Like many emergency responders, Nicholas Groom is used to stress at work. He speaks quickly, with an urgency that seems appropriate for a paramedic. “We’re a bit of a weird group because we voluntarily go into situations that other people run away from,” says 29-year-old Groom, a trustee for the College of Paramedics who lives in Oxfordshire, England. “You’ve got to like stress and pressure to an extent.”
On one hand, the stress can be helpful. “I find that when attending a serious incident, having some stress helps my decision-making, because it helps to maintain a focus on the situation,” Groom says. “Having you ‘on your toes’ slightly helps to remain aware of changing circumstances around you.”
On the other hand, the work can be highly pressurised. “Too much stress causes what we call cognitive overload and then impairs your ability to make decisions because you’ve lost that situational awareness,” he adds.
https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20191212-is-stress-good-or-bad-its-both
