Is stress just a socially accepted mental illness?

What do you think?

According to the late Richard Carlson of ‘Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff’ fame the above statement is true. But let’s look at the big picture. I recently read that Hans Selye the Hungarian born endocrinologist (1907-1982) came upon stress syndrome in the summer of 1936. The stress syndrome was the process by which the body meets stress head-on. He outlined three stages in the process, namely;
• Alarm
• Adaptation, and
• Exhaustion

The key to remember is that Dr. Selye defined stress as anything that could range from a good workout, to lack of food, to some foreign object in one’s body. In other words he did not mean nervous stress, but a response to a demand on the body.

According to Dr. Selye; “Adopting the right attitude can convert a negative stress into a positive one.”

Have you bought in that stress is a socially acceptable mental illness?

Wouldn’t it be better if you converted the uncomfortable situation into a positive experience?