Is “stress” all bad?

No.

In fact if you didn’t have any stress in your life you would be bored — and may even feel a little purposeless. Humans need to be challenged mentally and physically. The good side of stress — or Eustress — is what helps us grow and even reach peak performance. It’s where we are thriving.

But sometimes our stress levels tip from Eustress to Distress. Unchecked distress can lead to other mental health challenges like exhaustion, burnout, and crises.

In this episode, I speak with Battalion Chief of the Raleigh Fire Department and founding member of North Carolina’s Peer Support Program, Dena Ali . We talk about the stress continuum and its impact on work performance, and how a powerful antidote for stress is something we often forget to do: PLAY!