Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow:-
The prisoners in the concentration camps in World War-II had lost faith in the future. Being in the camp, I felt disgusted with the state of affairs and I forced my thoughts to turn to another subject. "Suddenly, I saw myself standing on the platform of a well-lit, warm and pleasant lecture room. In front of me, the attentive audience were seated in comfortable upholstered seats. I saw myself giving a lecture on hope, optimism, and resilience under difficult circumstances." Suddenly, all that oppressed me stopped giving me pain and distress. This practice was so impactful that I could succeed in rising above the situation and the sufferings of the moment."
The prisoners in the concentration camps were in a state of despair that caused them physical and mental 'wear and tear'. This state can best be described by which term?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Distress
Option (1) Eustress — Incorrect. Eustress is the level of stress that is good for you, a source of energy for peak performance and for managing minor crises. A state of despair that harms body and mind is the opposite.
Option (2) Strain — Incorrect. Strain is the general name for the reaction to external stressors, good or bad. It does not single out the harmful form of stress that wears the body down.
Option (3) Distress — Correct. Eustress has the potential of turning into distress, and it is distress that causes our body’s wear and tear. The prisoners’ despair, with its physical and mental ‘wear and tear’, is distress.
Option (4) Burnout — Incorrect. Burnout is a state of physical, emotional and psychological exhaustion, with chronic fatigue, irritability and feelings of helplessness, that sets in when stress goes on for long. The question asks for the stress that causes wear and tear, which is distress itself.
NCERT (2025-26): “Nature, Types and Sources of Stress … It is important to remember that not all stress is inherently bad or destructive. ‘Eustress’ is the term used to describe the level of stress that is good for you and is one of a person’s best assets for achieving peak performance and managing minor crisis. Eustress, however, has the potential of turning into ‘distress’. It is this latter manifestation of stress that causes our body’s wear and tear.…” |