Stress is any demand placed upon you. A stress reaction is a non-specific response by the body to it. Stress is with us every day whenever you are placed in a new or novel situation or there is some sort of demand made of you. Your body is like the thermostat in your home or your room. If the room becomes too hot then the air conditioning kicks in to cool it down. If the room becomes too cold then the heater turns on to warm it up. The thermostat always tries to maintain the level that is normal for it and it is the same with your body. Your body tries to maintain a normal state. Whenever something happens that is different your body tries to make adjustments to handle the new situation and this is what we call a stress reaction. Stress can be good or bad. In a competition such as a race or a hockey game the pressure to win helps you get pumped up and gives you the extra surge of energy to perform at your best. This is good stress, it helps you run faster, be more alert, concentrate and it helps us to perform better for short periods of time. While good stress can help perform better in a short term too much of a good thing can lead to problems. You may notice that after a particularly exhilarating competition or race you feel drained of energy and let down. Just like anything, too much of a good thing can lead to exhaustion and good stress can turn into bad stress. While being under pressure may help you work harder too much pressure such as someone looking over your shoulder and yelling in your ear may cause you to make mistakes or actually be less productive than had you been with a lesser amount of stress. There is a physical and mental component to stress. Each person has a different resistance level based on your past experiences and coping skills so that two people can have completely different responses to the same event.

Constant stress over a long term can not only decrease your performance but also cause physical ailments.

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