Physical threats may not necessarily produce stress reactions, other factors including chemical and emotional factors. The reactions can even be produced by mere imagining an unpleasant situation. For example if you had a quarrel with someone and it led to increase of stress hormones (cortisol and adrenaline) in your body, if you have not forgiven that person and someone mentions his name in your presence, it can actually trigger the same reaction you had when the quarrel occurred.This kind of reaction may take a while before it stops but with the right attitude and application of the stress control tips in this book, you can speed your recovery.
Frequently asked questions:
Is stress always destructive?
• No! It’s not always destructive. Stress can be good (the good type is called “eustress”) when it helps one to perform better, attain higher goals and solve difficult problems.
• Too little stress can make a person feel tired, bored and poorly motivated. When an engine is tuned too low, it operates at a less than optimal level. (But if it’s tuned too high, it can explode and stop functioning altogether). Therefore a little stress is productive but too much and prolonged stress is destructive.
• Moreover, stressful eventsthat are mixed with joy and exhilaration are also productive especially if you take time to rest well after the event. I remember when my dad was celebrating his seventieth birthday, he was apparently stressed by having to receive several guests from different parts of the country but he was so excited that the stress seemed like nothing. The joy overshadowed the stress and he took time to rest well after the guests had left and he eventually recovered from the stress.
• Stress response can be likened to an alarm; when it rings briefly, it is useful. It can alert one to an emergency and initiate immediate action but when it continues to ring non-stop, or when many alarms are ringing at the same time, it becomes a nuisance.
• Struggling to cope with several challenges at the same time may cause destructive stress
• This destructive type of stress is called “distress”. It makes one to panic and experience unproductive anxiety.
• Performance goes up at the beginning of a stressful period but if stress is not controlled, performance and health decline.