Stress is often believed to be a force that disturbs well-being and results in physiological and psychological diseases, particularly when its presence becomes chronic and inescapable. While this assertion holds validity, an intriguing paradox emerges: certain types of stress act as catalysts for growth and resilience.
According to Dr. Sharon Bergquist, physician and author of The Stress Paradox: Why You Need Stress to Live Longer, Healthier, and Happier, an optimal degree of stress may, in fact, be indispensable for human flourishing.
“Yes, excessive stress is undeniably deleterious, but a deficiency of it can be equally detrimental,” Dr. Bergquist explained in a conversation with Dr. Sanjay Gupta on the Chasing Life podcast, according to CNN.
As an assistant professor at Emory University School of Medicine and the founder and director of Emory Lifestyle Medicine & Wellness, Bergquist has a profound understanding of stress. Her personal history is punctuated by adversity—she endured the upheaval of the Iranian Revolution, ultimately fleeing with her family under perilous conditions.
“We were aboard the final departing aircraft before (Iranian leader Ruhollah) Khomeini’s return,” she recounted. “The airport was a tumultuous sea of people. Every moment of navigating security, the sheer density of the crowd, and the process of boarding remains vividly etched in my memory.”
Relocating first to England and later to the United States, she encountered fresh adversities. “In eighth grade, composing even a single paragraph in English was an arduous task that consumed my entire night,” she recalled. Nonetheless, through perseverance, she ascended to academic distinction—graduating as her high school’s valedictorian, earning a degree from Yale University, and later attending Harvard Medical School.
These formative trials ignited her scholarly intrigue: Why do some individuals transmute adversity into personal growth while others succumb to its weight? Her subsequent research unearthed a compelling truth—stress is not inherently pernicious; its impact hinges on its nature and magnitude.
“I frequently engage with highly ambitious professionals who, despite leading ostensibly ‘stressful’ lives, derive profound fulfillment from their vocations,” she observed, aligning herself with this demographic, as per CNN.
“I term this ‘beneficial stress,’ distinct from the pathological stress that has become nearly synonymous with the term,” she elaborated. “This category of stress induces a biochemical milieu that is salubrious, triggering the release of dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin.”
Dopamine emerges as a reward for engaging in meaningful endeavors, serotonin is derived from the satisfaction of achievement, and oxytocin flourishes from contributing to a broader purpose.
Conversely, “harmful” stress is characterized by its unpredictability, inevitability, and chronic persistence, instigating a biochemical cascade dominated by cortisol, which, over time, precipitates deleterious consequences such as hypertension and systemic inflammation.
The trifecta of neurochemicals unleashed through constructive stress acts as a countermeasure to cortisol, fortifying the body’s resilience. “Resilience is akin to musculature—it is dynamic and necessitates challenge for fortification,” Bergquist elucidated.
“Our stress responses exist to serve us—to facilitate adaptation and survival,” she posited. Throughout human evolution, these mechanisms have been instrumental in navigating existential threats. However, in the modern era, the stimuli that historically honed our resilience have largely dissipated.
“The conveniences of contemporary existence have extricated us from the environmental stressors that once tempered our physiological and psychological robustness,” she remarked. “Paradoxically, this insulation from discomfort has rendered us more fragile,” according to CNN.
Strategies for Harnessing Constructive Stress
To counteract this deficit and cultivate adaptive resilience, Bergquist advocates the following strategies:
1. Identify the Goldilocks Zone
“Push beyond your comfort zone without veering into overwhelming distress,” she advised. “Stress functions analogously to a pharmacological agent—its efficacy is dose-dependent.”
To foster growth, stress must reside in a hormetic range: neither excessive nor insufficient, but precisely calibrated.
2. Align with Self-Integrity
“Evaluate whether your challenges resonate with your core values or contradict them,” she urged.
Persevering in incongruent circumstances—where one feels disconnected from personal convictions—breeds a toxic form of stress.
“Constructive stress does not merely entail reframing adversity positively; it necessitates intentional engagement with meaningful, purpose-driven pursuits that counterbalance the inescapable stressors of life,” she explained. This might involve pursuing a vocation aligned with one’s principles or acquiring a skill that engenders fulfillment.
3. Strategize Recovery Deliberately
“Resilience-building demands intervals of recuperation,” Bergquist emphasized. “Under stress, the body enters a conservation state, directing energy toward internal maintenance. Recovery enables neural and physiological recalibration, priming the body for future demands.”
Without adequate recovery, even beneficial stress can accumulate to detrimental levels.
4. Leverage the Mind-Body Connection
“Subjecting the body to controlled physical stress can bolster psychological resilience, and vice versa,” she asserted. This principle, termed cross-adaptation, underscores the interconnectedness of mental and physiological fortitude, as per CNN.
“Practices such as high-intensity exercise, strategic fasting, and controlled exposure to thermal extremes stimulate cellular adaptation, reinforcing overall resilience,” she noted. “We possess a multitude of tools for mitigating stress and optimizing well-being.”
5. Recognize That Stress Is an Evolutionary Feature
Stress is not a design flaw—it is an evolutionary asset. “Human history is a chronicle of overcoming adversity and emerging stronger,” Bergquist contended.
“Through cyclical exposure to stress and subsequent recovery, we awaken latent capacities encoded in our DNA,” she explained. “Resilience is not an immutable trait—it is a trainable faculty, accessible to all, irrespective of circumstance.”
Fear and reluctance are natural—but should not preclude action. “Trust in your capacity to endure and evolve,” she concluded. “The transformation it yields may be profound.”