Eustress

The term eustress means "beneficial stress"—either psychological, physical (e.g., exercise), or biochemical/radiological (hormesis).

The word was introduced by endocrinologist Hans Selye (1907-1982) in 1976;[1] he combined the Greek prefix eu- meaning "good", and the English word stress, to give the literal meaning "good stress". The Oxford English Dictionary traces early use of the word (in psychological usage) to 1968.[2]

Eustress is the positive cognitive response to stress that is healthy, or gives one a feeling of fulfilment or other positive feelings. Hans Selye created the term as a subgroup of stress[3] to differentiate the wide variety of stressors and manifestations of stress.

Eustress is not defined by the stress or type, 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. Thus, the suggestion in a book title: Eustress and Distress: Neither Good Nor Bad, but Rather the Same?. Potential indicators of eustress may include responding to a stressor with a sense of meaning, hope, or vigor.[4] Eustress has also been positively correlated with life satisfaction and well-being.[5]

  1. ^ Rossi, Ana Maria; Perrewé, Pamela L.; Sauter, Steven L., eds. (1 March 2006). "Eustress and Hope at Work: Accentuating the Positive". Stress and Quality of Working Life: Current Perspectives in Occupational Health. Stress and Quality of Working Life. Greenwich, Connecticut: IAP. p. 123. ISBN 9781607527251. Retrieved 15 March 2023. Some authors mentioned positive stress, or eustress, as coined by Selye (1976).
  2. ^ "eustress". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.) - "The unpleasant, even painful, kind of stress ... may be referred to as dys-stress; the pleasant kind ... as eustress."
  3. ^ Szabo, Sandor; Tache, Yvette; Somogyi, Arpad (2012). "The legacy of Hans Selye and the origins of stress research: A retrospective 75 years after his landmark brief "Letter" to the Editor # of Nature". Stress. 15 (5): 472–478. doi:10.3109/10253890.2012.710919. ISSN 1025-3890.
  4. ^ Bienertova‐Vasku, Julie; Lenart, Peter; Scheringer, Martin (July 2020). "Eustress and Distress: Neither Good Nor Bad, but Rather the Same?". BioEssays. 42 (7). doi:10.1002/bies.201900238. hdl:20.500.11850/412165. ISSN 0265-9247.
  5. ^ O'Sullivan, Geraldine (2011). "The Relationship Between Hope, Eustress, Self-Efficacy, and Life Satisfaction Among Undergraduates". Social Indicators Research. 101 (1): 155–172. doi:10.1007/s11205-010-9662-z. ISSN 0303-8300.