In my previous column, we learned that all stress runs via the same biological mechanism, and that good stress and bad stress are largely differentiated by three factors: duration, intensity and interpretation. We covered duration in that column, so let’s now turn our attention to intensity.

To understand intensity, there’s one brain structure and one neurochemical we need to understand. The brain structure is the prefrontal cortex: a region linked to behavioural inhibition, task activation, memory maintenance and focused/rational thinking. The neurochemical is norepinephrine: a hormone that is linked to communication inhibition within the brain.

Whenever individuals experience acute, high-intensity stressors (typically leading to sensations of threat, danger or dread), a large amount of norepinephrine floods into the prefrontal cortex. This chemical surge acts like a wet blanket, essentially cutting off communication between the prefrontal cortex and the rest of the brain, thereby disabling focused/rational thought.

In the classroom, this can be “bad” stress: it could lead to mind blanks, mind wipes and behavioural reactivity. But, in other situations, it serves a strong biological purpose. Imagine if a rabid bear came running at you right now: rather than wasting time considering a rational response, norepinephrine allows for your far faster, far more reactive and far more death-averse body to take control until the threat subsides.

How do we combat this stress response when it hinders rather than helps us? Many primary stress-regulation techniques target the body directly. Deep breathing, exercise, muscle tension and release: these techniques aim to burn off excess cortisol and norepinephrine, thereby allowing for the reactivation of focused/rational thinking.

So what about interpretation, the final factor that differentiates good and bad stress?

To understand this, we must differentiate between “feelings” and “emotions”. Emotions are physical sensations within the body driven by chemical messengers - things like a racing heart, tingling skin, a jumpy tummy. Feelings, on the other hand, are a mental interpretation of these emotions.

Seeing as the human body can only respond with a limited number of chemicals, the number of emotions we can have is limited (traditionally joy, sadness, anger, fear, surprise and disgust). However, seeing as there’s no limit to the ways in which we can interpret physical sensations, the number of feelings we can have is infinite (passion, justice, embarrassment, confidence, etc).

Importantly, whenever we “select” a feeling, this choice can feed back to the brain and body and change the chemicals accordingly.

This all matters because stress is a feeling, not an emotion. Stress (and all the pros and cons that go with it) is, by and large, a choice. Beyond the immediate threat response, most of the stress response is activated after an individual interprets a particular event, circumstance or emotion as stressful.

This is the reason why so many secondary stress-regulation techniques target the mind. Meditation, reframing, perspective: these techniques aim to change how an individual interprets a situation, thereby shutting down the feedback mechanism and abating the stress response before it begins. In short, how we interpret events can be a huge factor in how good or bad that stress actually is.

Jared Cooney Horvath is a neuroscientist, educator and author. To ask our resident learning scientist a question, please email: AskALearningScientist@gmail.com

This article originally appeared in the 22 May 2020 issue under the headline “Keeping bad stress at bay? Bear with me”