Types of Stress: Eustress vs. Stress
Whenever you feel overwhelmed and up against the wall, do you get the old familiar stress headache or stress backache ? Before you let yourself get all stressed out, take time to think about what type of stress you’re feeling.
According to psychologists there are two types of stress: Eustress and Stress. These two types of stress are as different as two sides of the same coin. The one type of stress is good for you and the other type of stress is harmful to your body.
The first type of stress, the good type of stress is eustress. It keeps you excited about life. Eustress is basically a desirable form of stress which is healthful and gives a feeling of contentment.
So how do you identify eustress? Here are some examples:
1. Thrill experienced while watching a horror movie
2. Excitement of winning a race
3. Accomplishing a challenge
4. Joy experienced on a roller-coaster ride
5. Happiness felt on the birth of a baby
6. Excitement while getting wedded
7. A man’s shaking hand as he produces an engagement ring
8. Buying a new car and many more
The other type of stress is Stress, which on the other hand, is anxiety, fear, frustration and an overcoming sense of dread. Burnout stress happens as an effect of stress from working too long under a stressful environment. Continual exposure to stressful situations and people whose demands become stressful to you results in the negative type of stress.
There’s nothing useful about stress. After all, stress and heart disease are related. Stress can be a cause for a heart attack, stroke or an emotional breakdown. Have you ever said ‘stress does you good?’ or ‘I work better under stress?’ Then you haven’t asked your immune system how it feels to be stressed out.
Stress is also referred to as distress, as stress anxiety, as severe strain or as mental suffering resulting from exhaustion or an accident.
Some of the events that lead to distress are:
1. Emotional stress due to death of loved ones
2. Work related stress
3. Discontent in relationships
4. Financial stress tension
5. Unfulfilled desires
Living under stressful conditions for long periods of time has damaging effects to your immune system. Have you ever noticed how you’re more inclined to catch a cold whenever you feel extreme stress due to being overworked than when you aren’t stressed out?
That’s a perfect example of how the immune system can’t deal with your stressful load and have enough left over to fight a stress illness.
Manage stress! Learn to stop and analyze your stress. One effective stress coping technique is to write in a journal. Reflect and write down your answer to these stress related questions:
1. What causes you to feel stress?
2. Where are you when you feel the most stress?
3. Who is with you when you’re feeling the stress tension?
4. What were you doing when you were feeling stressed?
5. Has anything changed recently in this situation that might possibly be the cause of stress?
By seeing your stress patterns, you can look at ways to change either your involvement with stress or your stress response. Is what you’re feeling really harmful stress? If it’s actually eustress, then you can change what you say from, “I’m so stressed out over the party” to “I’m so excited about this party!” It’s amazing how your body responds differently to each type of stress. Sometimes your reactions to stress are a choice.
