Who Says Stress Is Bad For You?

Below is stress that we all don't need and China is again the culprit.
Chinese Drywall Lawsuit Information
Homes and office buildings built between 2004 and 2006 are reporting unpleasant odors and electrical problems from defective drywall made in China. The defective drywall could also pose heath risks.

The defective drywall was imported from China during the construction boom from 2004 - 2006. Due to a drywall shortage during this boom, builders imported drywall from China. Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin Co. Ltd. of China, a subsidiary of German-based manufacturer Knauf, manufactured the drywall.

Signs that you may have defective Chinese drywall included:

Unpleasant odor emitting from walls resembling rotten eggs
Wiring that has corroded and/or turned black
Piping that has turned black or needs replacing
Silver jewelry that has turned black
Air-conditioning system components that needs replacing
Electrical problems
Respiratory discomfort and other problems
Eye irritations, nose bleeds and headaches

Stress, of course, is a fact of life. The nice thing this article points out is that how we internalize is the key to whether it affects us positively or negatively. What feels like a little stress compared to what feels like a lot of stress isn't determined by the stressful event itself but rather by the degree of confidence we have that we can handle it. If we feel we can overcome the stresses that face us, they feel like challenges. If we don't, they feel like obstacles. This article raises the interesting notion that these feelings, which are products of the "mind," may have correlates in the brain.

A little bit of stress in the form of anxiety can be good in that it motivates us to solve problems. A lot of anxiety, however, is paralyzing. What determines our threshhold of tolerance for anxiety, and therefore whether it functions positively or negatively in our lives, is determined, again, by how much confidence we have to solve the particular problem that's causing it Because, as I remarked at the beginning of my comment, stress is a fact of life, there's good reason for us all to become experts at handling it--that is, to develop our confidence as problem-solvers. Which is why having problems is actually a good thing: if we never had our limits challenged, we'd never be able to grow stronger to then be able to handle the next, greater challenge. I recently posted an entry called "Changing Poison Into Medicine" that discusses this same topic on my blog, http://happinessinthisworld.com.

i agree with mbond001...
Pia made me laugh when he called Teh C as a doctor. when, in fact, Teh C appears to me as a high school student for the attitude he shows... But, i can't blame him because that's his point of view... i just don't like the way he used an informal word in commenting here. please act professionallly. LOL.

cnu b ung Teh C, ang epal!!!! haha. joke

There is no such thing as a stress free life, just as there is no such thing as an ocean without waves. Its when the waves become 50 ft high that the boat capsizes. Stress is OK within certain tolerance levels. Its when it becomes an overpowering, destructive force that it becomes a problem.

I am recovering from a nervous breakdown, so I have come to appriciate some things about the subject.

Stressed

The real issue is stress damage. In terms of adrenal gland function, there is probably no 'good' stress. Whether finance worries, deadlines, roller coasters or horror movies, adrenal stress hormones raise blood pressure, dampen immune function, shift blood flow away from organs to fuel skeletal muscles for fight/flight and decrease intelligence by shunting blood away from frontal (thinking) cortex.

When operating in emergency response mode, adrenals decrease co-production of regulatory hormones that internal organs depend upon for healthy functioning. Body systems become compromised. Adrenal fatigue from hundreds of daily stress events is THE primary cause of 50% of absenteeism and 75% of doctor visits. Essential hypertension, diabetes, obesity, insomnia, depression, anxiety, immune weakness and cancers are just some of the results of stress damage from adrenal gland fatigue.

Nothing healthy about this epidemic.

Selye???s General Adaptation Syndrome does not indicate stress is helpful. The body is mobilizing for its very survival. Of course, this is a good thing. But the three stages of alarm, resistance and exhaustion show progressively unsuccessful adaptation. Normal stress indicators test negative in the resistance stage, where most Americans now live, as if stress was not continuing its destruction. Selye saw unresolved stress accelerate the drain of 'adaptation energy' health reservoir. Rapid aging, immune weakness, organ deterioration, disease and death result.

Cranking out work in time doesn???t mean stress is good. Most important is how to restore healthy adrenal gland function & stop countless stress reactions ASAP to prevent the stress damage chain.

Does stress need to 'cause' cancer? The adrenal stress hormone norepinephrine can stimulate tumors in two ways. It breaks down tissue around cancer cells so they can travel through the bloodstream more easily and form new tumors. It grows new blood vessels that feed cancer cells to grow more rapidly.(Cancer Research, November 1, 2006; 66(21): 10357-10364)

Research has uncovered a cellular mechanism by which the mere mental perception of being stressed accelerates aging and depletes telomeres, the DNA that replicates immune cells (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Nov.30, 2004). Without the ability to bring new immune cells on line, the body has little defense against colds, flu, infections, opportunistic microorganisms and cancers.

After 30 years of clinical specialization treating stress, I developed a training of lifelong skills needed to eliminate stress damage, not 'manage' stress. Key is to understand & correct the full range of how stress operates beyond fight/flight emergency response. I found that, positively used, stress is our exquisite human adaptation vehicle needed to successfully navigate change. Stress signals that something is wrong and needs correction.

Robert Simon Siegel
Global Optimal Health Group
Author, Six Seconds to True Cal

Stressed

The real issue is stress damage. In terms of adrenal gland function, there is probably no ???good stress???. Whether finance worries, deadlines, roller coasters or horror movies, adrenal stress hormones raise blood pressure, dampen immune function, shift blood flow away from organs to fuel skeletal muscles for fight/flight and decrease intelligence by shunting blood away from frontal (thinking) cortex.

When operating in emergency response mode, adrenals decrease co-production of regulatory hormones that internal organs depend upon for healthy functioning. Body systems become compromised. Adrenal fatigue from hundreds of daily stress events is THE primary cause of 50% of absenteeism and 75% of doctor visits. Essential hypertension, diabetes, obesity, insomnia, depression, anxiety, immune weakness and cancers are just some of the results of stress damage from adrenal gland fatigue.

Nothing healthy about this epidemic.

Selye???s General Adaptation Syndrome does not indicate stress is helpful. The body is mobilizing for its very survival. Of course, this is a good thing. But the three stages of alarm, resistance and exhaustion show progressively unsuccessful adaptation. Normal stress indicators test negative in the resistance stage, where most Americans now live, as if stress was not continuing its destruction. Selye saw unresolved stress accelerate the drain of ???adaptation energy??? - one???s health reservoir. Rapid aging, immune weakness, organ deterioration, disease and death result.

Cranking out work in time doesn???t mean stress was ???good???. Most important is how to restore healthy adrenal gland function ASAP to prevent the stress damage chain.

Does stress need to ???cause??? cancer? The adrenal stress hormone norepinephrine can stimulate tumors in two ways. It breaks down tissue around cancer cells so they can travel through the bloodstream more easily and form new tumors. It grows new blood vessels that feed cancer cells to grow more rapidly.(Cancer Research, November 1, 2006; 66(21): 10357-10364)

Research has uncovered a cellular mechanism by which the mere mental perception of being stressed accelerates aging and depletes telomeres, the DNA that replicates immune cells (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Nov.30, 2004). Without the ability to bring new immune cells on line, the body has little defense against colds, flu, infections, opportunistic microorganisms and cancers.

After 30 years of clinical specialization treating stress, I developed a training of lifelong skills needed to eliminate stress damage, not ???manage??? stress. Key is to understand & correct the full range of how stress operates beyond fight/flight emergency response. I found that, positively used, ???stress??? is our exquisite human adaptation vehicle needed to successfully navigate change. ???Stress??? signals that something is wrong and needs correction.

Robert Simon Siegel
Global Optimal Health Group
Author, Six Seconds to T

I dont think stress is something whichlies in our hands.. It something which just happens and its on us, if we can say to ourself, that I dont care about it, it wont harm me.. and with that quiet confidence which we get , go out and conquer the world..
Most of the time, we cant and so we feel stresed at that time, all that maters to us, is getting the stress out of our body and we work ourselves out to achieve it and when we achieve it, we thank stress for it...
Maybe its human nature that we want structure in our lives and not chaos but due to the uncertainities of various interactions we do have chaos in our lives and we spend our time trying to get rid of this chaos or should I say 'stress' and try to return to that structure...
I guess and I am findng it difficult myself also.. is the point that we cannot admit to the fact that chaos and uncertainity are a part of life and we must put our best foot forward and accept that fact and face it..Its only when we accept all this, we find ourselves at some inner peace..(Something, like whats teh worse that could happen? or I just dont care about it.. I know I am correct and thats what counts !)
This point of admiting ourselves to this certainly depends on all the factors mentioned in the article.. your childhood, the womb experience, your genes... Ultimately its not really stress which is bad for you.. but its your own 'ego' or your own 'fear' which is what leads to stress.. and that is something which we must try to curtail !

don't get it. For me, a Monk is trying to shield himself from the stressors of every day life in 2009. How can you learn from stressful situations if you run away from these situations?

I was raised by poor and dysfunctiional parents (alcoholism, mental health problems) and yes it made me a "hardy" person. Maybe too much. I now have a PhD and I'm considered a leader in my field of study. I often feel that I should be more "stressed", like before before a speech in front of 100-200 people. I often go in feeling "unprepared" because I start feeling the stress 30 minutes before getting on stage. It's really weird and I sometimes think that I'm actually too good (for my own good) at "putting things into perspective".

I don't get it. For me, a Monk is trying to shield himself from the stressors of every day life in 2009. How can you learn from stressful situations if you run away from these situations?

I was raised by poor and dysfunctiional parents (alcoholism, mental health problems) and yes it made me a "hardy" person. Maybe too much. I now have a PhD and I'm considered a leader in my field of study. I often feel that I should be more "stressed", like before before a speech in front of 100-200 people. I often go in feeling "unprepared" because I start feeling the stress 30 minutes before getting on stage. It's really weird and I sometimes think that I'm actually too good (for my own good) at "putting things into perspective".

I don't get it. For me, a Monk is trying to shield himself from the stressors of every day life in 2009. How can you learn from stressful situations if you run away from these situations?

I was raised by poor and dysfunctiional parents (alcoholism, mental health problems) and yes it made me a "hardy" person. Maybe too much. I now have a PhD and I'm considered a leader in my field of study. I often feel that I should be more "stressed", like before before a speech in front of 100-200 people. I often go in feeling "unprepared" because I start feeling the stress 30 minutes before getting on stage. It's really weird and I sometimes think that I'm actually too good (for my own good) at "putting things into perspective".

In regard to myself, I am a nurse of 31 years. I am in charge of a floor with 34 beds, medical, surgical and orthopedics. After all this time in nursing nothing much surprises me any more. As the same time I have come to value quiet time. My job requires me to problem solve on a minute to minute basis. And since you are dealing with a persons life and well being, you have to utilize good judgment. There are days where people are coming at me all shift, no downtime. I can't wait to get away at the end of the night. Quiet , as much as possible is what I love

i wonder what the gladiators felt in the arena or the christians who were fed to the lions -
it must have been stress too
but it did them no good
i think stress under controlled circumstances is different

WHEN WE TALK OF UNCONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT STRESS CAN BA EQUIVOCALLY A HAZARD -JUST LIKE UT HAS BEEN KNOWN TO PRECIPITATE MYOCARDIAL INFARCTIONS AND CEREBROVASCULAR ACCIDENTS IN PEOPLE PRONE TO EXTREME STRESS LEADING TO FATALITY -now that i think is hardly the upside of stress as such but rather a negative factor which is also called a SHOCK IN MEDICAL TERMS
shock is the extreme of stress and leads mostly to afterlife

I think you mean "gauntlet" as in challenge and not "gantlet" as in a merging train track - but maybe you're going for another metaphor I'm not familiar with. Also - speaking of metaphor - I think you're equating all stressors as equal in some way. Again a better choice of word might help - say "challenge." Some stress is a low-grading chronic nagging worry - some an extreme challenge - still another a terrifying and life-threatening catastrophe. Folk who thrive on a challenge and/or who bravely suffer a catastrophe are to be admired - but I doubt that you can equate - I saw the wave coming at me and turned to run which saved my life - with stress "saving one's life."

As far as I know - a gantlet is a merging railroad track - I think you mean gauntlet - as in a challenge. Or maybe I'm wrong - and you are making some type of metaphor I'm not familiar with.
Second thought - it seems you are trying to make all stress and stressors the same. Some stressors are seen as "challenges" - some as low-grade nagging - some as terror and trauma inducing. Of course there are people who thrive on challenge - and there are people who see all these scenarios as a challenge, but I doubt that - short of saying - I saw the wave coming at me and so I ran away and I am alive today because of it - could you say that "stress saved my life."

Some stress helps a person to do a thorough job he is at....makes one more focussed and devoted to the task.