Taking Stress in a Positive Stride

Stress is an inevitable part of human emotion that appears in some form or the other. If one faces stressful situations, reacting all merrily and happily and pretending stress does not exist is also not an ideal response. The key is to create a balance and to channelize the fears and emotional turbulence in the right direction.

In a report published in the health magazine ‘HEARTbeat’ by Harvard Medical School, people tackle the stress response with its antibody, called challenge response. If the stress response is harmful to the body, so is challenge response which may affect the cardiovascular system, if not harnessed properly. The impact of challenge response to the body is much comparable to a situation of physical exercise where blood vessels constrict, ramp up inflammation and allow maximum blood flow to the body.

There is another way to tackle the stress response called tend-and- befriend response. While facing stress that is severe and painful like failing a relationship, death of a closed one or fear of terrorism activities, the act of staying close, feeling secure, protected and loved by near and dear ones greatly reduces stress. Reaching out to people and sharing your concerns is a much better option as compared to isolating yourself and watching random TV series on a loop. That only adds to the burden of stress as there is no release valve on the stress pressure cooker.

Tend and befriend response is also a great way of dealing with stress as it involves balancing of hormones. Oxytocin, a love hormone increases during the practice of this kind of response which is responsible for enhancing the bond of attachment, be it between a mother and child or in between two spouses. The brain's reward centres are activated which makes it more responsive to social contact, thus increasing resilience to combat stress. All it requires to redirect stress in a positive direction is a change of mindset. Studies have shown that if you tell a person that they perform better when they are under pressure, they actually perform better, as much as 33% more.

How to change your mindset?

 When you anticipate that stress is coming like before giving a speech in your college or office or before initiating a tough conversation, this is just a sign that your body is fuelling up with energy to undertake the big task at hand. Do not misunderstand it for stress.

 If you are feeling nervous before doing something, pause and ponder if it is really something that matters to you, reinforces your values and gives more meaning to your life?

 Do not reject the stress straightaway. Pull the energy and execute the task endowed with.

 If you feel overwhelmed with work and responsibilities, shower a small act of kindness on someone in need and observe the level of happiness, contentment and relief it brings to you.

 Always look at things from a microscopic view, then your problems will look very minute and irrelevant. There is always another dimension to every stressful event.

 Ignoring stress and imagining it doesn't exist is one of the biggest mistakes people make.

Denying stress is isolating oneself that just opens doorways for fears.

Look for positive aspects stress. Find what is of learning value from such a situation. Does it strengthen and motivate you? If yes, then stress is leading you to achieve insurmountable goals.