Which statement about stress is true?

Which statement about stress is true?

• A. All stress is harmful
• B. Not all stress is bad
• C. Stress is only physical
• D. Stress has no emotional impact

Answer: (B)

Stress can be helpful in the right amount. The true statement recognizes that stress isn’t inherently harmful; it can be beneficial, acting as a signal that a challenge needs attention and motivating you to act. This adaptive response, often called eustress, tightens focus, increases energy, and can improve performance when the stress is brief and manageable. The body’s stress reaction—rise in alertness, speed of thinking, and ready-to-act physiology—prepares you to meet a demand. But there’s a flip side: when stress becomes chronic or excessive, it wears you down. Prolonged activation of stress hormones can affect sleep, digestion, and immune function, and it can heighten anxiety or mood issues, impair decision-making, and reduce overall performance. So, stress is not limited to physical effects, and it isn’t always harmful; some stress can actually help you rise to a challenge.

Stress can be helpful in the right amount. The true statement recognizes that stress isn’t inherently harmful; it can be beneficial, acting as a signal that a challenge needs attention and motivating you to act. This adaptive response, often called eustress, tightens focus, increases energy, and can improve performance when the stress is brief and manageable. The body’s stress reaction—rise in alertness, speed of thinking, and ready-to-act physiology—prepares you to meet a demand.

But there’s a flip side: when stress becomes chronic or excessive, it wears you down. Prolonged activation of stress hormones can affect sleep, digestion, and immune function, and it can heighten anxiety or mood issues, impair decision-making, and reduce overall performance.

So, stress is not limited to physical effects, and it isn’t always harmful; some stress can actually help you rise to a challenge.