Can stress help us?

Some study showed that pressure has a positive effect on us. Maybe this statement is different
from many people’s opinions that the stress must be harmful. In contemporary society, pressure is a
fact of people, and they have mixed opinions about stress. As far as I concerned, pressure do exist
some disadvantages, but it also has advantages. This essay will explore both pros and cons.

Firstly, appropriate pressure can stimulate our motivation and potential, improving our work or
study efficiency. Thinking about that when your assignment is about to reach the deadline, you often
complete it although having no time to check. This situation is one of the expressions that stress
foster your incentive and potential. As a famous composer and musician, Beethoven gradually lost
hearing and became deaf at the age of 56. However, he regarded this stress as motivation and create
more great and influential music. Therefore, motivation or potential is more likely to be fostered
because people will work harder under pressure.

Stress also has the advantage of improving memory and learning. Study showed that low or
medium level of pressure often can foster your memory about work. According to Cornell University
neuroscientist Connor Liston, short bursts of the stress hormone cortisol can increase the brain's
openness to learning. That is to say, the ability to learn and memorize can be promoted under
pressure. Consequently, brain openness increasing due to contribute to refine our memory and
study.

However, too much stress will bring anxiety and tension which may cause some mental problems
and make you can’t concentrate on almost anything. As the statistics of Mental Health
Foundation,51% of adults who felt stressed reported feeling depressed, and 61% reported feeling
anxious. According to CIB, the majority of Australians feel that stress impacts their physical health
(72%) and mental health (64%) but very few reported seeking professional help. As a result, stress
does harm to our mental health if we shoulder too much stress.

What’s more, stress has negative effect on our physical health. Too much pressure can cause
different illness, such as headache, muscle tension or pain and fatigue. American Psychological
Association showed that bodies are well equipped to handle stress in small doses, but when that
stress becomes long-term or chronic, it can have serious effects on your body. Therefore, too heavy
burden will damage our physical health and cause numerous illnesses.

To conclude, stress is a double-edged sword. Appropriate pressure can do us a favour, while distress
may have a bad influence on us in terms of physical and mental health. What should we do is to
manage the stress instead of just feeling struggled.