Week 2- STRESS.

Pfft! What can you say about stress that’s not been said before? Frankly I’m about as fed up with stress as I could be. Everyone’s at it, we’re all stressed and it’s all bad. What even is it? There’s no uniformity – one man is stressed because his house has been flooded, another is stressed because he left his lunch on the bus. What’s that all about?

I suppose what people are attempting to describe is the way they feel when they are under pressure, worried or concerned about something that is going on in their lives. But isn’t it a bit lazy to use the word stressed. Come on be specific, be expressive, use your words, tell us what’s going on – we might be able to help. When you say your stressed most of us (is it just me?) think

a) me too

b) not again

c) don’t think that means you’re getting out of the washing up.

And is stress so bad? Isn’t it stress that gets stuff done? If I never experienced the stress of a deadline I would probably never have submitted an essay, paid a bill or applied for a job in my life. And then I would have missed out on that great feeling you get of completing a task, achieving something you never thought you could or just that great sigh of relief you have when something difficult is over.

So is stress such a bad thing or is it the way we respond to it that causes the damage? I saw one of those cheesy facebook feel-good posts the other day - A diamond is just a piece of charcoal that handled stress exceptionally well – So next time you’re tempted to use the stress word consider…..are you charcoal or Diamond. Twinkle on!

- Mum

Without stress my life would be empty.

- at least according to the fridge magnet at my parents' house.

Trust me, I know stress. This morning I woke up with Mount Vesuvius on my face, an experience only made more horrifying by the knowledge that I’d have to stand up and present in class this afternoon (yes, I managed it, I was very brave). It's a trivial example of a very real problem faced by everyone on a daily basis, with very real consequences. Those facing too much stress are open to such delights as, to name a few, viruses, infections, circulatory problems, diabetes etc. That's without even mentioning mental health problems, of which there is a pretty grim line-up.

However- what we don't consider that often, and what I find absolutely fascinating, are the potential benefits. Maybe it’s because I'm a student, but I've learned to embrace the focus and the motivation that comes with a small dose of stress. In fact there's even research to back it up. I've drawn you a little graph to illustrate the Yerkes-Dodson law:

  

There's also research to indicate that it gives a short-term boost to learning and memory, increases resilience, and even bolsters the immune system (temporarily). I looked into it, and apparently kids whose mothers experienced a bit of stress during pregnancy benefit in terms of motor and developmental skill by 2 years old (thanks, mum!)

What I found most interesting though, and maybe I'm cheating because uni covered this last year, is that shared stress helps people form friendships. I'd never really thought about it before but the boost to memory doesn't just help with writing that assignment, but it helps you to remember people, and by extension to bond with them. 

What I’m saying is this: it’s so easy to feel like life without stress would be better, and maybe to a certain extent that’s true- but maybe it would be a little bit empty too.

- Gee