What is the Difference Between Distress and Eustress?
🆚 Go to Comparative Table 🆚The main difference between distress and eustress lies in their effects on an individual's well-being. Distress is a negative stress that can cause anxiety, fear, and worry, while eustress is a positive stress that promotes feelings of energy, focus, excitement, and fulfillment.
Distress:
- Causes negative feelings and experiences.
- Can lead to physical symptoms such as chest pain, headaches, digestive issues, or insomnia.
- Can worsen or cause serious health conditions, such as heart disease.
- Often results from negative experiences and situations, like losing a job or a family member's illness.
Eustress:
- Promotes positive feelings and experiences.
- Can build mental resilience and even physical strength.
- Helps with motivation and working toward goals.
- Often results from positive experiences, like starting a new job or getting married.
To create more positive stress (eustress) in your life, consider trying new activities, participating in physical activity, learning new skills, setting challenging yet realistic goals, or taking on new responsibilities at work.
Comparative Table: Distress vs Eustress
Here is a table comparing the differences between distress and eustress:
| Category | Distress | Eustress |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Negative, overwhelming stress that impairs functioning | Positive, motivating, adaptive, and helpful stress |
| Energy | Provides restless energy | Provides productive energy |
| Focus | Decreases focus | Helps increase focus |
| Motivation | Increases procrastination/avoidance | Increases motivation |
| Emotional Experience | Often experienced as fear/concern | Often experienced as excitement |
| Manageability | Feels overwhelming | Feels manageable |
| Performance | Impairs performance | Improves performance |
| Examples | Work problems, illness, or injury | Achieving a goal, exercising, practicing mindfulness, or listening to music |
Distress is negative, overwhelming stress that impairs functioning, while eustress is positive, motivating, adaptive, and helpful stress. Distress often leads to restless energy, decreased focus, procrastination, and feelings of fear or concern. In contrast, eustress provides productive energy, increased focus, motivation, excitement, and improved performance.
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