Stress is defined as "anything that stimulates you to act, think, or react." While most of us know stress as something we dont want in our lives, there is such a thing as good stress. Knowing the difference between the types of stresses can help you identify the bad stress in your life and address it through one of methods suggested below.
Good Stress: Good stress is stress we need to survive and accomplish tasks. It helps us to learn, adapt, and engage with our environment. Imagine you've been walking for hours and suddenly your ankle begins to throb. This is a good stress. Your body is sending you the message to stop walking to prevent further injury. The stress you might experience when confronted with a house fire is also a good stress because it drives you to act. We confront good stress on a daily basis whether it helps us to finish a project at work or to remember to take medication on time.
Bad Stress: You're probably more familiar with bad forms of stress. Rather than helping us, bad stress hinders our actions and daily functioning. Bad stress can be internal, environmental, or caused by fatigue/overworking. Whether it stems from low self-esteem, a chaotic office environment or not getting enough sleep, when bad stress begins to build up it has many physical and psychological effects. This kind of stress can have a huge negative impact on your mind and your body.
