What are positive stress factors?
The term positive stress factor sounds paradoxical for many people at first. But as we have already seen in the context of negative stress factors, it is also true here that stress factors are initially simply neutral internal and external stimuli that have an effect on a person. Whether this stimulus is ultimately evaluated as negative or positive depends less on the stimulus itself, but rather on how one deals with it.
Thus stress factors, like a full appointment calendar, can be evaluated by a person as clearly negative, whereas other people evaluate it as neutral or even positive. Dealing with such stimuli depends above all on experience with them and one’s own stress management mechanisms. This mechanism is also very often found in methods for stress reduction. The aim of these is often to train people to deal with stress factors in such a way that they can evaluate formerly negative stress factors as positive and thus reduce the stress level sustainably.
What are stress hormones?
The term “stress hormones” covers all hormones that are released in increased amounts in the body as part of an acute and chronic stress reaction. The most important hormones involved in the stress reaction include the group of catecholamines and glucocorticoids. The catecholamines are largely responsible for the reaction of our body within seconds and include above all the hormones adrenaline and noradrenaline.
They cause an increase in heart rate and blood pressure. They also cause a release of the energy reserves of our body so that it can deal with the acute stress situation. With a little delay, the concentration of glucocorticoids, above all the probably best known stress hormone, cortisol, increases. Cortisol has numerous functions such as inhibiting the immune system, increasing the heart rate, mobilizing energy reserves, but also increasing alertness.
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