Stress usually gets bad press. Normally, we think stress is bad for us and we should avoid it if at all possible. Sometimes that is true. What most folks don’t know is there is good stress and bad stress. When it comes to good stress, I think there is actually something spiritual we can learn from it. So first, let’s see what is at stake with both kinds of stress. This means taking a look at the nature of stress on the body.
Stress is triggered in the older part of our brains. We know from neuroscience that the primary function of our brain is to keep us alive by managing our body budget. Realistically, our bodies are always dealing with change. So managing means managing change. We see internal changes in our body and changes in our environment. For example, if we are on a walk and suddenly see an animal---a dog more than likely. Automatically, we can feel changes in our body. It feels instantaneous. We probably feel our pulse quicken, our muscles tense and so forth. We did not even have to think about it.
What was happening was a result of our sympathetic nervous system. This is usually triggered by the amygdala---that part of our brain that is older in terms of evolution. When this gets triggered, our neurotransmitters fire and various chemicals, like adrenaline and cortisol, are released. These explain what is happening to us in the case of the dog we just saw. Pretty soon, we may realize the dog is chained. Or we determine the dog is quite friendly and wouldn’t hurt us at all. We begin to feel our bodies adjust to this context, now better understood. What is happening now is our pre-frontal cortex is processing information and we are thinking. We are now aware we are thinking about the situation and what our response is going to be.
The other thing we know about stress is that some folks respond well to situations of stress and others do not fare well. Experts tell us that some people have “mastered the art of seeing stress as a normal, acceptable and even positive part of life.” Let’s explore how that might be possible. Psychologist Kelly McGonigle studies how people view stress and concluded, “that it wasn't stress that was killing people…It was the combination of stress and the belief that stress is harmful.” Psychologists Mark Seery supports this view when he says, “Just because you’re experiencing stressful situations doesn’t mean that it’s damaging.” He elaborates with this important note. “Evidence suggests the way in which people experience stress seems to have an impact on whether stress is really damaging or not.”
The experts sum it up in this simple line: “how you think about stress matters.” We know again from neuroscience that when folks see stress in more positive ways, our brains respond differently. We know, for example, the body produces less cortisol, which can be harmful over a period of time. Other more positive hormones are released. It seems that our bodies produce oxytocin for these kinds of people. I love it when researchers call this one the “cuddle” hormone, which probably says all that needs to be said!
We know things folks can do to change how they look at stress. We are not predetermined. Obviously, we don’t have full control of either our own bodies nor the environment in which we live. But we can decide how we want to live and how we want to interpret and respond to what is happening. And this is where I can turn to the spiritual.
When I say this, I am not thinking about something as facile as saying “turn it all over to Jesus.” While that might actually be a good idea, we still have to live our lives. My guess is Jesus had figured out how to deal with bad stress. Of course, it did not prevent the Romans from killing him, but I would argue he was responding to things the way he felt like he had to respond. It is clear that Jesus did not worry himself to death!
And neither do we have to worry ourselves to death. We can develop an outlook on life that enables us to realize we can manage ourselves and our environments. Of course, ultimately that is not going to spare us from death any more than Jesus was spared from death. But we can choose how to live well our lives. We can ground ourselves in the knowledge we are a child of God. And we can be confident God is with us and will be with us. God does not intend harm to anyone.
We know we can develop some resiliency in the face of tough and stressful times. God does not guarantee none of these will happen to us. We do have control how we want to ground ourselves---what kinds of principles and commitments we want to have in our lives. We know there are practices and spiritual disciplines that help us “get into shape” that minimize the cost of tough times. There are things like meditation, prayer---maybe yoga, walking, etc.
We know that having friends is a great antidote to many problems. This is for me a wonderful argument for community. God never intended for us to go it alone---even though we are separate individuals, and we have to live our own lives. But we can do it together.
I am heartened. Not all stress is bad, and we can learn to deal with it positively and well. That is called good stress. Bring it on!
Sandee LaMotte, “Stress can be good” CNN
Those of us who have read theology or, perhaps, those who are people of faith and are old enough might well recognize this title as a reminder of the late Jewish philosopher and theologian, Martin Buber. I remember reading Buber’s book, I and Thou , when I was in college in the 1960s. It was already a famous book by then. I am not sure I fully understood it, but that would not be the last time I read it. It has been a while since I looked at the book. Buber came up in a conversation with a friend who asked if I had seen the recent article by David Brooks? I had not seen it, but when I was told about it, I knew I would quickly locate and read that piece. I very much like what Brooks decides to write about and what he contributes to societal conversation. I wish more people read him and took him seriously. Brooks’ article focused on the 2016 contentious election. He provocatively suggests, “Read Buber, Not the Polls!” I think Brooks puts
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