How to Gage Your Level of Stress?

Stress is a part of life. Even if you are the calmest person in the world, you are going to get stressed from time to time. As humans, we have been trained to think that stress is a bad thing; something that should be avoided whenever possible. The truth is that while stress can take a toll on so many individuals, it isn't always that bad thing which we tend to think it is. In fact, sometimes, a little stress is actually a good thing.

The Purpose of Stress

In the wild, when an animal becomes stressed, the stress triggers the animals flight or fight instincts. The stress heightens the animal's senses and it is able to take the steps needed to save its life. A small amount of stress has the same effect on humans, a little bit of stress keeps us on our toes and keeps us sharp.

When you are stressed, you will probably notice that your heart rate is a little quicker and that you are breathing a little heavier than you were before. It is very important that once you have gotten through a stressful situation, you ought to take a few minutes to relax so that your body can get back to normal.

Studies indicate that some stress can actually trigger an improvement in your overall productivity. The problem is that although some stress is a good thing, and can make you more productive, too much stress has the opposite affect. The thing that you have to remember is that the amount of stress that can be handled is different for every person. Just because you are able to deal with a surly boss or fast approaching deadline, it doesn't mean that your co-workers are able to.

How to Know When Stress is Becoming to Much to Deal With?

Since everyone deals with stress in different ways, it can be difficult to know when the amount of stress that you are dealing with is becoming too much to handle. The best way to gage your stress is to imagine that it is a violin string. If you are too relaxed and not the slightest bit stressed, you are like a loose violin string; dull. If you are overstressed you will feel like a violin string that is stretched too tight and you will feel like you are about to snap. What you have to do is figure out how much stress you need in order to function at your maximum capacity.

If you are starting to get a headache, breathing way to fast, or if you are irritable, you are under too much stress and will need to take a few minutes to regain your composure.