The Warsaw High School Times

As you are reading this, somebody out there is likely not able to say a word just because of how stressed they are to make their very important public speech. But why do not all of us feel the same while experiencing this type of situation? How are some people able to overcome their stress during their speeches and presentations? You may or may not have heard of eustress and distress, and even if you have, do you know how to use it to your advantage?

Firstly, we need to elaborate on the subject of stress and what can it be caused by. It is a feeling of tension – emotional or physical. It is mostly our body’s reaction to some form of challenge or demand. It is also said to be a wholly negative experience, but… is it really like that?

Frankly speaking, we can (at least partially) debunk this idea when we look at the idea of eustress. At first, it feels truly challenging, but then turns out to be manageable and can lead to our growth! Distress, on the other hand, is generally a difficult experience that involves many negative feelings which can lead to (for instance, academic) burnout.

“So how do I keep myself away from distress and just focus on eustress?” Well, the answer is not so straightforward. First, we must emphasize that all people have different experiences with stress, depending on their ability to cope with it as well as its causes. For individuals, it only takes a quick thought about the reward to switch from distress to eustress. Others need to put in a little more effort – but do not worry! You can easily promote eustress by just doing some puzzles or starting a new hobby!

Eustress can occur, for instance, when we know that we are well prepared for an exam – we are sure we will do great and the stress caused by the exam is quite little, it motivates us, gives us dopamine, and helps us to feel good about our life, as clinical psychiatrist Dr. Michael Genovese states.

But the exact opposite may happen if we did not really study for an upcoming exam – we crammed all night for it, but as a result of not revising earlier, we are genuinely stressed about taking our exam. Our distress causes us to feel anxious, panicked, or overwhelmed during exams.

From my experience I can tell you that finding out about eustress helped me a lot. Right now, whenever I feel anxious before an exam or some kind of performance, I just tell myself that my preparation and endorphins can easily help me get through it. Trust me, it really works!

As we all know, stress can feel unpleasant, however we must remember that not all types of it are bad for our health. Of course, that is as long as it is not a constant feeling. Sometimes, the positive type of stress a.k.a. eustress may encourage our personal growth! It is said that turning distress to eustress can help to expand yours coping resources and even lead to an improvement in mental health. Good luck with your upcoming events! You can do it!