{"id":2936,"date":"2025-06-11T13:55:12","date_gmt":"2025-06-11T13:55:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ohmypeople.be\/stress-the-misunderstood-ally\/"},"modified":"2026-09-09T18:45:44","modified_gmt":"2026-09-09T18:45:44","slug":"stress-the-misunderstood-ally","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ohmypeople.be\/en\/stress-the-misunderstood-ally\/","title":{"rendered":"Stress: the misunderstood ally"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-1 fusion-flex-container nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling\" style=\"--awb-border-radius-top-left:0px;--awb-border-radius-top-right:0px;--awb-border-radius-bottom-right:0px;--awb-border-radius-bottom-left:0px;--awb-flex-wrap:wrap;\" ><div class=\"fusion-builder-row fusion-row fusion-flex-align-items-flex-start fusion-flex-content-wrap\" style=\"max-width:1248px;margin-left: calc(-4% \/ 2 );margin-right: calc(-4% \/ 2 );\"><div class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-0 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-flex-column\" style=\"--awb-bg-size:cover;--awb-width-large:100%;--awb-margin-top-large:0px;--awb-spacing-right-large:1.92%;--awb-margin-bottom-large:0px;--awb-spacing-left-large:1.92%;--awb-width-medium:100%;--awb-spacing-right-medium:1.92%;--awb-spacing-left-medium:1.92%;--awb-width-small:100%;--awb-spacing-right-small:1.92%;--awb-spacing-left-small:1.92%;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-justify-content-flex-start fusion-content-layout-column\"><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-1\"><style>\n.ohmp-article h2{margin:56px 0 18px!important;line-height:1.2!important;}<br \/>.ohmp-article h3{margin:40px 0 14px!important;line-height:1.25!important;}<br \/>.ohmp-article > :first-child{margin-top:0!important;}<br \/>.ohmp-article p{margin:0 0 20px!important;}<br \/>.ohmp-article ul{margin:0 0 20px!important;padding-left:22px!important;}<br \/>.ohmp-article li{margin:0 0 8px!important;}<br \/>.ohmp-article blockquote{margin:0 0 24px!important;padding:0!important;border:0!important;background:none!important;font-size:20px!important;line-height:1.5!important;color:#735ea5!important;font-style:normal!important;}<br \/>.ohmp-article blockquote p{margin:0!important;}<br \/>.ohmp-article p:empty,.ohmp-article br{display:none!important;}<br \/>.ohmp-article > :last-child{margin-bottom:0!important;}<br \/>@media(max-width:640px){<br \/>.ohmp-article h2{margin:40px 0 14px!important;}<br \/>.ohmp-article h3{margin:30px 0 12px!important;}<br \/>.ohmp-article blockquote{font-size:18px!important;}<br \/>}<br \/><\/style>\n<div class=\"ohmp-article\">\n<p>We all know it: stress is just part of life. It\u2019s the constant companion of modern people. From the morning rush to answering emails at midnight, stress is woven into our daily routine. But do we really understand what stress is? And more importantly: what does it do to us? In recent years, stress has gotten a bad reputation: we associate it with burnout, breakdowns, and failure. However, that view is too narrow.<\/p>\n<p>As I explain in our podcast &#8220;Stress as a BFF&#8221;:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Stress is not the enemy. It\u2019s an internal alarm system that helps us stay focused, alert, and adaptable.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>When you start to see stress as an ally rather than a threat, your entire perspective on yourself, your energy, and your resilience changes.<\/p>\n<h2>Stress as a Teacher<\/h2>\n<p>Scientific research confirms it: stress serves important functions. It enables us to detect danger, use energy efficiently, and absorb new information. <\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s a simple example: toddlers who get angry when they can\u2019t do something. Underneath their frustration lies a wonderful biological process. Their brains are discovering what works and what doesn\u2019t. Without that stress stimulus, they would be much less likely to develop new skills.   <\/p>\n<p>So stress is indeed a teacher\u2014one who is often strict, but always valuable.<\/p>\n<h2>The Fine Line Between Healthy and Toxic<\/h2>\n<p>However, there is also a downside. Stress that persists for too long, without sufficient recovery, transforms from an ally into a saboteur. The body remains on high alert, even when there is no longer any danger.  <\/p>\n<p>The consequences:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>sleep problems<\/li>\n<li>irritability<\/li>\n<li>memory and concentration problems<\/li>\n<li>physical and mental exhaustion<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The biggest danger? Many people don&#8217;t realize they&#8217;re already at that tipping point. They&#8217;re still functioning\u2014&#8221;just barely okay&#8221;\u2014until the battery is suddenly completely drained.  <\/p>\n<p>In \u201cStress as a BFF,\u201d we explain how subtly that line shifts\u2014and why understanding stress is the most important preventive factor.<\/p>\n<h2>The Social Taboo<\/h2>\n<p>In our society, we only talk about stress when things go wrong\u2014when someone breaks down, when it\u2019s too late. Yet it turns out that many people are in a preclinical phase: they aren\u2019t sick yet, but they can feel the strain.   <\/p>\n<p>At Oh My People, we advocate for a new perspective on stress. Not as an enemy to be fought, but as a guide. A source of signals. An ally\u2014if you understand it.   <\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s exactly why the podcast \u201cStress as a BFF\u201d was created: to help people see that stress isn\u2019t a malevolent force, but an inner guide that you can learn to use to your advantage.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ohmypeople.be\/en\/inspiration\/stress-as-bff-podcast\/\">Listen to the podcast here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Time to Look at Things Differently<\/h2>\n<p>Resilience is more important today than ever before. The solution isn&#8217;t to try to live a stress-free life\u2014that&#8217;s impossible. The trick is to recognize stress, understand it, and work with it.  <\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s all about:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Recognizing When Stress Is Functional<\/li>\n<li>know when to step in<\/li>\n<li>know how to recover<\/li>\n<li>dare to listen to your body&#8217;s signals<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Maybe it&#8217;s time to finally let go of the myth that &#8220;stress is bad.&#8221; Maybe stress really is your BFF\u2014but only if you get to know it. <\/p>\n<h2>Would you like to learn more?<\/h2>\n<p>In the book &#8220;First Aid for Stress and Burnout,&#8221; you&#8217;ll find practical tools to help you understand stress and turn it into strength.<\/p>\n<p>Be sure to check out our podcast <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ohmypeople.be\/en\/inspiration\/stress-as-bff-podcast\/\">&#8220;Stress as a BFF&#8221;<\/a> for clear insights, relatable stories, and practical tips.<\/p>\n<p>Or do you want to help your employees cope better with stress?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2937,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[184],"tags":[278],"class_list":["post-2936","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-voka-june-2025"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ohmypeople.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2936","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ohmypeople.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ohmypeople.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ohmypeople.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ohmypeople.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2936"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.ohmypeople.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2936\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3855,"href":"https:\/\/www.ohmypeople.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2936\/revisions\/3855"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ohmypeople.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2937"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ohmypeople.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2936"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ohmypeople.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2936"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ohmypeople.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2936"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}