[nmrt]

New way of viewing stress.
What's your opinion? :)

http://www.ted.com/talks/kelly_mcgonigal_how_to_make_stress_your_friend.html

[Procyona]

Thank you for a good topic nmrt! I believe in mind's power: if you see something as wrong, it becomes wrong, and if you see something is good, it does not bother you.

With stress it is noce to know that this can actually be tested and measured scientifically The interesting thing with the results is the work of the heart rate and blood vessels work if you believe stress is bad or if you didn't. For me is shows that the body knows how to keep itself in good condition, if we do not take life too serioiusly.   

[Procyona]

And now that I think of it.. this would mean that stress and enthusiasm are the same thing! Even though we'd try to draw a line between them   

[Haveunique]

I'd say they show physically very close, as a form of system working with extra effort What is enthusiasm in your definition, Milla? How is it related to stress? Thank you.   

[Procyona]

Thank you for asking Tetyana. Enthusiasim is when I only see the thing I am into, and the surroundings disappear. The same thing happens with stress. When I am stressed I can only see the thing that causes it. When in either situation, I usually cannot easily stop thinking about the matter, even when I am doing other things. In both my heart may pound fast, I might forget to eat, I might get tense and because I am not aware of what I do, my other habits are active, too.

In short, both stop me to act on other tasks. But with enthusiasim, you usually want to act on that task, so it's considered positive. And if you turn it another way around, if you have any ill feelings of the task, you turn to those ill feelings, and so you turn enthusiasm into stress.

Also, because stress is seen as the 'bad' side of it, it also causes tension a bit differently compared to enthusiasm. But thinking of it, stating enthusiasim the 'good' side also causes something else to be the counterpart, which causes imbalance too.

But this is only my opinion, and I want to hear other answers as well. So, dear forum mates, what do you think?   

[nmrt]

Procyona, I totally like your comparison of enthusiasm and stress! :)
Now, when I think of it, it appears to me that most (if not all) of my greatest achievements have been made with combination of those feelings.
I wonder if that's true for others as well?..

[Procyona]

[Haveunique]

Interesting point indeed, nmrt. Actually I cannot recall even one situation where I would feel both feelings at the same time. I remember being either stressed or enthusiastic but hey, what is there in between? If the inner state changes from stress to enthusiasm? I suppose there is some kind of balance... but do we need it?

I hope my answer warms up the conversation even more As it is a tradition on our forum to offer our own answers to our own questions at first. So I think yes a balance between stress and enthusiasm is necessary because it saves a lot of energy.   

[Procyona]

Good guestion Tetyana Because both inthusiams and stress consume a lot of energy (with a quicker heart beat and such), a balanced state for mind and body is needed. I'd say balance between stress and enthusiasim is called indifference or serenity.   

[Haveunique]

[Procyona]

[Haveunique]

[Procyona]

[Haveunique]

Since we already came to this point, about indifference and running away, how is lying related to stress? To me, dishonesty means unbalanced feeling inside because lying means something is uncomfortable and the person is trying to hide it and pretend it is not there. Facing things requires courage, which can also be sometimes stressful...   

[Procyona]

They are related alright. To me, lying means I do not like something about reality, and try to hide the fact by pretending it does not exist. Because there is imbalance between what I say and reality, it does not feel good, and brings forth stress. With lying you need to also remember what tales you have told. This increases the stress load even more.