All About Stress
Positive, Negative, and Toxic Stress

What is stress and when do you need to acknowledge it?

Not all stress is detrimental, positive stress which is called eustress can be helpful to activate your body and mind towards tasks that you deem important. This might look like stress before a job interview, stress before your wedding night, stress before giving birth or stress before the first day of high school. Eustress alerts us to put aside additional resources and increase our capacity towards preparing or enduring the anticipated stressor, and while it may result in anxiety-like symptoms (sweat, GI concerns, worry thoughts, quicken heart rate, restlessness) typically it does not overextend you and it motivates you to devote the needed time and resources towards the stressor during a brief period of time.

Negative stress is more intense than positive stress and elevates more intense stress symptoms but is typically reduced with a healthy support system and healthy habits that mitigate stress. This might look like having and utilizing healthy coping mechanisms, belonging to and participating in a supportive community, having a safe and balanced work or school environment, and maintaining healthy relationships with others and to oneself.

Toxic stress is when your nervous system is in fight, flight, freeze, or fawn for an extended period of time, or when you’re enduring multiple stressors at once. When you experience negative stress continually or at high rates over time, your body and mind withstand negative impacts that can contribute to long-lasting health concerns. This often occurs when you don’t have healthy support systems, measures to mitigate negative stress, or if you have endured or are experiencing crises such as abuse, natural disasters, displacement, or longstanding financial, safety, or nutrition concerns.

It is important to have support if you are noticing negative or toxic stress in your life or if you’re having difficulty learning how to build or sustain healthy support systems to manage and reduce stress. If you’re in need of support please reach out to one of our therapists or coaches for guidance.

-Chima