When we say we’re stressed, what we’re usually referring to is distress.
There’s a different type of stress, though, called eustress, or simply ‘good stress’ and it happens when we perceive a potentially distressing event or situation as a challenge rather than a threat.
In other words: it’s not about the event, but how we interpret the event that determines whether stress is invigorating or distressing.
Is this reminding you of a recent post about Hamlet? Me too.
Stoic philosophy and cognitive therapy? Uh huh.
Victor Frankl, father of logotherapy has this to say about it in his book Man’s Search for Meaning:
I consider it a major misconception of mental hygeine to assume that what man needs in the first place is … a tensionless state. What man actually needs is not a tensionless state, but rather the striving and struggling for a worthwhile goal, a freely chosen task. What he needs is not the discharge of tension at any cost but the call of a potential meaning waiting to be fulfilled by him … And one should not think that this holds true only for normal conditions; in neurotic individuals, it is even more valid. If architects want to strengthen a decrepit arch, they increase the load which is laid upon it, for thereby the parts are joined more firmly together.
If we replace ‘tensionless state’ with ‘rest’ and ‘the striving and struggling for … a freely chosen task’ as ‘recreation’ then we have two of the
three R’s of relaxation which we’ve talked about here before.
Try this:
Next time you’re faced with a task that makes your heart race (or sink) just thinking about it, try viewing it as a challenge rather than a threat. If it’s the size of the task that’s troubling, break it down into more manageable (challenging but not too challenging) sub-tasks. If you feel like you lack the knowledge or expertise to complete the task, view it as an opportunity to learn a new skill (or if there’s not enough time to learn a new skill, to connect with people who you can delegate to).
Take home message:
Managing your meaning can make work into recreation and distress into eustress.
photo credit: chantrybee
