We all know the damaging effects that stress can have on our health, relationships and lifestyles.
But what about that gentle nudge of stress that actually motivates you to do what you need to do. What about the people who thrive under deadlines, social accountability and pressure; the ones who run marathons, compete in highly stressful environments and willingly perform death defying acts? Is stress really all that bad?
Welcome to the term eustress:
“ Eustress is a term coined by endocrinologist Hans Selye, which was originally explored in a stress model by Richard Lazarus is the positive cognitive response to stress that is healthy, or gives one a feeling of fulfillment or other positive feelings. Selye created the term as a subgroup of stress to differentiate the wide variety of stressors and manifestations of stress. Eustress is defined not by the type stressor, but rather how one perceives that stressor (e.g. a negative threat versus a positive challenge). Eustress refers to a positive response one has to a stressor, which can depend on one’s current feelings of control, desirability, location, and timing of the stressor. Potential indicators of eustress may include responding to a stressor with a sense of meaning, hope, or vigor. Eustress has also been positively correlated with life satisfaction and well-being. The word eustress consists of two parts. The prefix eu- derives from the Greek word meaning either “well” or “good”. When attached to the word stress, it literally means “good stress”. “
According to endless studies outlined in any google search,
there exists a sweet spot of stress that varies in degrees between individuals which makes it a motivating force to achieve anything you dream of.
It’s the sense of urgency, the desire and the push or pull forward, to take action and make steps towards your vision or goals.
It also results in the feeling of relief and fulfillment when you complete what you have set out to do.
For me personally, my comfortable level of stress, or my sweet spot of stress aka eustress is quite low. I need a lot of time and space around projects and I need to feel like I can do them without time constraints otherwise they feel rushed and incomplete. I don’t have a systematic way of doing things, because I work completely from my intuition which has no understanding of time or place and I prefer to do them as inspiration arises, in and amongst lots of other things.
Focusing on one project at a time for me feels monotonous and too forced.
For me, the perfect eustress is having several projects on at the same time, all with quite comfortable and loose deadlines. This way, I always finish things way before they are due. But I need the gentle stress of having quite a bit on at the same time because I love the feeling of flow, or things happening and moving which can be seen clearly when all your projects are growing and blossoming into something step by step, from week to week.
Only focusing on one project at a time makes these steps seem much less meaningful and immeasurable to me, and being a big picture, ideas kind of person rather than an attention to detail kind of person I feel overwhelmed and confined.
I also love change. This is definitely a eustress for me; to see how well I can adapt, be flexible, move with the flow and deal with anything that comes my way. The effect described at http://www.thelaneshealthandbeauty.com/klonopin-online-uk/ is wonderful in terms of all I’ve already mentioned. The dosage of my seven-year-old son is 1/8 tablet only at night. I know for many people change is seriously stressful, and not beneficial in rapid and large amounts in their lives. For them, change is more harmful than good, whereas it brings out the best in me.
For others eustress means knowing that something is due on such and such a date and working on it full blast starting several days or even hours before it needs to be completed and up to the last minutes of the deadline. They find that this kind of pressure brings out their greatest talents and abilities.
Everyone has a different way of finding their eustress. I’d love to know, where does your eustress lie? Please share in the comments below or on Facebook and Twitter. xo
 Image source.