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What Kind of Stress Are You Suffering From?
I talk a lot about stress in my blogs because I believe if you let it accumulate long enough, you can get a full blown anxiety attack or even a panic attack.
Yikes!
And you will probably notice it whenever you feel overwhelmed about some situation in your life. You will get that old stand-by, a headache or even a backache that you usually get whenever you worry a lot about something.
As far as I know, there are 2 different types of stresses that “psychologist” identify. And these are called, “Eustress” and “Stress.”
So let’s explain each type of stresses…
Eustress is that anxious feeling that is more due to anticipation than the feeling of dread. You may feel eustress before you give a important presentation at your job. Or before a job interview. Or even when you are working in the kitchen to prepare a gourmet recipe that you never tried before.
In short, eustress is you dealing with uncertainty. You aren’t sure what is going to happen but you do know for sure that it won’t kill you. Another examples of eustress is the shaky hands of a man just before he shows the engagement ring and pops the question. Or just before the bride walks down the aisle.
I think you understand what eustress is by now. It could be described as a “good” kind of stress that prepares you for the unknown. And usually the end means is positive. But STRESS on the other hand…
Is anxiety, frustration, fear and an overwhelming sense of dread. There is nothing good about this type of stress, that’s for sure!
And the net result of stress can be job burnouts because of working far too long in a stressful environment. And this constant exposure can be termed as “negative” stress.
In this case, yes, there is absolutely nothing useful or good from stress. Stress can lead to heart attacks, strokes, emotional breakdowns. And even anxiety or panic attacks! So for those who say they can work better under the gun (or stress), they haven’t consulted with their immune system.
In short, working and living under this stress for long periods of time isn’t good for your immune system. Some of you may notice that you catch a cold or flu more frequently when you are stressed.
And that would be because your stress level is overloading your immunity system and there is little left over to fight off the bug.
So here is what you should do. Create a “mood” journal and write down specific answers to the questions I listed below:
1) What causes you to feel the stress?
2) Where were you when you felt the most stress?
3) Was there someone with you?
4) What exactly were you doing at that moment?
5) Has anything changed in this situation recently?
By doing this, you can analyze your stress levels and patterns to find and locate the stressors. And only then you can make some changes.
And the second thing of course is to identify the type of stress you are experiencing. Is it eustress or stress? If it is eustress, change the “stressed” to “excited.” For instance, instead of saying, “I’m so stressed out over the birthday party.” You could say, “I’m so excited about this birthday party!” It makes a difference and your body will thank you for it.
Kate 
P.S. I recommend the hour long Totally Tranquil meditation track by Holothink that you can download immediately and burn it on a CD or even copy it to your IPOD and use it whenever and wherever you find a need to get instant stress relief.
You can sign up at the link above for a FREE 10 minute demo to refresh your mental state and feel re-energized and focused by the end of the track.
Topics: Stress Relief | Tags: Anxiety Attacks, eustress, Panic Attacks, stress | 3 Comments »
February 8th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
You mentioned that there is nothing useful about stress. I disagree (in a way). In my opinion, stress indicates something needs to change in your life and should cause you to take action to alleviate the stress. For example, if a person is stressed about money, they need to make changes in how their finances are managed such as spending less money, creating a budget, or looking for additional sources of income. If action is not taken, then the stress is a negative thing.
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February 8th, 2009 at 5:42 pm
I’m one of the many individuals who lost a job in the past year. It wasn’t until I was out of work for about six months that I realized my stress level was way down. I still am experiencing stress … but it is a different stress and even a better stress. I realized that my former work environment was so toxic that the stress was probably destroying me. So getting laid off was a blessing in disguise. I am still on a job search, but I will survive because my attitude is so much more positive.
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February 9th, 2009 at 7:59 am
Hi Brandon… I believe that stress is useful as a response to real danger. But most of us are stressed out on what we imagine will happen. Such as if we have money problems, we are not in physical danger. And getting stressed about something like that instead of taking some action is counterproductive.
Hi Suzy… I’m really sorry to hear about that but I’m also happy for you in a way because working in a terrible situation is absolutely no fun at all! I am rooting for you and I hope you find the career of your dreams. I read something fascinating the other day, did you know that more millionaires were created during the Great Depression than any other time in history? For instance, the cosmetic industry was invented during this time because so many housewives wanted to look better for their husbands because of the tough economic times.
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