Study after study has been done drawing attention to the role of stress in the lives of attorneys, law students, and even paralegals. But not all stress is negative. In fact, without a degree of stress, most motivation, urgency, and incentives to work quickly vanish.
Law school was stressful and competitive, but that pressure helped you aim your highest, and you passed the bar. Fighting for a client in court can be stressful, but the need for a successful, just outcome spurs you on to clear your client’s name.
So how can you tell the difference between positive and negative stress? What does each one feel like, and how do you know when it’s time to work harder or time to get some help?
What does successful exercise look like? Most gym enthusiasts assume that a good workout means repeating the same strenuous tasks over and over. Increase the resistance, sweat profusely. Weight is lost, and muscle is gained.
But there’s another theory of physical health that prioritizes long-term muscle strength and endurance over repetitive motions or bulk. It’s called “isometric” exercise.
The idea here is that sustained, manageable muscle tension builds endurance, bone density, and improves balance. Think planks, wall sits, and bridges. It’s intense in a different way, and the goal is long-term health and stability, not rapid bulk.
Why use this metaphor? Because it’s a great way to understand negative vs. positive stress in the legal field. Negative stress is caused by tiring, repetitive work that wears down your cartilage. Completing these smaller tasks might feel like real progress at first, but they do nothing in terms of long-term overall health. You’ll wind up tired, with weakened joints and a beat-up heart in the long run.
Positive stress, on the other hand, involves pressure that improves, not wears down, your skills and focus. Pressure is applied moderately over time, and the end results help you listen, concentrate, and work even better. You’re working at a pace that’s challenging, but manageable. It’s when your work weeks become unmanageable that you’re moving from positive stress to negative stress, aka distress.
Positive stress pressures you to do your best. You’re under the gun, but work doesn’t feel impossible. Things are urgent, but you’re still able to focus, work well, and take time out to take care of yourself.
Positive stress gently strengthens the skills you already have and helps them improve gradually. You can spread things out to learn from your mistakes, master new things, and work even better over time. The pressure is encouraging.
Distress, on the other hand, is entirely different. You may know the feeling. You’re not just busy or under pressure. Instead, your mind is exhausted and is beginning to wear down.
Keeping track of your thoughts becomes difficult. Relaxing at night becomes an uphill battle. You feel panicky and irritable 24/7. There’s simply too much happening, and it’s draining you rapidly, on every level.
Your physical health might take a nosedive, too. Your immune system weakens, and you find yourself catching colds constantly. Headaches, nervous tics, stomach problems, and chest pain are now weekly (or daily) events.
That’s distress. It’s the kind of pressure that doesn’t benefit you mentally or emotionally. Instead, it wears you down and strips your love of work bare over time.
Finally, a great way to think of positive vs. negative stress is in terms of “How do I feel at the end of the day?” If you’re working as an attorney, you’re likely a bit tired when you head home. That’s to be expected. Your job takes a remarkable amount of mental energy. But there are two kinds of tiredness that need to be considered.
Ok, what does this look and feel like? This is positive stress. You’re tired. You worked hard. But you have a sense of accomplishment. You know exactly what you got done, it makes you feel good about the day, and you can now shut off your brain a bit and relax.
You’re proud of what you knocked out, and work feels manageable. You’re tired and need to unwind, but you still have the mental strength and bandwidth to appreciate a TV show, a book, or an hour in the garage tinkering with your VW Rabbit. That’s a healthy balance, and that’s “tired and happy”.
You can also call this “tired and hating everything”. This is negative stress. You’re not just tired, you’re irritable, worried, and already panicking about tomorrow. Instead of looking back and feeling happy you got several things done, you’re worrying about everything you still have to get done.
You can’t unwind, can’t get through a really good Substack article, and can’t really concentrate when your spouse or kids are trying to talk to you. You’re tired and miserable. You go to bed tired and wake up tired.
And when you’re finding yourself distressed and “bad tired” day after day, it’s time to take a step back, see what needs to change, and seek help.
Alright, so when is it time to consider changes that can make your life easier? Now that you know what each type of stress looks and feels like, let’s talk about where you feel you are. So…
If work feels manageable? If you’re “happy tired”, genuinely enjoy practicing law, and feel on top of your current case load? That’s great ! Take a lap. You’re in a good place and have the energy and the schedule to keep working in the long run.
But if you’re distressed, anxious, can’t wind down, and feel “bad tired” most evenings, I’ll be frank: this is when you need to seek help. The moment you recognize, “Oh, man, that sounds like me”, is the moment you give yourself permission to make a phone call and get the support you need.
Not therapy or mood gummies, but a fellow lawyer who works alongside you. You deserve real help and the capacity to slow down to what’s manageable. Once your ILA is plugged into your firm, busywork is reduced within two weeks. You’re not distressed anymore. And the stresses you face in the office feel manageable, encouraging, and helpful.
You made it through law school on high octane, coffee and Redbull, and a relentless drive to succeed. That’s awesome. Keep that drive, but allow your focus and talent to be honed in more constructive, healthier ways. Ways that help clients, help you, and keep your focus sharp.
Other people can make copies, review documents, and reply to emails. You, and only you, can help a Dad keep custody of his kids, keep a family’s wealth with the family, and help a local business get off to a healthy start.
Negative stress doesn’t have to masquerade as drive or success and wear you into exhaustion. Allow someone who gets your firm to help you shoulder that burden while enabling you to work with healthy pressure, for all the right reasons.
Does that sound like a better path than the one you’ve been on? Let’s help you move from negative to positive stress today.
Grace Singh is a writer and editor for DocketWorks. She enjoys bridging services and client needs in ways that are meaningful, memorable, and human-focused, even as technology continues to change. When she’s not at her home office, she enjoys nature walks, reading, and brewing coffee.