Can stress make us stronger?

The science of emotion suggests that bodily symptoms such as acceleration of the heart, dryness of the skin, stomach upset or sweating, have as a background different emotions such as anger or anxiety.

Stress is a common emotion that many of us suffer during difficult times or under stress. While there is a tendency to say that stress is bad for health, new research by Ian Robertson, clinical psychologist and cognitive neuroscientist, suggests that stress can become a source of positive energy that helps our performance.

How? Because a key component of stress is the neurotransmitter noradrenaline which, as a stress hormone, affects parts of the brain where attention and response actions are controlled. At the right levels, noradrenaline has great properties in the brain, for example acting as a kind of fertilizer, creating new connections between neurons and between brain cells.

The benefits of stress and norepinephrine

Stressful life events can cause a decrease in memory in older people. For example, 70-year-olds with little memory can usually expect their memory to decline over the next two years, but if they face moderately stressful events, such as a family conflict or a partner's illness, they may experience a decrease in that decline. .

This is because moderate stressors can create a challenge enough for an older person to increase norepinephrine levels to a level that stimulates brain performance in both the short and long term.

In the case of young adults who have experienced little or no stress during childhood, they tend to be emotionally more vulnerable and less able to cope with pain. When they face adversity as young adults, they do not know how to handle those unknown feelings and do not know how to use them productively.

The pressure in the brain

In his stress test, Ian Robertson argues that the right level of challenge and stress can help us achieve the unthinkable.

The psychologist says that we can shape the response of our brain to pressure, making it a practical benefit for our way of life.

While it is difficult to leave the conception of stress as a bad thing, it is true that it is something that can hardly be controlled, so it is good to turn that brain response into a positive one that helps us to be stronger and to encourage us more.