How To Turn Stress Into Something Positive
When most of us think of the word ‘stress,’ we immediately associate it with all things negative. In fact, the word itself has become a synonym for DIS-STRESS (an actual state of ill-being) used whenever things in life are particularly challenging.
But the thing is, stress itself is not inherently good or bad, it is simply a physiological response by the body to any demand or change. It is our belief or perception about the stressor that leads to us labelling it good or bad.
So when we perceive something as bad, our body will follow suit and enter a physiological stress response (i.e. fight, flight, freeze). Interestingly enough, we can create a very real stress response in the body simply through our thought process.
Consider a time when you have watched a scary movie or thought about a particularly distressing time in your life. While you may not be in any real danger currently, you may still feel your heart rate elevate, your body temperature increase, a heightened sense of awareness, etc.T his is your body’s physiological response to a perceived threat.
So what does all this mean?
Well it means that YOU hold the power in the way perceive stressors. You can see it as bad (dis-stress) or you can change our mindset and see some stress as positive (known as eustress).
Take exercise for example; most of us don’t view exercise as ‘bad’ stress, yet technically you are creating the same stress response in the body.
However, when dosed appropriately, it creates positive outcomes such as increased strength, improved aerobic capacity etc. Other examples include buying a home, starting a new job, etc - all can be stressful yet yield positive growth.
Ideally, as the image above shows, we are always experiencing an appropriate dose of stress to keep us focused, challenged, and growing. If we experience no stressors at all we risk feelings of boredom or apathy, while if we experience chronic dis-stress we may begin to encounter mental/physical burnout.
Here is an exercise you can try at home to better understand your relationship with stress…
Create two separate columns on a piece of paper.
In one column write down all of the things you experiences as dis-stress
In the other column write down all of the things you experience as positive stress.
Through a shift in mindset, are there any dis-stressors that YOU could move to the other category?
Finally, write down how your change in mindset will have a positive impact on your life.
The reality is we may go through periods of time in life in which we experience more of one than the other…
But our mindset towards how we perceive stress can have can a significant positive impact on our resilience and our overall health.
I’d love to hear from you! Let me know by commenting below what takeaways you had from this powerful exercise.