The Two Faces of Stress

Posted by Little Miss Scribbler , Labels: , Tuesday, June 15, 2010 2:41 AM


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When you've just had enough and you just can't take it anymore, you simply say that you're STRESSED.

So did I –
until the moment I realized that there are two kinds of stress, and you actually have a choice.

The moment you declare to yourself that you are stressed – panicked and all – that is the time you have lost the internal battle within yourself. No one else can declare your loss BUT YOU.


There are two kinds of stress:
  • Eustress (Euphoric stress a.k.a. natural highs) 

Eustress is the kind of stress that you get when you're overly joyed, overly excited – overly positive in every way.

Imagine this, you're planning and organizing your upcoming wedding – sure it's stressful because it's not relaxing and lazing around the beach – but it's fun!

Imagine trying to make your favorite dish – the one that takes a lot of effort to make but you're not complaining, because you like it and you're looking forward to eating it!
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That's eustress.

  • Distress (Disturbing stress a.k.a. hellhole moment)
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Distress is the kind of stress that you get when you're feeling pressured, burned out, panicked, and just not loving any portion of it.

Imagine this, you're planning your upcoming wedding and you're not really into it because you're unsure of your decision and you just feel pressured to do so because you're a couple of months pregnant --- nightmare! Isn't it?

Imagine this other one, you don't feel like moving and you just want to lie on the bed, watch TV, and suddenly your mother comes in and asks – wait, not ask – tells you to prepare dinner and you're not at all excited about this task. But still you don't have a choice, so you go into the kitchen, start preparing the dish, and not loving any moment of it – now that's inconvenient.

Now that we've established the difference between "eustress" and "distress", it's about time you see the difference between the situations.

Basically, when it comes to eustress, no matter how difficult the situation may be, you feel alright and cheerful, and simply naturally high...   While in Distress you feel forced, pressured, and simply as what it usually is referred to – "stressed".

Here's the difference: convenience.


Yes, if you look closely and carefully at the situations, the difference is convenience.   Planning and organizing a wedding can be a fun feat or a nightmare – depending on what the wedding is to you.   If it's what you've always dreamed of, you can't wait to start the busy planning and all.    Again, the BUSY planning and all.

But if the wedding is something you don't want or just half-heartedly want, then the slightest problem that may crop up will be magnified into a crushing size.   Because the situation is not at all convenient for you. 

photo courtesy of: http://davidputmanlive.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/stressed-out1.jpg

Next, preparing the meal.   You want to eat it, you're cooking it, and you can't wait to eat it!   You're looking forward to it – a very convenient result, I may say.

But you don't feel like eating it, yet your mother asked you to cook it – seems like you don't have much of a choice, and it doesn't have any outcome that benefits you or rewards you which is why you don't like doing it – what an inconvenience!  

To make things a lot clearer, convenience is very much linked to "accomplishment". 
Take sports for example. 

A person who doesn't like playing sports feels distressed while playing a challenging game of basketball, while a person who likes sports feels eustressed while playing basketball especially with the anticipation of winning because it brings the person nearer and nearer to an accomplishment, while the other (distressed) person feels inconvenience because there is no sense of accomplishment to look forward to.

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So it all boils down to you.   A stressful situation is stressful because you said so.   And a happy situation is great because you said so.   The moment you change your mind set about the inconvenience of the situation, the situation changes too.

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Only a few realizes their power to be able to change a situation from being a distressful one, to a eustressful one. Be one of the few.   Stop letting it drain the energy out of you.   Start making it work for you.

After all, is it really a problem? Or is it merely an inconvenience?

 Think about that. J



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