Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Positive Thinking For Both Stress And Anxiety

By Jonathan Park

All of us encounter stress. It is part of our everyday lives. It is unavoidable. Stress only brings negativity when we react a certain way to stressors. Hans Selye, an endocrinologist, proposed that there are two kinds of stress. There is "eustress", which is good stress; and there is "distress" or bad stress. Eustress is the stress that's felt when there is a realization of something good that will happen after a certain ordeal. Distress, on the other hand, happens when one cannot adapt to stress.

Anxiety is a state of mind characterized by constant worry, uneasiness, and fear. While stress, or distress for that matter, is due to a negative reaction to what recently happened or what is currently happening, anxiety is a result of the reaction to an upcoming, possibly negative, event. For this reason, anxiety is often associated with fear and is sometimes confused with it.

Stress can lead one to a path of various physical and mental disorders. Anxiety is one of them. This is why stress management is so important. But sometimes, especially for those who do not know what it is, stress hits without the stressed realizing it. Some people develop anxiety or panic disorders without knowing that their stress has been left unchecked for a long time.

If you are stressed too much due to the bad things that have happened to you, pause and realize that there are good things that have happened as well. If there is none, there is still the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. There are always better things to think about. If you think you've been overly anxious recently, realize that your constant fear isn't really something to be feared. It just comes natural for you to think of worst-case scenarios. Try to do what you have not been doing: think of positive outcomes and work hard to achieve them.

Stress and anxiety have always been about the negative. Stress is due to the negative past and present, while anxiety fears the possibly negative future. Having a positive outlook can be difficult for those who suffer from chronic stress and anxiety disorders, but it is always one of the first steps in overcoming either one. - 16890

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