Stressed? Here’s what to do about it…
33% of people report feeling extreme stress.
77% percent of people experience stress that affects their physical health.
73% of people have stress that impacts their mental health.
Stress is running rampant, at least according to this research from the American Institute of Stress Statistics. If you’re not feeling it, the fact that we have an institute dedicated to stress statistics should tell you all you need to know about its prevalence. With over-stress being proven to negatively impact energy, happiness and productivity… the question is what do we do about it?
I have a different thought about how to deal with stress than most of what I’ve seen out there. Most writing I’ve come across will tell you to solve your stress just by finding a less stressful job. Or adjust your circumstances to be more stress-free. Or use these mind tricks to be calm. I think that’s all potentially true, but what if there was something missing from that paradigm. Let’s back up for a minute to look at stress more generally.
Stress is a kind of discomfort like any other (remember, discomfort is discomfort). And wouldn’t you know it, research has shown that stress isn’t all bad. There’s distress (that we’re all familiar with) and eustress, which according to research, is stress that has a positive impact on us, actually priming us for action and motivating us to achieve.
Our biological response to either kind of stress is identical. Blood pressure might rise, breathing speeds up, muscles might tense and you’re more alert. I’ve done my homework on this stuff and you know what the difference is between distress and eustress?
Belief.
Yes, what you believe is happening around you.
If you believe that you’re facing an insurmountable threat, you can’t succeed or you’re unable to cope…that = distress. And it can be very damaging over time (for more serious cases, you even can use professional support).
Conversely, if you believe you’re dealing with something you can win, you find purpose in your work and / or you’re confident in your ability to figure something out… that = eustress.
Let’s take a hop, skip and a jump to that next step, shall we?
If your context, what you believe, is dictating whether or not you’re experiencing stress that is helping you or hurting you… Maybe instead of changing your circumstances to destress to your comfort level, we could consider expanding our comfort level to rise above our circumstances. We could surrender any limiting beliefs we might be carrying to get comfortable with the uncomfortable.
Now, there are all sorts of factors that can help you do that. Of course, one of the most important is to be surrounded by the right people. Other factors include your physical wellbeing, the duration of the stress and resources you have access to. I found this Medical News Today article helpful, which goes into a bit more detail about the types of stress and how to promote eustress with exercises.
If you need some of that support structure, join me in the #NoMatterWhat Community. You can post what resources you’re looking for and even DM me directly. I’ll make sure you get plugged into what you need to support you changing that distress into eustress. Of course, if you’re experiencing chronic stress, I would point you towards professional support. You know this already, but I’m not a doctor or medical professional by any means. I only know what I’ve researched, and more so, what I’ve experienced first hand.
Most of those things you’re dealing with aren’t actually causing stress. Our beliefs about those things are causing the stress. As we can start to shift those limiting beliefs and grow our capacity to deal with life’s stressors, the more we can take that debilitating distress and turn it into the superpower of eustress. Changing your circumstances isn’t the only solution to distress. We can actually Choose to change ourselves.