Stress Isn't the Enemy

May 03, 2025

Stress Isn't the Enemy

Hey everyone!

As the end of the school year is fast approaching my life has been a whirl wind of ups, downs, projects, and action. Considering this, I wanted to talk about stress and it’s affects on our lives, both good and bad.

Stress Hits Hard: My Wake-Up Call

I recently experienced firsthand how heightened stress can affect the way you think and feel. I had an important presentation for one of my classes, and naturally, I waited until the weekend before it was due to start working on it.

I remember feeling intense dread in the pit of my stomach. I knew that this project would be difficult and that it would require my full attention, but I refused to begin until that feeling of dread became so strong that it spilled into every aspect of my life.

I couldn’t think, I couldn’t even act, and all I could do was imagine how good it would feel to stand up and sprint headfirst into a wall. The project took me to my limit, and it took all I had not to give up halfway through and curl up on the floor accepting defeat.

In the end, I did finish the project, and the presentation went off without a hitch. But, how would I have fared without the intense and inescapable feeling that stress produces? Probably badly.

We often treat stress as some evil pariah and the enemy of the godlike “healthy work-life balance” we all strive so desperately to achieve. Funnily enough, right after my presentation and the anxiety leading up to it, I got sick. I only find this ironic after further researching some of the effects and benefits of stress, which I'll discuss next.

What Stress Really Is

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines stress as "a state of worry or mental tension caused by a difficult situation." While true, I think stress is much more than that.

According to neuroscientist Andrew Huberman, stress can be thought of as a disconnect between our internal emotional experience and our external physical reality. It acts like a control system, monitoring and influencing several of our body's most important functions.

Stress is your body's way of signaling when something is wrong. It activates receptors in important muscles and organs, forcing more blood into those areas. This produces agitation and discomfort, urging you to literally move—to go do something, fix whatever is currently causing your stress.

Why We’re Wired to Worry

Stress and anxiety are primal systems developed over millions of years, far longer even, than humans have existed. They serve an essential purpose: stress is biased toward action.

For instance, when you're being chased by a lion, stress is your body's immediate reaction. The activation of your fight-or-flight hormones caused by this glaringly obvious stressor makes your body react instantly. Blood rushes to your legs, and your heart rate accelerates.

There’s no time to sit and philosophically consider your response, or take the time to come up with a logical plan of action. Instead, your body does the thinking for you.

However, the issue with these systems is that they don’t account for the blurry and often unfocused stressors we encounter in the 21st century. Modern life opens our brains and bodies to a constant, unending state of stress. This constant state of stress and heightened focus places unnecessary demand on your body, and can lead to long term mental and physical health problems.

Acute Stress: A Secret Superpower

Interestingly, not all stress is harmful. Short-term, or acute, stress can be surprisingly beneficial.

While acute stress—short-lived and temporary—can actually boost alertness and performance, chronic stress persists over longer periods, negatively impacting health by increasing the risk of anxiety, depression, and chronic illness.

Acute stress functions like a brief surge of adrenaline, sharpening focus and preparing your body to tackle immediate challenges.

In contrast, chronic stress leaves your body in a constant state of heightened alertness, causing lasting harm over time.

Acute stress releases hormones and chemicals that are effective at combating infections and viral diseases, positively impacting your immune system.

Ironically, my illness after the presentation likely came from the sudden immune drop-off after this short burst of stress.

Chronic stress is linked to prolonged inflammation, raising risks for cardiovascular diseases, digestive issues, obesity, and even accelerated aging at a cellular level.

Emotionally, chronic stress can lead to persistent anxiety, emotional exhaustion, and diminished mental clarity, significantly impacting daily functioning and well-being.

Breathe to Reset

One way to reduce stress almost immediately is through breathing.

According to Andrew Huberman, making your exhales both longer and more vigorous than your inhales has the surprising affect of slowing down your heart rate and relaxing you.

The reverse is true as well.

Making your inhales longer and more vigorous than your exhales causes your heart rate to increase.

One fascinating technique to quickly reduce stress is the "physiological sigh." It's simple:

Inhale deeply through your nose until your lungs feel full.
Immediately take another short breath on top of that full breath.
Exhale slowly through your mouth.

This double inhale, followed by a slow exhale, rapidly calms your nervous system, lowering heart rate and stress levels in moments.

But wait, you might be saying, didn’t you just say that making your exhales longer than your inhales is what lowers your heart rate? Why instead are you suggesting a double inhale?

Well, the answer is complicated to say the least. It involves a complex web of systems and reactions that I have neither the knowledge nor the intelligence to explain.

If you want proof of it’s effectiveness think of the last time you cried. When you cry because you are genuinely sad or angry, you may notice that you begin to hyperventilate.

The “physiological sigh” is actually a tool that your body intuitively uses when you are very upset. That is why we naturally do a double inhale followed by a long exhale when we are crying.

Connection Is Medicine

Harvard Health highlights mindfulness meditation and regular physical exercise as powerful tools to combat chronic stress, both of which lower stress hormones and boost mood-improving chemicals in the brain.

In fact, exercising which places your body in a short-term state of stress can actually increase your resilience to stressful situations.

Prioritizing consistent, quality sleep is essential, as adequate rest reduces the stress hormone cortisol and helps reset your body's stress response, improving your mood.

Social interactions aren’t just enjoyable—they actively reduce stress by providing emotional support, practical assistance, and a sense of belonging, helping buffer against long-term stress.

Talking with friends or family, even briefly, significantly reduces your bodies stress hormones.

Simply knowing you're connected to others helps your brain and body manage stress far better, particularly during tough times.