Jamieson explains: “We are not recipients of stress. “We are very active in our stress response.”
Jamieson says that the stress we experience during challenging situations can give us fuel to deal with the needs we face. For example, as your heart rate increases, it can help deliver more oxygen to your brain and muscles.
“Oxygen is very good at helping us process information faster,” explains Jamieson. It can also help people do well.
Humans have long faced threats from predators, and our fight-or-flight response evolved to help us survive these dangers. But the types of pressures we face today have changed. In modern times, some of our stress comes from challenges that Jamieson says can be viewed as “opportunities for growth.” Job interview, presentation, TV appearance.
“In order to do new things and do difficult things, your stress response is there to improve your performance,” he says.
When it comes to depression, “context matters,” says researcher Wendy Berry Mendes, a professor of psychology at Yale University. There are different types of stress responses and different types of stress.
He points to studies from Scandinavia, going back decades, which found that stress hormones are linked to better performance in test-takers.
“A large increase in catecholamines, [including] epinephrine, norepinephrine, the morning of the test was associated with better performance on that test,” he said.
But here’s the challenge: Not everyone reacts the same way to stressors. Test anxiety is real for some people and can work against their performance. Part of the math is how well they know things, or how well they are prepared to take a test. Another part is how they perceive stress.
Jamieson points to evidence that people can be taught to “reframe” stress. He and the participants studied community college students who were preparing for a math test. When students are given information about the “functional benefits” of stress before a test, they perform better.
“By making people aware of the benefits of stress responses in these settings, they hold onto the idea, I can lean into my stress,” says Jamieson, and use it to help do important things.
Students who were taught to “reframe their stress as a resource,” not only did better they had less anxiety on the text.
When good stress turns bad
Therefore, when stress arises because of a challenge or an opportunity, it can be helpful in the moment. But, when your stress response stays active at times when you don’t need it, this becomes a problem.
Let’s say you have a big presentation, three days away. You have completed the preparations, but the pressure of anticipation is setting in. Just imagining yourself giving a presentation gives you the jitters. You can feel the stress response increase.
Your breathing is shallow, or you feel tired or irritated. If you use a wearable, such as an Oura ring or an Apple Watch, it may show a lower level of heart rate variability, indicating more time in stress mode.
“Your body goes into overdrive before it needs to,” says Mendes. And this can destroy your physical system. “Imagine if you were running across the plain, trying to escape a lion,” said Mendes, but the lion was not seen for three days! That is not sustainable.
It also doesn’t help to worry about performance after the end. “Your body doesn’t need to go into overdrive anymore,” Mendes says, but anxiety keeps the stress response active.
This can lead to fatigue, mood swings and burnout. Chronic stress can make you feel like you’re constantly under attack. It has been linked to everything from increased risks of heart disease to depression, headaches and sleep problems.
All of this suggests that stress management strategies are important. We cannot avoid the difficult situations we face in life, but we can learn skills that will improve our ability to manage and even bounce back and thrive.
The Stress Les editors are Carmel Wroth and Jane Greenhalgh
