Depression Tip #17: Distress! (+ Eustress)💙

In this video, I want to talk about distress versus eustress. It's actually very interesting because when people talk about stress, they're normally talking about distress. So the feeling that we can't cope, the feeling that we're overwhelmed, the physical response that we don't like and feels uncomfortable, we reach for coping mechanisms and avoidance and things like that.💙

But there's actually two different types of stress. There's the distress, which is what I've been talking about. And there's eustress, which is positive. And you have a reaction where you're energized and you want to get stuck in and you think it's something you can achieve and you're excited to do it.💙

The interesting thing is the difference between distress and eustress is our perception. If something's coming down the line towards you, like a deadline, and you don't think you can cope, that gives rise to distress.💙

If you're looking forward to that deadline, if there's excitement and enjoyment, then that's eustress. The deadline, the thing that's going to happen is the same thing. But whether it feels like distress or it feels like eustress is based on you and your perception. 💙

And when we're depressed, it's almost always distress. 💙

https://www.epicentering.com/blog/depression-tip-17-distress-eustress