction.
This response that involves our hearts racing, and increased blood pressure and respiratory rate is adequate when we are facing a dangerous situation that actually demands fighting or leaving, but it can be excessive in other situations. It is important to notice that our organism uses the stress response as a way to adapt to environmental requirements.
As you can see, this first approach to the study of stress was quite focused on objective dangerous situations and did not leave much room for the individual differences that we notice on daily basis. Ever wondered why you feel so stressed out about talking in front of a group of people, while your classmate seems to be thrilled in that same situation?
From a psychosocial perspective, researchers focused on the fact that the person has to actually perceive the situation as a stressor for it to produce the stress response we mentioned before. This way, we can start thinking about the individual differences and how for some people some situations generate acute levels of stress, while for others that same situation can be a walk in the park.
Additionally, these researchers help us understand that stress can be a big motivator for our actions and can push us to improve our performance. This kind of positive stress is called eustress. Nowadays, studies show that a medium stress level tends to facilitate some cognitive functions like short-term memory or any process where the cognitive demand is not excessive.
On the other hand, when the stress response continues over a long period of time, it stops being adaptive and starts producing unwanted effects like lower overall performance, attention and memory issues, and also physical symptoms. This kind of negative stress is called distress.
It is also important to consider that this alarm system built within ourselves to react accordingly to the environment also has a physiological correlate.
The Stress Hormone
Cortisol, also known as the stress hormone, is the biochemical star in the stress response. In a moderate concentration, it boosts attentional and memory processes, as well as our immune system, to improve our adaptation to the challenges of the environment.
However, if the situation interpreted by the individual as dangerous remains present for a long time, the sustained higher levels of cortisol can produce harmful effects like the suppression of the immune response and affective disorders, among other issues.
Then… Is stress always a bad thing?
As we can see, the answer is a resounding no. Stress has actually helped us to survive the changing demands of the environment, from the times we had to fight with animals for food or safety to the modern days in which we have to deal with traffic, finances, and pandemics. However, when this stress response sticks and we cannot seem to disengage from it, or when we start seeing every situation as dangerous, that is when the signs of distress that we mentioned before may begin to appear.