{"id":5973,"date":"2022-08-22T19:53:20","date_gmt":"2022-08-22T19:53:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/?p=5973"},"modified":"2022-08-22T21:28:32","modified_gmt":"2022-08-22T21:28:32","slug":"the-upside-of-stress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/everything-else\/the-upside-of-stress\/","title":{"rendered":"The Upside of Stress"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Nobody wants <\/em>to be stressed. Yet as much as we try to avoid it, some stress can be good for you. Really. \u201cSome of our most meaningful experiences involve stress, be it excelling at work or school, maintaining relationships, or raising children,\u201d says Jeremy P. Jamieson, PhD<\/a>, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Rochester. \u201cWhen people reflect on the times in their lives when they have learned, grown substantially, or performed at exceptionally high levels, they often report those times having been deeply stressful.\u201d <\/p>\n

How can something that feels so bad be so good? Turns out, there are two types of stress, one that\u2019s positive and another that keeps you awake at night<\/a>. Here\u2019s how to tell the difference, plus ways to make the positive stress in your life work for you.<\/p>\n

Stress is so misunderstood<\/h2>\n

According to the American Psychological Association<\/a>, we\u2019re more tense than ever. Inflation, the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and more have all conspired to take our anxiety to new heights. But anxiety<\/a> isn\u2019t the same as stress, even though the two share many similar symptoms, says Jamieson. Both can make your heart race, voice crack, and palms sweat, but only one of them is potentially a problem. <\/p>\n

Stress comes from the outside, like landing your dream job (a good thing!) or suddenly finding out you\u2019re about to be transferred to a new city (terrifying). Anxiety, by comparison, is worry that comes from within<\/a> that is often (but not always) triggered by stress. Like when you can\u2019t stop thinking about the argument you just had with your best friend. Or panicking about how you\u2019ll find time to make dinner, help with homework, and<\/em> make it to your child\u2019s parent-teacher conference on time.<\/p>\n

Good stress versus bad stress<\/h2>\n

We hear about negative stress all the time. Yet we rarely, if ever, hear about the positive kind. But psychologists know all about it. They even have a special name for it: eustress. <\/p>\n

\u201cPositive stress can lead to psychological growth, help you develop new skills and capacities, and make your life larger and more meaningful,\u201d says Melanie Greenberg, PhD<\/a>, a clinical psychologist and author of The Stress-Proof Brain.<\/em> \u201cFor example, taking on a challenge like running a half-marathon may be stressful, but it can increase your fitness and lead to mastery and accomplishment.\u201d <\/p>\n

Often, eustress has a clear upside, such as getting married, buying a new house, or having a baby. But other times, the perks may be less obvious, like going on a job interview or a blind date. Yes, these might be a little scary, but they can motivate you to take action, help you bond with others, and make you more resilient.<\/p>\n

Making the most of stress<\/h2>\n

If eustress is so great, why don\u2019t we hear about it more often? \u201cThe dominant cultural narrative is that stress is inherently negative and \u2018bad for me\u2019,\u201d says Jamieson. \u201cPeople often get stressed about being stressed and then expend a lot of energy trying to get rid of or reduce the stress they are feeling.\u201d <\/p>\n

But tapping into eustress isn\u2019t about eliminating stress. It\u2019s about what Jamieson calls \u201cstress optimization.\u201d Instead of trying to minimize stress, he suggests focusing on how you perceive and react to stress. Rather than viewing stress as a negative to overcome or avoid, he encourages people to learn to embrace difficult situations and life events as challenges. <\/p>\n

So next time your boss asks you to take on a tough new project and your blood pressure starts to rise, take a deep breath. Then consider all the good things that might come from it, like new skills, networking opportunities, and a chance to shine.\u00a0 After all, \u201cnobody ever achieved new heights by staying in their comfort zones,\u201d says Jamieson.<\/p>\n

The post The Upside of Stress<\/a> appeared first on Fitbit Blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Stress gets a bad name. But maybe it shouldn\u2019t. Learn about the power of \u201cgood stress\u201d and how to make the most of it.
\nThe post The Upside of Stress appeared first on Fitbit Blog.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5975,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":""},"categories":[20,1,21,22,19],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5973"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5973"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5973\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5976,"href":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5973\/revisions\/5976"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5975"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5973"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5973"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5973"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}