TYPES OF STRESS

Stress is often a positive phenomenon. It is stress that will take you out of the path of a charging bull and it is stress that makes you hurry to meet a deadline. Some people even admit that they enjoy what they term the "adrenalin rush," that energizes you to get a job done. Stress can be positive and negative at the same time. (e.g. There is excitement stress prior to facing a challenge that could yield accolades for a successful outcome but could be degrading or embarrassing if the outcome is unsatisfactory).

Eustress: Positive stress (exciting opportunities & challenges).

Distress: Negative stress (high demands & undesirable tasks).

Overload: Unrealistic expectations and punitive interpersonal responses by self or others to accomplish too much in too little time.

Arousal: Physical and emotional excitation alerting the body for action (heart pounding, adrenaline rush) to meet a physical or cognitive challenge.

Physical stress: The body is often subjected to physical stress like exercise, sports and hard physical labor, which in some cases can be invigorating and refreshing. It can be eustress or distress.

Environmental stress: This form of stress occurs with exposure to a change of altitude, climate, or pollution in the atmosphere. Even extreme temperature changes from hot to cold or vice versa can strain the human adaptation processes.

Emotional stress: This form of stress includes all of the cognitive and behavioral causes and outcomes that strain our coping mechanisms.