To most people ‘stress’ brings to conjures up unpleasant feelings. However, many of those in the field of psychology are of the opinion that stress is something that can have positive effects.
Why the disconnect?
Essentially the answers lie in how each individual person evaluates their own mental and physical well being.
Perhaps some examples could help to make bring this point home.
For instance, assume two people, one a championship caliber athlete or performer, the other a college senior about to take a final test. The athlete or performer has been training most of their life for tasks that they perform; and lets say in our case, the student has hardly cracked a book or studied at all for the impending test.
From a strictly a physiological point of view both individuals will be experiencing similar effects – raised heartbeat and breathing, higher metabolism, active sweat glands and so forth.
Psychologically, there are also similarities – increased concentration on the task at hand and focus on the next few minutes, clear images and heightened sensitivity to feelings.
However, there are key differences,...