Stress management tips and techniques are needed now more than ever. Stress is such a powerful word. Everyone seems to be afraid of the word and what it means. However, what people don’t know is there are two kinds of stress, there is distress, which is the ‘negative’ stress that most people fear feeling and there is eustress which is what could be called ‘positive’ stress. So what is the difference?
The only real difference between eustress and distress is the psychological interpretation you give to the feelings and sensations that you have.
Let me explain, the level of stress you feel is basically related to the level of physiological arousal you have, or in more simple terms, the intensity of the sensations that you feel in your body.
When you feel stress, some of the common symptoms are as follows:
Increased heart rate
Shorter breaths
Hot or cold flushes
Sweatiness
Churning in the stomach
Now this is the interesting part, it is not the feeling of these sensations that is the problem, but the interpretation you give to these sensations. In other words, when you feel these sensations, what does it mean to you?
Commonly, people interpret these sensations in a way to make them feel distressed. They start thinking things along the line of ‘these feelings are making me nervous, and I’m going to fail, I can’t cope, I wish they would just go away’.
But, what if you knew the reason for these sensations and gave them a different interpretation?
What if you realized that these sensations are part of your bodies natural mechanism to prepare you for action? What if instead of trying to get rid of these sensations, you accepted them and interpreted them as preparation signals. What if you could actually got excited about feeling these sensations?
Well, you can, and the best part is, when you accept them and even get excited about having them, then the whole game changes.
Let’s use an example.
Public Speaking: Many people get all those sensations and failure thoughts when they know they have to speak.
But everyone gets those feelings, it’s completely normal and natural. So what makes the difference between a successful and unsuccessful speaker.
Acceptance and an interpretation of preparedness.
The more successful people when it comes to performing, accept those feelings and interpret them as their bodies natural preparation response.
The kind of thoughts this person may have are ‘my heart is beating faster that means I’m getting ready, and that feeling in my stomach is that of excitement, and the sweat I feel is my natural response to keep me at the right temperature so I can perform at my absolute best’. When you interpret in this manner, the arousal you feel becomes positive eustress and this is what leads to peak performance and stress management.
To your Success and Fulfilling Happiness,
Aleks Srbinoski
