MEPX
Chapter 8 of 10All chapters
  1. 1What it means
  2. 2Noticing
  3. 3Managing emotions
  4. 4Reading other people
  5. 5In conversation
  6. 6What the evidence says
  7. 7At work
  8. 8Stress and resilience
  9. 9Relationships
  10. 10Limits and cautions

Chapter 8 of 10

Stress and resilience

Recovery, not toughness.

How stress works

Short-term stress sharpens attention; sustained stress degrades judgement, memory and health. The problem is duration and lack of control rather than intensity.

  • Control and predictability reduce the harm of the same workload.
  • Recovery periods matter more than tolerance.

What helps

Sleep, exercise, social contact and a sense of agency have the best evidence. Resilience is largely circumstances and recovery, not character.