Stress gets a bad rap, but not all stress is harmful. While chronic stress is often linked to health issues, eustress—also known as positive stress—can act as a driving force, helping you grow, learn, and thrive. From navigating life’s challenges to enhancing your mental and physical health on the job site, eustress is the kind of stress you might want more of.

Quick look

• Eustress, or positive stress, motivates growth, enhances focus, and improves performance while feeling manageable and within your control.
• Unlike distress, which overwhelms and leads to exhaustion, eustress arises from challenges like starting a new job, learning a skill, or training for a goal.
• Positive stress can turn negative if it lasts too long, exceeds your resources, or involves unrealistic demands, making rest and boundaries essential.
• You can transform distress into eustress by reframing challenges, focusing on your strengths, breaking tasks into steps, and celebrating small wins.

What is eustress?

Eustress is a beneficial form of stress that inspires and motivates individuals to overcome challenges. It is typically short-term and feels within our control. It encourages us to focus our energy and enhances our performance. This kind of stress often leads to personal growth and satisfaction.

Eustress vs distress: What’s the difference?

Stress exists on a spectrum, ranging from positive to negative experiences. Eustress represents the positive end, where challenges feel manageable and motivating. Distress, on the other hand, occurs when stressors overwhelm your ability to cope, leading to anxiety and exhaustion. To give you a better idea, here are some examples of eustress:

• Starting a new hobby
• Making travel plans to a new destination
• Participating in a sports competition
• Getting married
• Starting a new job
• Working towards a fitness goal
• Learning a new skill
• Going on a challenging hike
• Trying something you’ve never done before
• Riding a roller coaster

On the other hand, here are some examples of distress:

• Experiencing job insecurity
• Undergoing a serious illness
• Facing relationship conflicts
• Financial insecurity
• Losing a loved one

If you perceive the stress as manageable and enjoyable, chances are it’s a form of eustress. However, it’s important to understand individual differences when it comes to stress. Not everyone will perceive a stressor the same way. While riding a roller coaster is likely fun for most people, some may feel like it’s a life-threatening event due to fear. In this case, the stress turns from good to bad.

This is where listening to your body becomes important to managing your stress. How do you feel under certain circumstances? Do you feel anxiety that feels overwhelming, or are you excited? Do you feel overwhelmed or challenged? Knowing the difference will help you navigate your stressors with intention and give you more control over how you feel.

Health benefits of good stress

Stress isn’t always bad for your health. Sometimes, it’s that little push you need to stay motivated, focused, and on track. Beyond motivation, stress also has some surprising benefits for your health.

• Cognitive improvement: Eustress sharpens the brain’s ability to focus and enhances memory. When faced with a positive challenge, the brain produces small, manageable stress hormones like cortisol, improving problem-solving abilities and attention.
• Building resilience: Facing and overcoming manageable challenges strengthens one’s ability to handle future stress. Eustress helps one develop coping mechanisms, making one more adaptable to adversity.
• Boosting immunity: Short bursts of eustress have been shown to enhance your immune response. The key is that it has to be short and not chronic; otherwise, it often tips the scale and becomes bad for your health.
• Emotional well-being: The excitement and sense of accomplishment from eustress improves your mood and outlook on life.
• Physical health improvement: Stress from activities like exercise supports better heart health and increased longevity.

How good stress can become bad stress

Eustress can be a great motivator, but even positive stress has limits. When a situation’s demands start to feel overwhelming or unmanageable, eustress can quickly shift into distress. It’s like pushing your car’s engine too hard—what starts as a smooth ride can turn into burnout if you don’t know when to ease up.

For example, taking on a challenging project at work can be exciting and rewarding, but if deadlines pile up or support is lacking, the same project can become a source of frustration and anxiety. Similarly, training for a big race might be energizing at first, but it can lead to physical exhaustion or even injury without proper rest and recovery.

This shift from good to bad stress often happens when:

• Stress lasts too long without breaks or recovery
• Stress exceeds your resources, like time, energy, or support
• You set unrealistic expectations or goals

It’s important to recognize your limits and set boundaries to prevent eustress from turning into bad stress. Regular self-check-ins, prioritizing rest, and asking for help when needed can keep stress healthy and motivating.

How bad stress can become good stress

Not all bad stress has to stay negative. With the right mindset and strategies, you can turn distress into eustress—transforming overwhelming challenges into opportunities for growth and achievement. The key lies in how you approach the situation.

Here are some practical ways to shift bad stress into something more beneficial:

• Reframe your thinking: Instead of focusing on the problem, try seeing it as a challenge you can tackle. For example, a tight deadline at work might feel stressful, but it’s also a chance to prove your capabilities.
• Focus on what you have: Remind yourself of the tools, skills, and support systems you already have to face the challenge. This can shift your perspective from feeling powerless to feeling empowered and prepared.
• Break it into steps: Big tasks often feel overwhelming, but breaking them down into smaller, achievable goals makes them manageable and motivating.
• Celebrate progress: Acknowledge the small wins along the way. Recognizing your efforts can motivate you and turn stress into a positive force.
• Build recovery time: Balancing effort with rest ensures that even demanding situations stay within your capacity to handle.

Implementing these steps can turn a stressful situation into a manageable one. It all starts with making it feel like you have some level of control, which begins with your mindset. Rather than falling victim to your circumstances, understanding that you always have a level of choice will empower you to tackle difficult moments and transform them into powerful opportunities for personal growth.

Bottom line

Stress doesn’t always have to be the enemy. Eustress, or positive stress, has the potential to improve your life by sharpening your focus, boosting resilience, and even strengthening your body. By recognizing the difference between good and bad stress, you can learn to embrace challenges that help you grow while managing the pressures that feel overwhelming.

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