The concept of stress is not new to any of us. We all face it in our everyday lives in one form or another. But, did you know that there’s something called ‘good stress’ too? Yes, you heard it right. If you’re hearing about this for the first time, then stick around, you’ve come to the right place!
Eustress - The Origin
The name eustress was coined back in the 70s by an endocrinologist named Hans Selye. He combined the Greek prefix ‘eu’ which literally translates to ‘good’ and merged it with stress. You can consider this as a definition of eustress. Eustress is considered important for performance, motivation, and emotional well-being. It is a different type of stress where we perceive a situation to be challenging rather than looking at it from a fearful or annoying experience.
To back up with an example, consider this, you’ve been promoted to a senior position in your appraisal cycle. Naturally, it brings new sets of roles and responsibilities along with it. Stress too is part and parcel of the job. But, have you wondered why you feel excited rather than dread the situation you’re in? That’s Eustress in the works for you. When you experience eustress in your body, you feel excited to take up a new task or a new challenge. The stress in such situations suddenly is perceived positively for a short period as compared to the contrary.
Eustress vs. Distress
Distress and eustress are on the opposite side of the same spectrum. The former leaves you overwhelmed because your body’s responses such as physical, mental, and emotional well-being are deemed inadequate to meet the demands of your external environment while the latter refers to the ‘good’ feeling generated by stress. Eustress is crucial to staying motivated in your life and working towards your dream. Meanwhile, distress can lead to negative health impacts such as poor sleep, digestive issues, and headaches.
Understanding Eustress on a Fundamental Level
Stress is the outcome of our body’s fight-or-flight response and is caused due to a spike in cortisol levels. Back in the Stone Age era, fight-or-flight reactions saved us from predators. Since evolution, we have evolved as a species but our minds still cannot distinguish between the early era and the now. The end result? Our body’s flight-or-fight response gets triggered even at the slightest discomfort.
This is where understanding and recognising the benefits of eustress is extremely crucial. If we make a clear distinction in our minds that a certain amount of stress is good to have in life, our bodies will adapt to the same. This is all dependent on the fact that you’re clear about the differentiation between eustress and chronic stress.
Eustress is that sweet spot that can be found between too little stress and too much stress. When eustress is active, you’ll experience focused attention, rational thinking, and emotional balance. To ensure your eustress levels remain normal and don’t advance to distress or chronic stress, try supplements like the three60 De-Stress & Chill gummies. It helps reduce cortisol levels, relax your mind, and give you the unwinding you deserve.
Health Benefits of Eustress
Let’s explore some benefits of eustress -
- Lasts only for the short term
- Motivates and energises your mind
- Easy to deal with the right coping mechanisms
- Makes you feel excited
- Acts as a fuel to drive performance and boost focus
While we’re talking about eustress, let’s also dive into why we need to steer clear of distress.
- Lasts for a long and can be difficult to deal with
- Triggers concerns and anxiety
- Activates unpleasant emotions
- Decreases performance & focus
- Contributes to many other mental and physical problems
Causes of eustress
The ideal way around stress management is to find out the root cause and nip it in the bud. But, the situation is slightly different when we talk about Eustress since it motivates you and lets you be in control of your situation. In this case, you’ll want to know what’s triggering the good stress in your body and double down on that. Ideally, eustress is different for every individual because of our unique way of responding to stressors. However, if we try and sum it all together, it can be bifurcated into 4 causes of eustress that are applicable in every stage of life.
- Short-term relief
- Looking forward to something
- Seeking growth
- Experimenting something new
Short-term relief
Short-term situations are temporary in nature and don’t last long. When you’re planning your trip and hoping that everything will go the right way, that’s eustress you’re dealing with. Think about small day trips or vacations to new places.
Looking forward to something
Have you ever planned to do something and the period of anticipation is just too exciting? You are on a rollercoaster of emotions while you navigate to manage the situation. This is when eustress knocks in and enters.
Seeking growth
If you love what you’re doing, every morning you’ll be motivated to keep going. You’ll look forward to the day and the task lying ahead of you. This stress is more of an excitement that gives you a feel-good experience.
Experimenting something new
As humans, we wish to grow in our lives. We seek to learn something new every day. Whenever we seek change, we take a few risks. This is what gives life to eustress.
Examples of Eustress
Although it's impossible to list down all examples of eustress as it can differ from one person to another. We’ve collated an exhaustive list that will give you an idea of what eustress really means.
- Landing your dream job
- Living by yourself for the first time
- Moving in with your partner
- Travelling to new destinations
- Working on a new project
- Becoming an entrepreneur
- Getting a promotion
Why Balance is Everything in Eustress
Too much of anything in life is unhealthy. Similarly, as much as we all need eustress in our lives, it must still be tamed and kept in check. Side effects of eustress can also bring you down and affect your mental health. Focusing on stress relief should always be a priority. We can't always have a positive approach towards stress and look away from the negative sides of stress. If stress levels increase too much, it can cause issues in the gut, concentration, performance, sleep, and more. So, keep a healthy balance and feel free to explore three60 website to find relevant solutions for your stress-related issues.
