Some Stress is Good

الأربعاء، 7 أكتوبر 2009

Some Stress is Good
People tend to talk about stress as if it’s all bad. It’s not.

“Some stress is good for you,” Dr. Sternberg says. “I have to get my stress response to a certain optimal level so I can perform in front of an audience when I give a talk.” Otherwise, she may come across as lethargic and listless.

But while some stress is good, too much is not good. “If you’re too stressed, your performance falls off,” Dr. Sternberg says. “The objective should be not to get rid of stress completely because you can’t get rid of stress — stress is life, life is stress. Rather, you need to be able to use your stress response optimally.”

The key is to learn to move yourself to that optimal peak point so that you’re not underperforming but you’re also not so stressed that you’re unable to perform. How much we’re able to do that is the challenge, Dr. Sternberg admits. This may not be possible in all situations, or for all people, because just as with the animals Dr. Sternberg studies, some people may have a more sensitive stress response than others.

“But your goal should be to try to learn to control your stress to make it work for you,” Dr. Sternberg says. “Don’t just think of getting rid of your stress; think of turning it to your advantage.
” http://www.nih.gov/news/WordonHealth/oct2000/story01.htm