What do you know about stress?

Written by: Chelsea Cheverie

In our daily life, how many of us often use the word stress to describe negative situations? How many of us also hold the belief that stress is bad for us? What would you say if I told you that this is not always true? Would you believe me if I told you that sometimes stress can be good for you?

Stress is something that we’ve all encountered and have had to deal with at one time or another. Most of us know that chronic stress isn’t good for us, and are aware that long-term stress can negatively affect many areas of our health and well-being. 

But, did you know that there are actually two kinds of stress? It’s true! Many of us know about Distress, which is negative stress. But what about Eustress, or positive stress?

DISTRESS

So what exactly is distress then? Distress, or negative stress, when prolonged, can cause negative side effects for our health and well-being. Distress is generally characterized as being perceived as outside of our coping abilities, and can often make us feel powerless about situations which are out of our control. Examples of negative stress include: the death of a loved one, injury or illness, hospitalization, unemployment, sleep problems, legal problems etc.

EUSTRESS

Then what is eustress? Eustress, or positive stress, occurs when we experience exciting or stressful events. Eustress often occurs when we are faced with a new challenge, and it helps us to stay motivated, work towards our goals and feel good about life. This positive stress is what we experience when we live and work outside of our comfort zones, and is actually a very important part of our overall health and well-being!

Eustress can produce positive feelings for us, such as excitement, fulfillment, meaning, satisfaction, and well-being. Eustress is good for us because it helps us to feel self-confident, adequate and stimulated by the challenges we experience because of a small or positive stressor.

-Eustress is about challenging ourselves without expending all of our resources-

Eustress can help you grow in three different areas:

1. Emotional: Eustress can result in feelings of motivation, contentment, flow, focus, energy, can create a feeling of excitement, and can improve performance and decision making
2. Psychological: Eustress helps us build resilience and autonomy.
3. Physical: Eustress helps us build our body, such as when we complete a challenging workout.

In addition, eustress can help boost our immune systems, can help improve memory, decision making and learning. The reason for this is that when we experience eustress, our brain produces cortisol in very short bursts, which increases our openness to learning. In addition, when we take physical risks such as bungee jumping, the increased cortisol can help us to process information faster. 

There are many times throughout life that we will experience eustress. From work, to school, to personal relationships, there are many opportunities for us to experience positive stress. Here are some examples of positive stressors: receiving a raise or promotion at work, starting a new job, marriage, buying a home, moving, taking a vacation, learning a new hobby, taking a new class etc.

What are some ways to include more positive stress in your life?

There is a good chance that you already experience positive stress throughout your everyday life. However, if you are looking for more ways to make positive stress a part of your everyday, here are some ideas:

• Learn something new everyday, whether big or small – this helps you practice and reinforce new skills
• Push yourself outside of your comfort zone at work. This may mean taking on a new responsibility or developing a new skill. Projects should be challenging but realistic and should allow you to succeed.
• Exercise!
• Learn how to set goals (personal and professional) that are challenging and realistic. Track your progress to hold yourself accountable. This will keep you motivated to keep learning and improving. 
• Immerse yourself into new and interesting places with new things to see and experience

 

References

 

Healthline. (2019). Eustress: The Good Stress. Retrieved from: 

https://www.healthline.com/health/eustress 

Lifer, H. (2013). Stress. Retrieved from: 

https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/health/wellness/advice/a18528/stress/

McGonigal, K. (2015). The Upside of stress: Why stress is good for you, and how to get good at. Print.

Scott, E. (2019). Why Eustress Can Be Your Friend. Retrieved from: 

 https://www.verywellmind.com/what-you-need-to-know-about-eustress-3145109