Positive stress is called motivation!
Some people or publications talk about "positive stress" and say that positive stress is good.
Personally, I have some difficulty with that expression.
The term "positive stress" creates confusion. It blurs the distinction between what does you good as a human being and what is damaging to you.
Because we fill the word "stress" with a reverse meaning, we lose each other in communication. It prevents us from knowing what we are talking about when we talk about stress.
Such vagueness gets in the way of addressing "the problem.
To my knowledge, as human beings we have two modes of existence: relaxed or in stress.
Relaxed, your ventral vagus - the tenth cranial nerve - is active.
In stress, your sympathetic nervous system is on or worse, your ventral vagus.
Relaxing I call "connected brain," because then you have all your brain functions fully ready. In stress, you are reactive, you are on the defensive.
It's one or the other. Your body functions completely differently when you are connected than when you are in stress.
Dopamine or adrenaline
If you are connected, your alarm system is off. Your body is set to "safe. Then, if you want to do something that interests you and strain yourself to do it, your body produces dopamine, which triggers your brain to produce a feeling of happiness.
You have task tension, desire to perform something. This tension contributes to your happiness. It is this tension that is sometimes confused with stress. Task tension is the desire to complete a task successfully.
And that makes happy.
If you are in stress, then you are under pressure. Then you don't produce dopamine but you do produce adrenaline and ACTH. These hormones cause your security system to turn on. Your whole body organizes itself to fight, flee or freeze.
The alertness that something is happening to you causes increased body activity that is not focused on any particular performance, but rather on getting yourself to safety. Your body produces cortisol to regulate this response to perceived danger.
Stress doesn't make you happy, it puts pressure on your body, which in time gives you symptoms. It is not a good thing, either for your relationships or for your problem-solving abilities.
Motivation
Will you help make sure we keep our language clear? There is no such thing as positive stress; people mean "motivation.
Speaking of "positive stress" gags people suffering from stress symptoms, they should see their stress as a bonus. That undermines their motivation to do something about it.
Want to get rid of your stress symptoms? Use the tools of Live The Connection, the preeminent way to de-stress and create a positive mindset.
Marina Riemslagh, PhD.
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