While stress is a natural part of life, good stress vs. bad stress is an important thing to learn about and identify. Not all stress is harmful. When any stress is experienced, your body releases hormones. I’m sure most people have heard of “fight-or-flight” mode by now. It is a product of a stressful situation; the body’s reactive response kicks into high gear and causes you to act. I’ll let Harvard Health explain more about stress hormones and other sciency stuff here (for those who are interested).
In this blog, I’m going to talk about stress, good/productive vs. bad/harmful, how animals and plants deal with stress, and how nature can stimulate a balanced mind. In other words, how getting outside can help you alleviate bad stress in your life and bring you into a calmer state of being.
What Is Good/Productive Stress?
Not all stress is harmful. In fact, good stress, also known as eustress, is productive and needful. It is a moderate, normal amount of stress. It is what helps me meet my writing deadlines! It is what helps motivate people to grow and make positive changes. It is what we need to study for a test, ask that person on a date. With eustress, we can get things done!
This type of stress is exciting, not fear-based. It also comes with benefits like focus, problem-solving, and improved cognitive function.
What is Bad/Harmful Stress?
It isn’t all stress that exhausts us and makes us sick; it’s the harmful kind. Also known as distress, it is often overwhelming and chronic. It negatively impacts the mind and body, causing damage if it is not properly managed. Worry is a core element of distress and manifests itself in negative ways like exhaustion and anxiety or panic.
This type of stress is fear-based. It comes with consequences like mood swings, sleep problems, or physical ailments (headaches, digestive issues, or worse).
With an understanding of good vs. bad stress, it’s time to think about the ways nature can stimulate a balanced mind by diffusing bad stress. First, let’s look at how animals and plants deal with stress. Then, we will explore some ways to defuse stress by connecting and engaging with nature.
Coping with stress comes naturally to nature. Animals, for example, continuously develop ways to deal with stress in the natural environment. They don’t ignore it, but neither do they anticipate it (a.k.a. worry) as humans do. Could this be why they don’t get ulcers? Read this, especially the beginning part about animals not anticipating stress!
How Animals Deal with Stress
Animals have a variety of ways to deal with stress. Many animals also live in groups, benefitting from social support. They use a stress response to avoid starvation, storms, and many other wild situations.
Animals go into fight-or-flight mode to protect themselves or their young. This is a useful (needful) mode that helps them avoid death. It is not a state of being that is prolonged “just in case” something dangerous happens. In other words, unlike humans, they don’t live in fight-or-flight when it isn’t needed. They use it in the moment.
Animals also return to their normal routine after a stressful event. Have you ever seen a cat become agitated, lash out, and relax into a grooming session all within about one minute? It’s remarkable!
How Plants Deal with Stress
Plants have a tremendous ability to adapt to a changing environment. They can change which genes are expressed in a moment. This allows the plant to produce what it needs to combat stress. Ah-mazing!
Plants have a lot of resilience against drought. They can manipulate water content and root systems to accommodate the stress of being dry.
Okay, some of you might be wondering what my point is here. Am I trying to advise you to lash out, then relax? Or am I suggesting you can manipulate your genes?
No, of course not! I’m only illustrating that in nature, it comes naturally for animals and plants to deal with stress. It comes naturally for them to live in the moment and deal with life. In. The. Moment. Do they even understand what worrying is like? I doubt it.
But here’s the kicker. Not only do plants and animals have super skills when it comes to stress, but they also have superpowers to help humans with stress! Yes, all of nature is a stress reducer (sans tornadoes and the like), so we can benefit from what nature has to offer and reap its stress-reducing superpowers.
How Nature Can Stimulate a Balanced Mind
Enjoying nature is a natural stress reducer. It can (and will) stimulate balance in your mind in many ways, including:
- Reduce stress
- Improve focus
- Improve clarity
- Lift your mood
- Combat anxiety and depression
- Help you problem solve
This is all backed by science! It’s my job to make sure I know what I’m talking about, and trust me here, I’ve done my homework on the science behind nature as a stress reduction tool. I’ve also guided countless people on nature hikes and have seen the results first-hand.
Your assignment (should you choose to take it) is to get outside—woods, water, wherever—and enjoy the natural world. Pay attention to your surroundings. Notice the birds, the sounds of nature, the tall trees, and the grass or snow underfoot.
Trust me when I say if you give nature time to calm your mind and reduce your stress, you will see your problems from a broader perspective and stress less. Who can’t use a new perspective from time to time?
Give yourself permission to stop worrying about the future. Most things we worry about never come to pass. But I get it. I worry from time to time. I’m here to testify that nature has tamed the anxiety beast in me. And I keep going back to the woods, water, and mountains for more stress relief.
It works. Give it a try.
Go ahead, find your calm in the wild!
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