Stress is always disadvantageous and should be avoided whenever
possible.
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Extreme stress can have debilitating effects. But too little
stress can inhibit your motivation and lead to lackluster and inferior
performance.
Some people enjoy facing a challenge, improving their skills,
and achieving difficult goals; some willingly seek out risky and
stressful vocations or avocations. Stress may also facilitate personal
growth and development, as when we learn to deal with disappointment
and frustration.
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You will experience much more stress during the second half
of your life than during the first half.
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There is some truth to this idea, because some extremely stressful
life events are more likely to occur during old age (e.g. widowhood,
terminal illnesses). But the relationship between aging and stress
is more complicated than this.
Some traumatic life events are more common at older ages, but
are more intense when they occur at younger ages. Other potential
stressors are more common at younger ages and more intense at older
ages.
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As you grow older, your ability to cope with those stressful
life events that you do face decreases markedly.
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If your health, economic resources, and social resources decline
as you grow toward old age, your ability to cope with stress may
be compromised. But if these capabilities remain more or less intact,
there is no reason to expect your ability to cope with stressful
life events to decline with increasing age.
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