How to transform stress into something positive
We have all felt stressed at some point in our lives or we have heard a friend or family member complain about being stressed. The truth is that it's weird the day we do not hear the word stress, and that is, it has become a common word in our vocabulary, which we all understand as negative. But how can we transform stress into something positive?
When we live a stress situation, changes occur in our body; we notice physical changes like palpitations, dry mouth, fatigue, tightness in the chest ... in our emotions, we are more irritated, tired, worried and in our way of behaving, we are more restless, nervous tics can appear, we sleep worse .. However, are all these changes that are always negative? Being stressed ... can you only live stress as something negative? The answer is no, There is a positive stress called eustress.
Differences between negative stress and positive stress.
We talk about stress when faced with a situation, a change, a demand from our environment we perceive it as threatening, since we think that our ability to successfully face the situation is not enough. In these cases, it is not uncommon for us to feel overwhelmed, as the situation demands an overexertion and, as a consequence, our personal well-being becomes unbalanced.
Therefore, this type of stress hurts us, makes us feel unable to cope with the situation, limits us. When we remain in this state for a long time, our organism suffers the consequences and our well-being suffers.
But nevertheless, Stress does not always have negative consequences, there is a type of positive stress called "eustress". This type of stress helps us to start up all our personal resources to face the demands of the environment in a more adaptive way, to react to changes with more energy and creativity, to give the maximum of ourselves and to improve our personal development.
How to turn stress into positive stress
To stop perceiving stress as something negative that overwhelms us and to start giving it a more positive sense, to move us to action and bring us benefits, we can implement some of the following tips:
1. Look at difficulties as opportunities to improve, learn and grow as a person. Instead of paying attention to the problem, we must focus on the solutions, on what we can change, on what we have control, in this way we strengthen our capacities.
2. Watch your thoughts. If our inner voice constantly tells us "you will not be able to do it", "it is very difficult", "it has no solution", etc. it is time to stop, question our thoughts and reinterpret the situation. If we believe what this voice tells us, we will end up not being able to face the situation optimally.
3. Take care of your health. Doing physical exercise, having a good diet, resting properly and learning relaxation techniques will help us to deal with problems with a more positive attitude by reducing negative stress.
4. Desahógate. Faced with situations that produce discomfort, having the support of family and friends is very important, talk to them and make them participate in your concerns to reduce your stress, but do not monopolize the conversation or the effect will be the opposite.
Rocío Navarro Psychologist Director of Psicolari, integral psychology
