Name: How to make your stress work for you - Shannon Odell
Uploaded: 2025-09-27T13:14:16.000Z
Duration: 5 min 29 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

Your eyes dilate as the room snaps into focus.

Fatigue dissipates, leaving heart-pounding vigilance in its wake.

Your muscles tense, injected with energy.

And for a moment, time seems to slow down.

You clumsily dropped your tray in the middle of the cafeteria.

It's not unusual for our minds and bodies to have seemingly exaggerated responses to everyday situations.

An upcoming project deadline, a fight with a family member, or even an embarrassing moment can easily trigger what's known as the body's fight-or-flight response.

It's a set of hormonal and physiological changes that evolve to help our ancestors escape life-threatening situations.

Like avoiding a venomous snake, or fleeing a charging hyena.

Yet this fight-or-flight response may feel less appropriate for the types of stresses we face today.

When we perceive something as threatening, overwhelming, or even embarrassing, a signaling pathway known as the HPA axis is triggered.

It starts with activation of the hypothalamus, the hormonal control center of the brain.

The hypothalamus sounds the alarm, alerting the pituitary gland and the adrenal glands, leading to the release of stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol.

These hormones travel through the bloodstream and relay all sorts of effects, like increasing heart rate to improve oxygen flow, and boosting the amount of energy available to the brain.

If this sounds like a good thing, that's because it can be.

This stress response helps you react quickly and efficiently in the face of immediate danger, like dodging a swerving car.

However, it can also be beneficial in less-than-life-threatening situations.

For example, stress in small doses can be very motivating.

Nothing quite drives you to practice a piano solo like the pressure of an upcoming recital.

Feeling a little stressed may even help you learn.

The hippocampus, a brain region essential to learning, is rich in receptors that respond to the stress hormone cortisol.

Lab studies have found that adding a mild stressor, such as a sudden temperature change before a memory task, can enhance performance.

Further, during your teen years, the brain is rewired to promote exploration and learning.

And one way it does this is by making the HPA axis more reactive.

The problem is when this stress response is triggered too often or for too long.

Normally, when we experience a stressful event, stress hormones are released for about 15 to 30 minutes.

But if we face multiple or persistent stressors day after day, the HPA axis starts to adapt.

Anticipating future stressful events, the HPA axis stays activated for longer and continuously releases stress hormones.

This causes issues throughout the body and can lead to problems like sleeplessness, brain fog, digestive issues, and even heart disease.

It's difficult to say, as not everyone experiences stress in the same way.

Different factors, like your genetics, environment, and even your age, can influence the way your body responds.

But no matter your situation, there are tools that can make dealing with stress a bit easier.

Exercise, for example, is thought to prompt the production of new neurons, which may help our brains become more resilient to stress.

A run through the park or a basketball game with friends can also be a great distraction from whatever's stressing you out.

Speaking of friends, spending time with others can actually buffer your body's response to stress.

This may be due to the actions of oxytocin, a hormone that helps us feel closer to others, and can also dampen activity of the HPA axis.

And simple actions, like pausing to breathe during stressful situations or journaling every day, can have a huge impact.

These are also known as mindfulness practices, which can, over time, help you build a greater understanding of your thoughts and feelings and remain grounded in the present moment.

We can't always control what life throws at us, but there are ways to better prepare our minds and bodies for the many deadlines, awkward conversations, and spills ahead.

But is it possible to mentally prepare for a breakup?

Subtitles ListPlay Video

How to make your stress work for you - Shannon Odell

perceive

fatigue

overwhelming

distraction