Eustress and distress are two forms of stress that respectively have a mainly positive and mainly negative influence. Eustress is a recognizable form of stress for the body, and is short-lived. After sustaining such a stress boost, the body is able to fully recover. By repeating and successfully recovering from eustress, we build up more resistance to the stressor. One might say that your stress fitness increases. Distress, by contrast, is an unplanned form of stress that your body is not yet able to deal with. Distress gives a greater stress response in comparison to eustress, and you need longer to recover from it. We experience distress as a negative emotion, and a 100% recovery takes much longer than the recovery of eustress.
Whenever someone talks about stress , they often refer to the negative side of the term. However, there are certainly benefits to it. That is because stress is a natural reaction to a physical, emotional, or mental change. Your body adapts and tries to restore its internal balance. The causes of stress are endless, and vary from a good workout to a hectic working day to a bruised knee. This makes stress a natural phenomenon, and certainly not negative in all cases. Stress ensures that we are sharp at the right moment and that we can adapt to new circumstances.
In addition, everyone experiences stress differently. For example, a presentation to a full house for person A will be a lot of fun, while person B worries about it for weeks. How you react to stress sources or load is completely personal and depends on several factors. Through good self-examination, you gain insight into your sources of stress, so you can better deal with them.
By putting yourself to the test, you experience which forms of stress work positively or negatively for you. By regularly taxing yourself and recovering from it properly, your resistance to stress grows. For example, sources of distress (negative) can become eustress (positive) over time.
