Do our bodies understand the difference between good and bad stress?

Answer 1

Your body knows the difference between good and bad stress. You produce hormones such as epinephrine, norepinephrine and adrenaline when you experience stress. These hormones give you energy and allow you to react to a stressful situation right away. Many times we call this the fight or flight stress response.

Good stress is called eustress. Good stress occurs when we have a task to do and we feel in control and have a positive attitude toward our stress experience. You may experience this stress when your child is graduating from school, you have a big project at work or you are planning your wedding. This good stress energizes you, helps you focus and gives you a sense of accomplishment.Bad stress is when events make you feel out of control and sometimes overwhelmed. There are two categories of negative or bad stress, which are acute stress and chronic stress.

Acute stress is our normal stress response that lasts a short amount of time in a stressful situation. You experience stress as you take a test, have an accident or maybe the death of your pet. Your body produces the stress response with the associated hormones and then returns to normal after you have experienced the event.

Chronic stress is when you experience a stressful situation where the stress continues over a longer term. Chronic stress can be a real problem and may impact your mental and physical health. Chronic stress can create inflammation in the body which can lead to chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, stroke, cancer, obesity to name a few.

Your perception and attitude toward the stress you are experiencing will determine whether your stress is eustress or bad stress. Each of us is different and therefore we experience stress differently. You may love to travel and therefore when you are at the airport you are thrilled and experience eustress. Another person may be terrified of flying and they have a major negative stress response. This person is almost paralyzed thinking of traveling and their heart begins to pound, their blood pressure rises and they can't think clearly.

Answer 2

No our bodies do not understand that. It totally differs from one body to another body. Some understand some do not understand.