When does stress cross the line from being helpful to harmful?

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      In a lot of ways, stress is good. It's the physiological mechanism that helps us function. It helps us make deadlines and run away from lions. Faced with a situation that requires action, we either decide to fight it (hustle to meet the deadline) or run away from it (aforementioned lion). It's the process that defines "fight or flight."<br><br>

      When those stressors reach extremely high levels, however, stress becomes dangerous. That's because of the effect of the stress hormone called cortisol. When you're constantly under stress, your cortisol is elevated too high. When those levels become exhausted, you end up with low levels. That's when stress is most damaging-when it exhausts your ability to increase your cortisol.<br><br>