What Stress Does to the Brain
I&#x27;ve been thinking lately about the line between feeling &quot;stimulated&quot; and feeling &quot;stressed&quot; by intellectual work. I certainly crave challenging problems but I feel sometimes like that inherently brushes up against stress -- thinking hard about a problem and hitting frustrating roadblocks along the way is more stressful than laying on the beach, but also to me feels much more meaningful.<p>I worry if the type of person who seeks out stimulating work and having that become a source of stress is risking damaging their health in the longer term -- I always vaguely assumed thinking hard about problems was a net positive for my brain &amp; would keep me mentally active, but perhaps it&#x27;s worth thinking about finding ways to keep doing this kind of work and at the same time minimizing the impact of the stress it causes.<p>Maybe aiming to work only when feeling well-rested, or working without deadlines could be things to consider along these lines -- I don&#x27;t really have a central thesis or solution to stress-free &amp; stimulating work, but these kinds of ideas have been on my mind.