Identifying What Kind of Stress Do Your Struggling with?

When you feel overwhelmed and with your back is against the wall, is frustration the way you respond to a difficult situation?  Before you let it upset you, take some time to think of what type of stress you’re feeling.

There are 2 kinds of tension that psychologists call Eustress and Distress. These are different sides of the exact same coin. One, eustress, is really useful and helps you reach your goals while the other, distress, is hazardous to your mind, body and spirit.

Eustress is a nervous feeling that’s even more similar to anticipation rather fear and apprehension. You may experience eustress before giving a presentation at work, prior to going on a job interview or when preparing a gourmet meal from a recipe you’ve never ever attempted prior to.

In eustress, you’re coping with skepticism – but the result isn’t really disastrous at least that’s how you think about it in your own mind. Eustress is the proper name for a guy’s shaking hands as he whips out  the engagement ring and the bride’s pre-wedding butterflies as she gets ready to walk down the church aisle before all her friends and family.

Both of these are “positive” tension because they stand for taking an action into the unknown to  and anticipating positive result. Worry, on the other hand, is anxiety, concern, aggravation and an overcoming feeling of dread.

If you’re a business owner it comes from feeling incapable of having a positive result from your action because of the fear of the unknown.  In my own personal experience and training for instance  nursing burnout has long been known as an effect of working long hours in a demanding critical environment. Continual exposure to these demanding scenarios long enough will result in distress.

There’s nothing useful about this type of stress and tension. It’s the precursor to cardiac disease, emotional breakdowns. If you’re one of those people who say “I work better under pressure” I bet you haven’t asked your immune system just how it feels.

Living under chronic long term stress for long periods of time is weakening to your immune system. Have you ever  noticed how you’re more likely to grab the workplace cold when you’re overworked as compared to when you aren’t?

Writing down your issues helps you to see them for what they really are so you can let them go. By writing out your deepest thoughts and feelings, you’re also releasing the tension and stress from within you.

1.  What’s bothering you most today
2. How do you know when you’re feeling stressed
3. Why am I feeling stressed, anxious, overwhelmed or worried about this issue?
4. Am I thinking about the problem or am I focused on a solution?
5. How do I define a healthy, happy and lasting resolution to this stress?
6. Who can I turn to for help?
7. What will I do, today, to find a better way?

By seeing your stress patterns, you could craft approaches to convert either your involvement with stress or your response to it. Is what you’re feeling really harmful distress or eustress?

If it’s really eustress, then you can instead of saying, “I’m so stressed out over the celebration” to, “I’m so excited about this party!” It’s remarkable exactly how your mind responds to different types of stress.  And if what you’re feeling is stress then what techniques can you use to reduce or even eliminate the stressors.