Stress Myths: Some stress is good for us

*MYTH #3: Some stress is good or healthy for us.*

FACT: There is no such thing as "good" or "healthy" stress. Also, there is no truth to the rumor that a little stress is necessary for us to be happy, successful, or maximally productive in our jobs.

This kind of myth is rather fatalistic in its outlook. Just because you have stress, and a lot of people have stress, we try to rationalise it and try to justify. After all, if we want to lead a successful, healthy life, we should not have stress. Some look at stress in their lives as an indication of failure. This is not so.

Having said that, stress is never good for you. While many experiences in life can excite us, such as movies, plays, and athletic events, these experiences have nothing at all to do with stress (i.e. problems and conflicts that are painful or troubling to us). Confusion about this, however, causes many people to incorrectly assume that a certain amount of fear, anger, frustration, or other negative emotions is actually "good" or "healthy" for them.

We should be teaching our children that much of the pain and suffering people endure in the name of "good stress" is unnecessary. The truth is most of this stress could be eliminated without any adverse effects on our health, happiness, or productivity.