{"id":3216,"date":"2020-04-11T19:18:58","date_gmt":"2020-04-11T19:18:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/donovancarper.com\/?p=3216"},"modified":"2020-10-24T10:10:18","modified_gmt":"2020-10-24T19:10:18","slug":"stress-anxiety-can-be-good","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.donovancarper.com\/index.php\/2020\/04\/11\/stress-anxiety-can-be-good\/","title":{"rendered":"Stress & Anxiety can be…Good for You? Current Research"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Throughout the history of humanity, stress and anxiety have been the engines propelling us forward, driving us to achieve new heights! (Image credit: mirsad mujanovic<\/a> at Pexels)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cReduce your stress.\u201d \u201cStress kills.\u201d \u201cReduce your anxiety.\u201d Oh\u2026 Ok. I\u2019ll go ahead and just do that. Let\u2019s see, my job causes stress, I guess I\u2019ll quit. My bills cause stress. I\u2019ll ignore them, maybe they\u2019ll go away. My family life at times causes stress. I guess I\u2019ll move out and live on my own. I hate doing squats\u2026I guess I\u2019ll quit working out. I achieved a master\u2019s degree and have my RN license. Obtaining those were stressful experiences, maybe I shouldn\u2019t have done that. Or\u2026maybe stress isn\u2019t quite the enemy we think it is\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the book, The Upside of Stress<\/em>: Why Stress is Good for You (and how to get Good at it) <\/em>by Kelly McGonigal (2015), the author points out the surprisingly obvious\u2026anything that has meaning for you produces stress. Stress is caused when something that matters to you is perceived as being at risk. Essentially, a life without stress thereby is a a life without meaning or purpose. A copy of the book can be obtained here<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kids, education, work, family, marriage, achievement\u2026stress is inextricably woven through the fabric of our lives. McGonigal (2015) goes one step further\u2026arguing stress is not simply a byproduct of a meaningful life. Stress can be a powerful motivator and even essential to our health and happiness! So\u2026if stress is inescapable, how can we tap into the lesser-hyped benefits while avoiding the highly-hyped adversities of stress?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We all have \u201canxiety,\u201d we just interpret the feelings differently<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnxiety\u201d is simply energy. <\/strong>As an article notes in the journal <\/strong>Frontiers in neuroendocrinology<\/em> (Dhabhar, 2018), the short term stress response is NOT an outdated \u201cflee from a saber toothed tiger\u201d phenomenon gone awry in the modern era. Instead, the surge in the stress hormones epinephrine, norepinephrine, and cortisol have been shown to boost mental performance, as well as provide a boost to the heart, muscles, and even immune system in order to meet modern day challenges (Dhabhar, 2018). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This energy is sometimes interpreted in our brains as \u201canxiety\u201d as opposed to recognizing such as potentially our body\u2019s own performance enhancing \u201cdrug\u201d cocktail! The same surge of hormones that may be interpreted as a \u201cpump\u201d before a game, competition, or thrill ride are interpreted as \u201canxiety\u201d in other situations. The symptoms of this energy and its purposes are outlined by McGonigal (2015) in her book as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnxiety\u201d is energy\u2013symptoms: <\/strong> Heart beating harder and faster, sweating, rapid breathing, heightened focus, restlessness: <\/p>\n\n\n\n