From The Counselling Suite

Stress Doesn’t Have To Be Bad!

Listening to people, both kids and adults, it seems as if everyone is stressed. Stress has a reputation for being bad, but is this true? No, not really; stress can be both good and bad, depending on the circumstances. Good stress is very useful. Good stress stirs us into action when the need arises. Stress occurs in that primitive part of our brain, the flight-or-fight response, so that when we need to act we do. Our ancestors when faced with a threat, such as being attacked by a wild animal, rather than sitting around debating the pros and cons of acting, unthinkingly would have sprung into action, either fighting or fleeing.   

Good stress provides the motivation to complete tasks, to help to achieve goals, to win the race, to give the speech, to master the problem or to meet the deadline. Good stress is usually short lived and provides just enough stimulation to the flight-or-fight response to enable us to get the job done. However, bad stress is that feeling of being overwhelmed, of being exhausted and incapable of getting done what needs to be done. Bad stress is that feeling of never being able to get on top of things – it is ongoing, chronic, debilitating. Bad stress is when the flight-or-fight response is stuck so that you constantly feel threatened with no sense of relief. Bad stress inhibits you from getting on with your life, can be the cause of physical health problems and needs to be managed. Bad stress causes you to make bad decisions which often go on to compound the problem – things just spiral from bad to worse. 

Generally bad stress can be managed. One key tool in managing bad stress is learning to recognise the difference between what can be changed and what cannot, for example stressing over past events is unhelpful and a waste of energy! Practise accepting what cannot be changed and work on learning to ‘let it go’. This is not always that easy, but practice makes perfect. We can’t control much of what effects our day to day lives, like the traffic, the weather, and we certainly can’t change our past actions. Yet so many of us do stress over what has happened in the past. Learning to accept what cannot be changed will give you peace of mind, enable you to think clearly and allow you to deal with those issues which you can control. In a nutshell, you will be much happier and achieve more of what you need to achieve.

Stressing over what you can control is also a waste of energy. Rather than thinking of what needs to be done, feeling overwhelmed and exhausted, get on and do what needs to be done! Students who have numerous assignments to complete and tests to prepare for find themselves stressed because they have not organised themselves properly – doing the work when it needs to be done. Avoiding the morning traffic rush is easily achieved by just getting up that little earlier rather than spending the extra time in bed.  

Rather than complaining about being stress, let stress work for you. Use stress to motivate you and to push you get things done and to overcome obstacles. Ultimately, you will be much happier, more successful and have better mental health.  

Please contact the Counselling Team for assistance counselling@bps.sa.edu.au

Ms Cathie Oswald

School Counsellor (Monday, Thursday and Friday)

Mrs Karen Davies

School Psychologist (Tuesday and Thursday)