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Anthea Rowan

Stress is almost always cast in a negative light. But in the world of psychology, stress can also be positive.
That “good” type is eustress, the productive spark that sharpens our focus. The “bad” type is distress, the stress that leaves us drained.
While they feel worlds apart, they have the same immediate impact on our biology.
“From an autonomic nervous system perspective, the initial physiological response is similar,” Hong Kong-based clinical psychologist Dr Julia Andre says.
Whether you are fuelled by the adrenaline of a new challenge or paralysed by dread, the internal machinery is the same: the body floods with cortisol, the heart rate climbs and the sympathetic nervous system kicks into high gear.

The important difference lies in what happens next.
“With eustress, the perceived challenge feels manageable, meaningful. The cortisol spike is sharp but short-lived, and the body quickly returns to baseline,” Andre says.
“With distress, particularly when chronic, cortisol levels remain elevated because the nervous system never receives the signal that the threat has passed.”
It is that sustained level of cortisol, not the spike, that causes the problem. It degrades sleep, immunity and focus, and can even compromise our heart health.
How we think about a stressor influences how we react to it, and we all think about stressors differently.
“The same presentation, the same deadline, the same conflict, interpreted as a threat versus a challenge, will produce different hormonal and cardiovascular profiles [in different people],” Andre says.

The body is responding to the story we tell ourselves about what is happening to us. Good stress can galvanise us and help us perform. Bad stress needs to be managed.
Hong Kong-based clinical psychologist Dr Sharmeen Shroff says that when a patient complains of stress, it is important to help them identify the triggers.
“When you know what causes your stress, you’re in a better position to manage it,” Shroff says.
The two most common stressors include work stress and relationship difficulties. Work stress is usually the consequence of chronic overwork, job insecurity, burnout, toxic workplaces, “or a mismatch between personal values and job demands”.

Relationship stressors often arise over difficulties in conflict resolution with a partner, or parenting or caregiving.
Shroff says that resolving stress is about setting boundaries, “taking things away from a to-do list rather than adding things to it”, and reframing the expectations we have of ourselves.
Here are some helpful stress hacks you can try.
Vagus nerve stimulation
The vagus nerve is the “superhighway” of the parasympathetic nervous system, or, as Andre calls it, “the body’s built-in brake pedal”.
There are many natural ways to stimulate it to calm the nervous system, including humming, doing breathwork, getting sun exposure, laughing and taking a cold plunge.
A wide range of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) devices deliver an electrical pulse to key points on the body, such as the neck or wrist. This triggers a relaxation response, lowering cortisol levels.
As Andre points out, however: “The body doesn’t care whether the stimulus is a HK$3,000 [US$380] gadget, a walk, or a massage. The pathway is the same, and all these can induce the same calming effect.”
Activity tracking
Andre says that fitness trackers and wearables have never been more popular and that psychology plays a powerful role in how the data they deliver helps calm us.
“When people can see something being tracked and measured, they feel a greater sense of control.”
Ironically, though, these devices can also increase distress when we have not walked enough steps or got enough sleep.
Andre also says that the brain becomes conditioned to associating screens with alertness, so genuine relaxation becomes difficult.
Hong Kong-based clinical psychologist Dr Kaili Chen says that when we are staring at screens, our nervous system is in a state of “passive consumption, which leaves us feeling drained yet hyper-aroused”.
Do you recognise the feeling?

Harnessing analogue wellness
More people are choosing to cut down screen time and instead commit to analogue habits or hobbies such as knitting, painting, gardening and baking.
These engage the body and mind in different ways, Andre says.
“They are tactile, rhythmic and bounded, with a beginning, a middle and an end outside an algorithm. They don’t notify you. They don’t measure you.”
Chen explains that because such hobbies usually require repetitive physical movement and the use of both hands, they mimic “natural self-soothing behaviours, signalling to the nervous system that we are safe”.
These sensory-rich, tactile activities ground us in our bodies and “shift brain activity away from fear centres and induce a ‘flow’ state”.

Micro-interventions across the day
Chen says that a big misconception about stress management is that you need a daily hour of meditation or a holiday to reset.
“In reality, the nervous system just needs clear, biological signals of safety” so it can disengage from the high alert of “fight or flight”, she says.
Chen recommends two exercises to do this.
The physiological sigh (30-60 seconds): This is a fast way to offload carbon dioxide and lower the heart rate. Take two quick inhales through your nose: a deep one followed by a sharp “top-off” breath, and then let out a long, slow exhale through your mouth. Repeat three to five times.
The mammalian dive reflex (30 seconds): When we are stressed, our sympathetic nervous system is in overdrive. Splashing ice-cold water on your face, targeting the area around the eyes and cheekbones, triggers the “dive reflex”. This biological mechanism immediately slows down the heart rate and forces the parasympathetic nervous system to kick in.












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So splash yourself awake, have a walk before you look at a screen, sigh out contentedly, and keep your knitting close to hand.
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Stress can be either “good” or “bad” depending on the trigger, say clinical psychologists, who explain how to beat the bad kind and avoid the associated health risks through everything from knitting and gardening to using gadgets. Illustration: Shutterstock

Stress is almost always cast in a negative light, but there is a good type of stress, eustress, that sharpens our focus. Photo: Shutterstock

Hong Kong-based clinical psychologist Dr Julia Andre explains that the initial psychological response for good and bad stress is similar; the difference comes in what happens next. Photo: Dr Julia Andre 

Hong Kong-based clinical psychologist Dr Sharmeen Shroff says when you know what causes your stress, you are in a better position to manage it. Photo: Dr Sharmeen Shroff

Hong Kong-based clinical psychologist Dr Kaili Chen says that when we are staring at screens, our nervous system is in a state of “passive consumption”. Photo: Dr Kaili Chen

Andre says that hobbies such as gardening help alleviate stress because they mimic “natural, self-soothing behaviours”. Photo: Shutterstock

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Health & Wellness

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Clinical psychologists explain the two types of stress and how to calm ourselves with methods like nerve stimulation and analogue hobbies


Clinical psychologists explain the two types of stress and how to calm ourselves with methods like nerve stimulation and analogue hobbies.


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.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Clinical psychologists explain the two types of stress and how to calm ourselves with methods like nerve stimulation and analogue hobbies

Clinical psychologists explain the two types of stress and how to calm ourselves with methods like nerve stimulation and analogue hobbies