Every adjustment we make in life takes its toll in stress. Yet stressors, as the deprivation tank illustrates, cannot and should not be avoided. They are essential to mental and physical health. Without the stress of learning, there would be no education. Without the stress of exercise, bodies would be flabby and unable to perform.
Stress is inevitable and even necessary.
It serves to condition our mind and body enabling greater performance. Stress can stimulate growth and confidence and actually assist in keeping us alive. The problem occurs when the stressors exceed our coping ability, or continue too long. When that happens, stress becomes distress, and distress is what kills us. Two human conditions have the greatest potential for producing distress.