When Is Stress Ever Good For Anyone?

Everyone knows what stress is, but have you ever heard of stress being good?  Eustress is a positive response to stress that is healthy, or gives one a feeling of satisfaction or other positive feelings.  The word was created by endocrinologist Hans Selye as a way to distinguish that many different kinds of stress that we experience.  The prefix “eu” is derived from the Greek language to mean “good.”  So when it’s combined with the word stress, it literally means “good stress.”

You might ask when is stress good?  Picture this scenario: you are standing at the top of a triple black-diamond mountain with no ability to ski.  You might wonder how you are going to ski down the hill without breaking a bone.  Your heart starts to race, your breathing rate increases, and your palms get sweaty.  Now picture this scenario: you are about to ask someone you like out for a date.  Your heart starts to race, your breathing rate increases, and your palms get sweaty. What’s the difference between these two scenarios? One is an unpleasant stress and the other is a pleasant stress.  Your body’s reaction to stress is identical. The only thing that makes it different is how you think about it.

Eustress is actually good for us to have in our lives. Without it, we would become depressed and feel like our lives lacked meaning.  Having a reason to wake up in the morning, having goals to meet, and overcoming challenges are good for us, keeping us healthy and happy.  Once you understand the role that eustress plays in our lives, and our physiological response to it, you can begin to view the stressors in your life as a challenge, rather than a threat.  Once you understand that you have all the energy and skills you need to handle these stressors without feeling overwhelmed or unhappy, you are facing a challenge that you are able to win.

Taking all that information about good and bad stress into consideration, it is important to understand that prolonged stress of any kind, eustress or chronic stress, can still wear you down.  Prolonged stress can lead to headaches, acne, muscle pain, back pain, trouble sleeping, irregular or painful periods, high blood pressure, panic attacks, anxiety, or depression.

The best thing that you can do for yourself is to seek balance and schedule downtime where you aren’t stressed out at all. Our next blog article will talk about some ways that people seek balance.