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Does Stress Lead to Personal Growth and Resilience?

What role can stress play in personal development and resilience?



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Top comments (10)

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acoronadoc profile image
Albert Coronado

Mmmm.... Stress(REAL Stress, not just a little rush....) is very bad for your mental and physic health in short and long term. It has to a false productivity feeling, what it means that you think that you are learning, growing or working hard but you are just loosing your mind.

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kurealnum profile image
Oscar

Stress helps you personally develop if that stress pushes you only a little bit outside of your comfort zone; your comfort box, if you will. It's good to be a few steps outside of that comfort box every now and then, as it helps you grow as a person and develop that personal resilience.

However, it certainly isn't healthy if your stress pushes you two bus rides and a plane flight outside of that comfort box. That "distance" is way too far and will likely lead to burnout, among other things.

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marissab profile image
Marissa B

You described that perfectly!

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mrgkanev profile image
Gabriel Kanev

No, it doesn't. - If you need it as a motivator you have more problems than you think. The real motivation will lead you to your personal growth. Stress will only make you be "just" enough for X. - finishing a task, job, etc.

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Sukhpinder Singh

Stress is like the personal trainer of the psychological world. It pushes you to your limits, makes you sweat the small stuff, and sometimes has you questioning your life choices at 3 AM.

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ddebajyati profile image
Debajyati Dey

Great take!

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Sukhpinder Singh

Thank you! I'm glad @ddebajyati

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Drew Knab

Generally speaking, long-term stress stunts your personal growth and makes you less resilient by effecting your mental and physical health in demonstrably negative ways. On the short list: depression, anxiety, high blood pressure, and a myriad of unhealthy coping mechanisms.

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Schalk Neethling

The types of stress that paralyze you and make you want to give up at the end of a day do not. But, the stress that makes you sit up and pay attention and drives you to push just a bit harder for just a bit longer does.

No matter the form of stress though, you have to have ways to manage it and find balance. Running on adrenalin is toxic over the long haul. Everything in life is about balance. Give and take, push and pull. Find your balance and work on something that has meaning to you and fills your cup.

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22catch22 profile image
22catch22

It can. It can also lead to high blood pressure, insomnia, and nervous breakdowns.