From Fuel to Fire: The Double-Edged Sword of Stress and How to Forge Resilience

It’s a normal Monday morning. You’re sitting in your office when suddenly, you smell something strange. It smells familiar, but you can’t quite place it, until – wait, is that smoke? Yes, the room is getting hazy. You run to the door and reach for the handle – ouch, it’s hot to the touch! You realize there’s a fire in the building, and you’ve got to find a way out.

Now, if you’ve got a reader’s imagination, you’re probably feeling a little anxious. Maybe your heart rate increased and your breathing quickened. What are you feeling right now? What is motivating you to get out of the burning building?

It’s stress!

Stress is a very natural reaction to the challenges that life puts in our way. When we get stressed, the liver begins to convert glycogen to glucose for our body to use as fuel. Blood flows faster to get more oxygen to the heart and other muscles. This is how our body prepares us for conflict.

In discussions of health, we talk only about the negative impact of stress – increased blood pressure, compromised immune system, digestive problems, mental health risk, weight and appetite fluctuation… And yes, these are all negative effects that chronic stress can have on your body.

But stress does have a purpose!

Without stress, there would be no urgency – no productivity. Life would start a fire and instead of searching for a safe way out, we would simply let the building burn down around us! Short-term stress releases helpful neurotransmitters that improve our motivation and cognition.

Stress becomes a problem when we allow that short-term, positive, productive stress (eustress) to become long-term, negative, unproductive stress (distress).

Consider the story of Jessica.

Jessica was a high-achieving leader in her organization who loved her job. She was known for her excellent performance and her ability to manage multiple projects at a time. Jessica was productive and efficient – her stress led directly to her success. But after some time, she started battling migraines, and even began having memory issues.

She assumed she was just burnt out. But the better she did, the more she said “yes” to, and the more she began spreading herself too thin. The symptoms got worse, and eventually she dreaded going to work each day.

She minimized her symptoms, thinking they were just the price she had to pay for being a hardworking, high-achieving leader. She chose to cope by just throwing herself into more work, and she did not seek out any treatment for herself – the same way so many of us choose to ignore our own symptoms.

This is when eustress becomes distress – and distress is what we want to minimize, for the sake of our health.

So, what can we do to improve our relationship with stress?

1. Practice mindfulness and relaxation techniques.

The goal of mindfulness isn’t just to calm us. It’s to make us more aware of however we are feeling in the present moment. This can help us sense when negative symptoms of stress are beginning to mount. Meditation, deep breathing, and progressive muscle relaxation can help improve your awareness of your physical body.

2. Develop healthy lifestyle habits.

Imagine you are out for a run. Running, in general, is fairly stressful for the body, but it has health benefits, as well. But if your leg is broken, running is the last thing you want to do!

When you’re eating a balanced and nutritious diet, exercising regularly, and getting enough sleep, your body and mind are much better at handling short-term stress. Your hormones are better regulated; your mood is more stable; and you have more physical and mental endurance for the tasks on your plate.

3. Set boundaries.

Most people have a hard time saying “no,” especially when someone else is asking for our help. We like to feel helpful, so many times, we end up doing more than we should and leaving ourselves little margin for recovery. But the more we become aware of how stress is affecting us, the better we can set boundaries and prioritize what’s already on our to-do list.

Stress isn’t just “the thing making our lives difficult.” If we manage it properly, it can temper us, making us strong, like steel. We just can’t let the fire burn too hot, or it will break us down.

Make today your masterpiece!

Florina