A moderate level of stress, face deadlines, negative

[Anna232]

This is my response to the prompt "Stress may be useful for you." Are the parts in bold idiomatic? Are the commas I put in brackets optional?

People believe that stress is always harmful (,) but this is not completely true. A moderate level of stress can actually be helpful. For example, when we face deadlines (,) or important tasks, stress helps us to concentrate. It teaches us valuable skills when we handle difficult situations. Stress is not always negative, if we learn to manage it properly.

 

[BobK]

The bolded phrases are fine. I wouldn't use the bracketed commas - and if I did, I'd put them hard up against the earlier word (and followed by a space), as you sometimes do. ;-) Whether they're optional, opinions differ (and views one way or the other can be shrilly defended).

 

[emsr2d2]

Like Bob, I wouldn't use the commas in brackets. I wouldn't use the one after "negative" in the final sentence either.