Stress is a natural part of life, but not all stress is created equal. Although some can motivate, and energize us, just like good stress (eustress), other stress like bad stress (distress) can overwhelm, and debilitate us.
So, what is Eustress (Good stress) and how does it impact your body?
Eustress (good stress) is a type of stress that is motivating, exciting, and energizing. It’s the kind that helps you perform tasks at your best, feel alive, and achieve your goals. It is is often associated with positive emotions, such as excitement, enthusiasm, and satisfaction.
Examples are:
- Preparing ready for a wedding or a big celebration
- Training for a marathon or sports competition
- Getting ready for a date with your crush
- Starting a new business or a creative project
- Learning a new skill or hobby
- Meeting a deadline
What is distress (bad stress) and how does it impact your body
Bad stress, also known as distress, is a type of stress that feels overwhelming, and intense. It’s like having too much on your shoulders, making it hard to breathe, think clearly or even get out of bed. It is the type to lead a person to become depressed, or develop an anxiety disorder.
Distress can come from things like a toxic workplace, or home, a difficult relationship, or a serious health condition. It can make you feel anxious, worried or stuck, and can even affect your physical health.
Examples are:
- Loss/death of a loved one
- Getting diagnosed with a serious illness
- Ongoing financial struggles such as debt, unemployment, inability to provide for your children, or pay for their education
- Bullying, harassment or discrimination
- Traumatic events like natural disasters, accidents, or violent attacks.
- Going through a divorce, or separation
- Toxic work environment or a difficult boss
- Experiencing racism, sexism, or other systemic oppression
- Dealing with a serious injury
- Having problems with your landlord
- Dealing with the inability to have children
- Losing your job or opportunities in life
All these situations can cause chronic distress, and emotional pain.
Causes of good stress (eustress)
1 . Positive life changes: Experiencing positive life changes, such as getting married, having a child, getting a pet, making a new friend or starting a new job.
2 . Learning a new skill: Engaging in lifelong learning skills, and developing new skills.
3 . Challenging goals: Setting and working towards challenging, yet achievable goals, like making a New Year’s resolution.
4 . Taking calculated risks: Taking thoughtful and calculated risks to achieve personal goals. For example, making a weight loss plan, or starting a fitness routine as a beginner. Or taking a course to improve your job performance, and other professional goals.
5 . Meeting deadlines: The thrill of trying to make sure you meet up with a deadline, or complete a project can be a form of good stress.
Causes of bad stress (distress)
1 . Chronic pressure: Facing ongoing pressure, and demands at work or home. It could be the pressure to do and be more home and work, toxic parents or siblings, boss and colleagues.
2 . Traumatic events: Experiencing traumatic experiences, such as the loss of a loved one, a natural disaster, getting robbed, or seeing someone lose their life, or a violent attack.
3 . Uncertainty and unpredictability: Dealing with uncertain or unpredictable situations, such as financial instability or relationship conflicts. The fact that you don’t know what can happen next can cause you to become overwhelmed, therefore distressed.
4 . Perfectionism: Setting unrealistic expectations for yourself, and feeling overwhelmed by the pressure to meet them.
5 . Lack of control: Feeling powerless or trapped in a situation, thinking you can’t get out of it or make it better.
What are the key differences between good and bad stress
1 . Motivation: Eustress motivates and energizes, while distress overwhelms and debilitates.
2 . Emotions: Eustress is linked with positive emotions, while distress is linked with negative emotions.
3 . Impact: Eustress impacts your body and performance in a positive way, while distress can have a negative impact on your physical, and mental health.
The purpose of understanding how both stress impacts your body, is to better manage stress levels in your daily life. And cultivate a healthier relationship
4 effective ways you can manage stress
Get enough sleep
If you want to manage distress you have to get enough sleep every night. That’s the first thing you need to start improving, because lack of sleep can also be a side effect of bad stress. Sleep plays a big role in good health and well-being throughout your life. Research shows that an adult should be sleeping between 7 to 9 hours a night. Depriving yourself of enough sleep will lead to health issues. So, if you want to manage bad stress, make your sleep schedule a top priority, and of high quality.
Practice mindfulness and meditation
Practicing mindfulness, and meditation helps you focus on the present moment, pay attention to your thoughts, and feelings without judgement. Being mindful of your thoughts, can be quite helpful in managing distress, since it all happens in your head. Therefore, start practicing mindfulness to help your mind stay calm, and relaxed.
Mindfulness has a lot of benefits, and what’s more interesting is that you can practice it in daily activities. When you’re doing the dishes, when you’re taking a shower or a poo, doing the laundry, and so on.
Do some workouts
Why should you exercise? Exercise helps to strengthen your heart and lungs, improve flexibility, boost your immune system, reduce stress, and anxiety, and increase your energy levels. So, if you want to manage bad stress , engage in some physical activity. It doesn’t have to be vigorous, a simple morning walk, stretching, light-weight training can help.
Reduce tasks
It’s okay to reduce your workload, by letting yourself focus on one thing at a time. Overwhelm is one of the symptoms of bad stress, which is why you need to reduce how many things you need to do. Really sit down, pick one or two things to focus on, and do the rest later on. Therefore, you can feel less overwhelmed by the tasks, and take things one step at a time. Additionally, it’s okay to ask for help from friends and family, if you need to.
4 Effective ways you can manage good stress
1 . Stay organized and mange your time effectively. You can use tools like to-do lists, calendars, and reminders to stay on track and meet your deadlines.
2 . Use positive self-talk to motivate yourself, by reminding yourself of your strengths, and accomplishments. Also, focus on the opportunities and challenges ahead.
3 . Take breaks and practice self-care, by doing the things othat you enjoy and help you relax.
4 . Seek out support and guidance from those around you. Surround yourself with positive, supportive people who can offer encouragement, and advice.
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