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Why stress can be good for you

Frenetic festivities are a fact of life at this time of year. By changing how you respond to it, you can convert frantic anxiety (bad) into positive energy and excitement (good).

By Dr. Patricia Mark

2. Bad stress vs. good stress
Why do you feel so different when you are excited and happy versus being excited and frightened and unhappy? It has to do with the chemicals your body produces. Bad stress stimulates an overload of adrenaline, which makes you anxious and fearful, keying you up for the fight or flight reaction essential to survival in times of danger. When you experience good stress, you produce a chemical cocktail of endorphins, serotonin and dopamine, which do great things for the way you feel.

Athletes who have achieved their goals describe this as "runner's high" -- and they love it! It is this sense of excitement and achievement that drives us to push ourselves to do a job well, to work hard so that we get good marks at school, to grow a beautiful garden or to master a musical instrument. None of it is easy, but we accept the stress of these endeavours because of the great way we feel, not just when we achieve our goals but also in planning and working at them. After all, we know there is no gain without pain -- and this mantra is at the heart of accepting and embracing good stress.

3. Change your perception
Can you deliberately influence the way you interpret bad stressors? Yes. Almost all reactions to daily events are mediated through the cerebral cortex, the thinking part of the brain. You can change your perception and interpretation of irritating events so you influence the output of brain chemicals, thus moving your emotional response from fear and anger to cheerful acceptance, or even amusement. In addition, you may gain a sense of something learned to be put to future good use.

(The exception is a true fight-or-flight response in the face of life-threatening danger that effectively hijacks the brain so your response becomes purely instinctual. There is no thought involved, thank goodness.)

See our chart: Stress: Don't escape it; embrace it!

Harking back to the stress-laden onslaught of Christmas festivities, how, faced with that annual frenetic madness, can you transform your attitude so that stress becomes a stimulus and an inspiration? You have choices.

Jenny always dreaded Christmas because she felt that if everything wasn't perfect, the festive season would be a failure. Last year, disaster struck. The freezer broke down while she and her husband were away, and all her carefully prepared food was ruined. In despair, she started phoning to cancel their neighbourhood party.

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