What Are The Differences Between Eustress, Distress And Stress?
In popular language it is common to hear that stress is a bad thing. This emotion is normally associated with anguish, discomfort and dysfunction, synonymous with it being a bad emotion.
The truth is that stress is not that bad. In fact, if we take an evolutionary point of view, there must be some reason why this emotion has remained in our species. It has to have an adaptive factor, something good.
Because of this, there are those who prefer to talk about eustress and distress more than just plain stress and that is precisely what we are going to talk about below. Here we are going to see what they are the main differences between eustress, distress and stresshighlighting the definitions of these three terms.
The differences between stress, distress and eustress (explained)
In our everyday language we usually use the word “stress” attributing it a negative meaning. This has led to the belief that all stress is bad, which is not entirely true. Stress is an emotion like any other and the fact that human beings show it is due to the fact that, throughout the evolutionary history of our species, it has been useful to express this response to certain stimuli. Stress is, simply, the body’s response to changes that create very demanding demands.
We can differentiate between different types of stress, something raised by Richard S. Lazarus (1922-2002) who, based on the work of Hans Selye (1907-1982) who suggested that there are differences between positive stress, calling it eustress, and negative stress, calling it distress or anguish in simpler terms.
As a human emotion, stress will be experienced by everyone at some point in their lives. AND It is necessary depending on what occasions. However, we must differentiate between eustress and distress, one being more adaptive and useful than the other.
Let’s see what the main differences are between eustress, distress and stress, although we already mentioned that the first two are within the latter.
What is stress?
When we talk about stress we are referring to the response that our body establishes when faced with a situation that we perceive as dangerous or demanding. This response occurs at both a physical and psychological level, manifesting itself in the form of physiological changes, as a consequence of being faced with a stressor that is nothing more than any change or stimulus that is believed to affect our physical or mental integrity.
Stress has been necessary throughout the history of evolution and it is thanks to it that we have survived. We can understand this if we think of the human being as what he is, an animal, and that thousands of years ago he was faced with the threats of nature such as predators. In a situation like this there were two responses to survive: fight or flee.
We say that Stress is a physiological response, as well as psychological, because it also manifests itself at an organic level.. Stress manifests itself organically in the form of physiological activation, which actually helps us carry out one of the two behaviors that we have mentioned. When we feel stress our heart races, blood pressure increases, digestion is inhibited and blood sugar levels increase. All of these physiological changes are aimed at making flight and attack as efficient as possible, providing energy to the muscles.
While you can’t rule out the possibility of finding yourself in a fight-or-flight situation, that’s rather complicated these days. However, we do continue to feel stress, in large quantities it may be said, even though we no longer experience the same threats as our prehistoric ancestors. Most of the stress experienced by Homo sapiens modern comes from your own mindarising from psychological tensions and ruminations resulting from overestimating threats.
Thus, when we perceive a threat, such as an upcoming exam, work obligations or having to break up with a partner, we begin to feel stressed. They are not things that are going to harm us physically, but in our minds they are perceived as if they were as dangerous as the anthropophagous animals that our prehistoric ancestors had to face.
What is eustress?
Eustress is a relatively recent concept that has been described as synonymous with positive, useful and motivating stress.. This type of stress is what motivates us to continue working, to improve our performance and achieve goals and challenges. It is physical, psychological and emotional tension but productive, efficient, which brings us closer to success. Like any other type of stress, this activates the body and mind, preparing the resources to face everything that must be overcome. Here, the energy generated to face the obstacle or task to be overcome is proportional to what the situation demands.
What causes a person to experience positive or negative stress will depend on several factors, but among the main ones are the person’s perception of the event and the stressor itself.
Usually, When a person feels confident in their ability to overcome a certain stressful event, they are more likely to experience positive stress.. Naturally it will cause some tension, but that person will know that sooner or later the situation will end up being overcome, which allows him to think calmly about what he is doing and not get more overwhelmed than necessary.
What we can see from eustress is that stress, in doses proportionate to the stimulus to be faced and momentarily, is beneficial. Physiological and psychological activation, when it serves to confront obstacles and achieve goals, is good for our lives. However, if the tension lasts too long and begins to increase, this activation will turn into distress. This negative stress occurs when the situation becomes too overwhelming or other stressors occur at the same time.
What is distress?
Distress is known or negative stress, and it’s what most people associate with feeling stressed. This is the type of response that tends to make people feel overwhelmed, anxious and suffer physical and psychological symptoms such as irritability, insomnia, lack of concentration and attention, headaches, stomach discomfort, dry mouth…
Distress, when it is frequent, intense and chronic, ends up harming our mind and body. It is for this reason that presenting negative stress is related to a series of physical illnesses and psychological disorders, in addition to being an obstacle to leading a full and functional life.
People who suffer from high levels of stress have problems performing at work, in studies and in social relationships such as friends, family and partner.In addition, it can reach the point of not enjoying life or enjoying hobbies that were pleasurable before.
The main difference between eustress and distress has to do with the stressors that cause the tension response and how the person evaluates them. Distress, which some also call anguish, occurs when the individual perceives the stressors as beyond their control or that the ability to solve or change them is not available to them.
When you feel distressed it is common to feel overwhelmed and helpless.and since a viable solution has not yet been reached, those who suffer from it return to worry and manifest other unproductive responses.
Among the most common sources of distress we find the following:
Related article: “Second-hand stress: how it affects us, causes, and how to manage it”
Signs of positive and negative stress
Now that we have seen the definitions between stress, eustress and distress we can highlight their main differences. What we can extract from them is that eustress and distress They are two modalities of stress, which if understood in its neutral sense refers to physiological and psychological tension and activation. to cope with a certain demand from the environment, whether carrying out fight or flight behavior.
Can discern various signs between positive stress or eustress and negative stress or distress:
Signs of eustress or positive stress.
Short-term duration.
It produces energy and increases our motivation.
Feeling of coping ability.
Create excitement and attention on the problems to be solved.
It contributes to developing physical and mental problems.
The impact of stress
As we have seen in the previous section, distress can cause alterations on a psychological and physical level. Negative stress and in high doses usually negatively impacts the mood, health and functioning of those who suffer from it..
When this tension is chronic or occurs often, it leaves its mark on an organic level. This emotion has an impact on our physiology, increasing cortisol levels and can cause a series of physical and psychological problems, such as the following:
Sleep problems: insomnia, hypersomnia…
Physical pain or discomfort: headache, stomach pain, tingling…
Alterations in appetite
Increased heart rate, breathing and blood pressure.
Difficult to focus.
Memory problems.
Chronic fatigue.
Having racing or repetitive intrusive thoughts.
Irritability and lower tolerance for frustration.
Anxiety and depression.
Chronic use of painkillers and anxiolytics.
Increased risk of substance use disorders.
Increased risk of chronic diseases.
Heart problems.
Increased mortality.
Conclusion and final reflection
As we can see, stress in itself is not bad. It is an emotion that has been present in our species throughout its evolutionary history and that has helped it survive and adapt. Without stress it would be very difficult for our species to survive, since it is this emotion that awakens the behavior of fight or flight in the face of threats as obviously harmful to our physical integrity as, for example, the attack of a lion.
Stress is subdivided into two types: positive, which is eustress, and negative, which is distress. Eustress is that emotional tension that motivates us to face a specific obstacle or event, something that, although it may not threaten us vitally, does require a certain energy and activation to be able to overcome it. Distress, on the other hand, is disproportionate emotional tension which causes us to feel great discomfort and not respond adequately to a stimulus which is not as dangerous as we perceive it to be.
All people will feel stress throughout their lives, both of one type and another. The total absence of one and the complete presence of the other are problematic, since without eustress one cannot actively respond towards overcoming vital objectives and with too much distress we risk suffering psychological and physical problems due to excessive tension. In both cases, you should go to a psychologist to acquire the necessary tools to manage stress and respond adaptively to life’s problems.
