Alexander never feels such an upsurge as in those moments when he operates. He is a cardiac surgeon, runs a coronary artery bypass grafting center.
And the more complex the operation, the more precise it requires — without leaving room for error — the more he feels in his element. He just bathes in adrenaline! His brain is more perceptive and sharp than ever, and his movements are light and precise. He never experiences anything like this outside of the operating block. Actress Nina feels about the same before the start of the performance. Despite the fact that she has been on stage for more than twenty years, every time her heart begins to pound, her throat tightens, and her hands become wet with sweat. She hates her excitement and at the same time knows that it is what leads her in the game.
Without stress, we would lack the incentive to use all our knowledge and abilities to their full potential.
For some, it may be a public speaking or a steep ski slope from a mountain peak, the moment of a paraglider taking off from the ground or surfing on a strong wave — extreme situations sharpen our attention, bringing the body, mind and soul into a special state — a state of complete mobilization. From a purely physiological point of view, at this moment a person is experiencing stress: the heart beats faster, blood pressure rises, muscles are tense, adrenaline and cortisol are in excess.
But for a surgeon in the operating room, an athlete in a competition, an actor preparing to go on stage, and even a woman who has gone into labor, this condition is not harmful. On the contrary, in this case we can talk about «useful» stress. Good stress differs from bad stress not so much in the heart rate and the amount of hormones, but in the psychological factors of the situation. Without stress, we would lack the incentive to use our knowledge and abilities to their full potential. And we wouldn’t buy new ones.
When a challenge exceeds our ability to withstand it, we are, of course, affected by bad stress. It becomes even more pernicious if this situation lasts for a long time, and we remain powerless in front of it. But if we know how to cope with it, and, moreover, we feel the desire and excitement to pass this test, then the physiological reaction to stress passes very quickly — as soon as we cope with our difficult task. Then we talk about the challenge overcome and even the victory won — it helps us grow.
How to turn failure into this kind of test? To do this, you need, firstly, to make a decision to enter into a fight with it; secondly, to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills in order to be able to do what is required of us; thirdly, support is needed from loved ones or competent people — during and after the test. And we will be able to comprehend what post-traumatic wisdom is. It is born from new perspectives — knowledge, skills, the ability to accept — and all this is smelted in the crucible of life’s trials.