Have you ever gone through something hard and realized you just weren’t the same afterwards?

Most of us have experienced this after major life events. However, at a cellular and molecular level, this recalibration is happening all the time, with every single stressor we’re exposed to.

This brings me to one of the most important, and often overlooked, aspects of stress: We don’t return to baseline after stress. We emerge with a new one.

Every stressor, whether physical, psychological, or environmental, shifts our set point. While some stressors indeed deplete us, others help us build a higher set point and net resilience.

This is what makes good stress so powerful. The goal isn’t just to bounce back after discomfort; it’s to build toward a higher level of human potential.

This concept is at the heart of hormesis, the fascinating science of how stress, and a lack of it, shapes our health, happiness, and the way we age.

Our stress responses are more complex than a patterned fight-or-flight reaction. When our cells sense stress, they prepare for hard times by shifting their activity from growth to energy efficiency, repair, and maintenance. When we recover, we grow healthier cells and build connections and signals that help us better handle future stress.

Good stressors activate seven key cellular response........

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