We
all experience stress at some point of time or the other.
When we cannot manage our physical, psychological and sociological
demands, we are said to be under stress. Factors that make
us stressed are usually known as stressors. Because of the
fact that we generally tend to misuse terms and use them
loosely, the word stress rings a bell in our minds and associates
it with negativity. Technically speaking, stress is necessarily
neither negative nor positive. It becomes negative or positive
depending on how we perceive it and how much it effects
us.
For
example, the pressure of a deadline can make an executive
excited. While on the one hand, he or she may take it up
as a challenge and work hard to achieve the goal, on the
other hand, the same deadline may appear frustrating to
somebody else and the person might break down. Hence, neither
stress nor a stressor is either good or bad. It all depends
on how we react to it. When a stress becomes `too much'
for us and we cannot cope with it, we experience the state
of `distress'. Distress is unhealthy and a continuation
of it can affect the mind and the body negatively. Again,
when we experience some stress which we consider to be within
a limit and can be sorted out, it becomes a positive stress.
We feel satisfted and happy at being able to cope up with
it. This helps us in motivating ourselves and in integrating
our personality in a better way. This is the state of `eustress'. |
