Is Stress a bad thing?

Short answer, no.

Long answer, sometimes.

Yup, it’s another one of those annoying “it depends.”

I spend a lot of my professional time lecturing on stress, stress management and mindfulness.  Each time I speak I ask the group, “Do you think stress is a bad thing?” and I always receive a resounding yes.

And they’re not wrong…. But they’re also not right.

Let’s first chat what stress is:

Stress is The body's reaction to any change that requires an adjustment or response. It’s how we react when we are under pressure or tension.

Stress is a natural thing that happens as we live our lives. Stress is the reaction to the thing (known as the stressor). There are physical stressors like exercise, illness, injury or a structural change. There are emotional stressors like grief, anger, and sadness. There is mental/psychological stressors and there is energetic stress. It’s pretty hard to go through a day in the life of a human without experiencing some sort of stressor. Stress is just our bodies natural reaction to a stressor.

On top of that, we NEED stress.

Yup, you hear that right— we need stress to learn, to grow, to evolve, to change.  We need stress to get bigger and stronger, to build muscle and to learn new skills. We need stress otherwise we would be the same person (and evolution wouldn’t be a thing). it's actually quite necessary for us as humans. Stress is how we turn into who we are today and don't stay the same as 21 year old Kerry(I don't know if that would be fun or exhausting).

Every time you lift a weight or try a new movement pattern you stress the muscles, joints, tendons and ligaments. In the muscles, this looks like micro tears that build back stronger and stronger each time. Every time you study and memorize new things, you place stress on your brain— creating new neural pathways and neural connections. Stress is necessary.

Therefore, stress is NOT inherently bad.

Stress CAN be good. It can push us, mold us and change us.  It can create new muscle growth, improve neural connections, teach us new things and take us to the next level. Personally, I believe that has been the most stressful, unfortunate experiences that have brought me to who I am today as a person and as a healthcare practitioner.  While at times, it was downright ROUGH, I am so grateful for where I sit today.

So stress can be good BUT just like anything else, too much of a good thing— ain’t so good anymore (that’s the saying right?). And that is where the problem lies. OUr modern society glorifies stress, being busy and productivity. We are in GO mode 24/7, always on, always ready. Endless stress is the “bad” thing. Chronic stress is the “bad” thing.

And really, more importantly chronic stress is where we start to see long term negative effects on our brain, muscles, immune system and gut health. Chronic Stress is usually where you start to get symptoms like brain fog, headache, chronic pain, lack of concentration, bloated, muscle tension and fatigue. Chronic stress is where a LOT of us are right now.

Too much stress, chronic stress and stress that does not complete the stress cycle CAN be bad(more on this in another post).  And this is what most people are thinking of when I ask them “IS stress a bad thing?”

This is where stress management techniques, self care and lifestyle changes can play a big role in how we feel.

Number 1 thing I want you to take away from this: Stress is not inherently bad.

Number 2: Get your stress management on point!

IF you want to learn more about stress management, I am hosting a FREE lecture series: Stress Management For Busy Folks on January 24th and January 31st. It's TWO 45 minute lectures from 12:15-1pm and yes, there is a replay available. Ill share a bit more behind the WHY of these techniques and the HOW of finding what works for you!