Don’t Throw Shade, Stress Can Be Positive Too!
Have you ever been stressed out? If you said yes, then FPS is here to help! Let’s start off by talking about what stress is, there are two types:
1. Distress: negative stress that can cause physical, mental or emotional strain
2. Eustress: normal stress that can be motivating to the person experiencing it
Stress can be different for everyone. How people respond to stress can be positive or negative. Take a rollercoaster for example, it may be stressful for some but fun for others. How about exercising? Some people love to exercise while others do not.
A survey found the top five factors of stress to be:
Money
Work
Family
Economy
Relationships
Distress can have negative effects on a person and their health
For example:
Headaches
Trouble sleeping
Irritability
Lack of concentration
Quick to anger
Fight or Flight is an example of eustress
Stress motivates the fight or flight response, which is essential for survival. Here is an example: you are walking home and someone is following you. What do you do? You can either turn around and confront the person (fight) or run away from the person to safety (flight).
The fight response does not necessarily mean you are going to get into a physical fight but could be as simple as standing up for yourself or motivate you to take action. For example: worrying about your job and how you are going to feed your family could be used as a motivating factor for you to find a more stable job (fight) and be able to feed your family without worrying.
Things you can do to help deal with stress
Be active
Eat healthy
Avoid unhealthy habits
Meditate
Take naps
Laugh more
Connect with others
Play with pets
Assert yourself
Try Yoga
Get enough sleep
Try journaling
Get creative
Listen to music
Talk to someone you trust or ask to talk to a counselor
Technology can help!
There are many apps for these types of activities right on your phone! Some of them are listed below and see if one is right for you. If not, try some searches in your phone’s App Store to find a good fit.
In some situations, we cannot stop certain factors from causing us stress, but we can adjust how we deal with that stress! Stress factors may be similar for many people, but it is not a “One Size Fits All” for a solution. Do things that you know bring you happiness and try new things to discover more ways!