Is Stress Always Bad?

What Is Stress?

There are two types of “stress.” Eustress and distress.

Eustress, literally translates to “good-stress.” It is the stress that is considered beneficial and that can sometimes be that extra push that we need to get something done. Or the challenge that is needed for our body to adapt. Eustress is defined by it’s perception. I.e. whether the stress is viewed as helpful.

Distress, is the “bad stress,” what we usually just call “stress,” and generally occurs when demand exceeds capacity.

Not enough money.

Not enough time.

Not enough energy.

Not enough knowledge

Not enough ‘X’ to fulfill requirement ‘Y’.

The Point of Stress

Think about some of the most common life stresses. Will I be able to pay my bills this month and put food on the table for my family? Will I be able to finish all these work reports before their deadline? How am I going to cook dinner, take the kids to after school sports practise, and still find the energy for quality time with my spouse at the end of the day?

If we take an evolutionary perspective, stress can be a very adaptive strategy. Switching on the stress response mobilizes us to take action, by releasing adrenaline and cortisol to energise us, increasing our heart rate and blood flow around the body. Acute (short-lived) stress is helpful to motivate us and prompt us to fulfil the necessary demands.

When It’s a Problem 

The problem occurs when this continues to happen without a sufficient ‘release’ of energy, or a sufficient recovery period afterwards for the stress response to dissipate. The feeling of ‘demand exceeds capacity’ persists.

When we start to experience chronic stress, the under-utilised physiological response can begin to create havoc on our body.

Stress is the new smoking, and can underpin many chronic health conditions, particularly around our heart and mental health!
(P.S Smoking is also still and always will be “The Smoking”!)

Stress Philosophy

The interesting thing about stress is the relationship that it has with our perception of resources versus demand.

While feelings of stress may feel outside of our own control, it can help to remember that our brain is simply responding to the cues that we are exposing it to, particularly what our attention is focused on.

At any given moment, our subconscious mind is scanning the environment, on the look out for clues that we may be under threat, ready to raise the alarm if need be. This includes clues that suggest that we don’t have the resources to fulfill the given demands. And annoyingly, our brain can be primed for “the negative” - i.e. to see the threat easier than safety.

The ability to cope with stressful situations has been strongly linked to the maintenance of variables such as perceived ability to cope, perceived competence, having an internal sense of responsibility and ownership. Conversely, an inability to utilise these coping strategies has been related to increased anxiety and depression, less helpful coping behaviours, and lower self-worth.

What To Do

As mentioned, many of these variables are dependent on our perceived ability to cope.

What this means is that there is an opportunity for us to interject. If this stress response is simply a reaction to the clues that our brain and nervous system detects about our ability to cope, what would happen if we change the messages that we are sending?

 If you wake up in the morning thinking “There’s so much to do today, I’ll never get it all finished” versus “I have a busy day ahead but I can cope with this,” how do you think the brain interprets the level of ‘threat’? What story do you think is a better one to be feeding the brain?

Reframe and Question 

Often a simple ‘re-framing’ of the mindset can go a long way in managing your stress. The magic is in the objective questioning of stress.

Take a deep breath (or few) and ask:

Is the to-do list actually as life-or-death-threatening as it feels to me? Is my stress helpful? What resources do I have? (Including other people!)

 The more capable I told myself that I was at dealing with the impeding to-do list, the less consuming it felt, and the less I fell prey to the sense of overwhelming, emotionally draining, fatiguing stress.

How much of your stress could be spared by changing the narrative that you tell yourself? 

Unwind

Two important things to help manage the stress are:

1. Make sure you’re providing your body that physiological release of extra energy and adrenaline -exercise is a great way to let it all out.

2. Counteract the threat messages with some safety messages. Connect with loved ones, do something you enjoy.

3. For some more ideas check out our previous blog Our Top 5 Stress Management Tips and if you want to actually measure your body’s stress tolerance check out this blog: Our Secret Ingredient
   

Professional Stress Support

If you are just too overwhelmed, have too much on your plate and not sure how to deal with it of course talk to your friends, family, colleagues and managers. But also remember that there is no shame in seeking professional support such as a counsellor or psychologist - that’s their job!

Authors: Yolanda van Vugt and Biara Webster  

References and Resources 

• The self-perception of flexible coping with stress: A new measure and relations with emotional adjustment (Zimmer-Gembeck et al. 2018)

• Reducing Stress - Beyond Blue

• Coronavirus, Stress and Anxiety - Black Dog Institute 

• Hints to Avoid Harmful Stress - Black Dog Institute