HOLISTIC - Stress Management

Jamie Milne Training

Effective stress management helps you break the hold stress has on your life, so you can be happier, healthier, and more productive. 

The ultimate goal is a balanced life, with time for work, relationships, relaxation, and fun and the resilience to hold up under pressure and meet challenges head on.

Over the next two articles I will share a 5-step applicable tool to utilise now to manage stress when you find yourself in a stressful environment and or situation, event or moment.

“Stand and fight” - our JMT Motto and logo.

What that means is don’t run from your stress, as it will either facilitate or debilitate you.

Embrace and integrate it, it’s a feedback mechanism and you ultimately get to decide what you make it mean.

There are 2 types of stress: eustress and distress.

Eustress is a positive stress response that can be beneficial, while distress is a negative stress response that can be harmful: 

Eustress, also known as "good stress" - eustress is a short-lived stress that can motivate people to take action and achieve goals. It's associated with moderate levels of demands, and people feel a sense of control and that they can handle the stressor. 

Examples of eustress include: feeling butterflies before a first kiss; participating in a sports event; being promoted at work. 

Distress is an unhealthy form of stress that can cause physical and mental health issues. It's associated with low and high levels of demands, and people feel a lack of control and that the stressor is a threat. 

Examples of distress include: losing a job; a family member is diagnosed with an illness; work conflicts or insecurity; relationship challenges; bullying; chronic pain. 

Distress can trigger physiological changes that can pose serious health risks, especially if combined with maladaptive ways of coping. 

However, distress is not inherently damaging. In some cases, people who initially feel distressed may become motivated to address a problem, leading to better outcomes in the future.

So in summary stand and fight the stress, don’t run from it, integrate it into your life. Integrate by definition means to form or unite into a whole. 

Make stress work for you rather than against you.