When can you know the difference between experiencing beneficial stress and harmful stress?

If the stress is making you work harder to your goals and putting in the extra work to get a positive benefit. But harmful stress can lead to anxiety and make you worry constantly about your performance

Stress keeps us accountable for our actions. Beneficial stress can give us that push of motivation and inspires us to be our best self. However harmful stress can lead to feelings of loneliness or isolation, and may take a toll on the brain and body.

Beneficial Stress pushes you to move and get things done. Harmful Stress debilitates you and keeps you from doing anything which most likely compounds the stress mentally and physically

The biggest defining factor between beneficial stress and harmful stress is how it affects your individual growth. If your confused about what stress you're feeling, as yourself: "Is this stress going to get me anywhere? Or is it holding me back?" For example, having anxiety/stress about public speaking is beneficial stress. It is normal to be nervous, but the speech may land you a promotion and showcase your knowledge and skills. If you're in a job that is taking the life out of you and making you feel stuck or sick, that's harmful stress. Hopefully this helped. Best of luck!

Beneficial stress should be short lasting and help improve a task you are working on, such as motivating you to study for an upcoming exam. Harmful stress occurs when it lasts longer than necessary and has a negative impact on other areas of your life such as sleep, focusing on other tasks and can generally cloud your mind. I've experienced stress to the point of not being able to sleep for two nights in a row becuase I was stressed about multiple things, most of which I did not have any control over. This can be harmful to your physical and mental health.

Stress is one of those types of emotions where it can go one of two ways: It can either be quite harmful to us physically and mentally or it can be balanced and have an encouraging effect. It's important to pay attention to stress, in case it becomes too much to handle, in which case reaching out for support would be a great idea. A way that you can tell the difference between harmful stress and beneficial stress is to pay attention to the other emotions that accompany the stress. If you feel a sense of excitement mixed with some nervousness alongside the stress, it is most likely beneficial stress. Or if you feel the sudden motivation to study because you just realized that a test is coming up soon, then it's also most likely beneficial stress. However, if you feel extremely panicked, or even scared, then it might be harmful stress. It is also important to note any physical signs such as pains or headaches, which might have been caused by harmful stress.