Eustress
Encyclopedia
Eustress is a term coined by endocrinologist Hans Selye
which is defined in the model of Richard Lazarus
(1974) as stress
that is healthy, or gives one a feeling of fulfillment or other positive feelings. Eustress is a process of exploring potential gains.
word meaning either "well" or "good". When attached to the word stress, it literally means "good stress".
in 1975, when he published a model dividing stress into two major categories: eustress and distress
. This article was an expansion on an earlier article he wrote, where he discussed the idea of a General Adaptation Syndrome, or a system of how the body responds to stress.
In his 1975 article, Selye talked about how persistent stress that is not resolved through coping or adaptation, deemed distress, may lead to anxiety or withdrawal (depression
) behavior. In contrast, if the stress involved enhances function (physical or mental, such as through strength training
or challenging work) it may be considered eustress.
Hans Selye
Hans Hugo Bruno Selye, CC was a pioneering endocrinologist. Selye did much important scientific work on the hypothetical non-specific response of an organism to stressors. While he did not recognize all of the many aspects of glucocorticoids, Selye was aware of their role in the stress response...
which is defined in the model of Richard Lazarus
Richard Lazarus
Richard S. Lazarus was a psychologist who began rising to prominence in the 1960s, when behaviorists like B. F. Skinner held sway over psychology and explanations for human behavior were often pared down to rudimentary motives like reward and punishment...
(1974) as stress
Stress (medicine)
Stress is a term in psychology and biology, borrowed from physics and engineering and first used in the biological context in the 1930s, which has in more recent decades become commonly used in popular parlance...
that is healthy, or gives one a feeling of fulfillment or other positive feelings. Eustress is a process of exploring potential gains.
Etymology
The word eustress consists of two parts. The prefix eu- derives from the GreekGreek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
word meaning either "well" or "good". When attached to the word stress, it literally means "good stress".
Origins
The term eustress was first used by endocrinologist Hans SelyeHans Selye
Hans Hugo Bruno Selye, CC was a pioneering endocrinologist. Selye did much important scientific work on the hypothetical non-specific response of an organism to stressors. While he did not recognize all of the many aspects of glucocorticoids, Selye was aware of their role in the stress response...
in 1975, when he published a model dividing stress into two major categories: eustress and distress
Distress (medicine)
In medicine, distress is an aversive state in which an animal is unable to adapt completely to stressors and their resulting stress and shows maladaptive behaviors...
. This article was an expansion on an earlier article he wrote, where he discussed the idea of a General Adaptation Syndrome, or a system of how the body responds to stress.
In his 1975 article, Selye talked about how persistent stress that is not resolved through coping or adaptation, deemed distress, may lead to anxiety or withdrawal (depression
Depression (mood)
Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person's thoughts, behaviour, feelings and physical well-being. Depressed people may feel sad, anxious, empty, hopeless, helpless, worthless, guilty, irritable, or restless...
) behavior. In contrast, if the stress involved enhances function (physical or mental, such as through strength training
Strength training
Strength training is the use of resistance to muscular contraction to build the strength, anaerobic endurance, and size of skeletal muscles. There are many different methods of strength training, the most common being the use of gravity or elastic/hydraulic forces to oppose muscle contraction...
or challenging work) it may be considered eustress.
Compared with distress
Distress is the most commonly-referred to type of stress, having negative implications, whereas eustress is a positive form of stress, usually related to desirable events in a person's life. Both can be equally taxing on the body, and are cumulative in nature, depending on a person's way of adapting to a change that has caused it. The body itself cannot physically discern between distress or eustress.Examples
- Meeting or engaging in a challenge.
- Coming in first place in a race.
- Getting a promotion at your job.
- Watching a suspenseful or scary movie.
- LoveLoveLove is an emotion of strong affection and personal attachment. In philosophical context, love is a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection. Love is central to many religions, as in the Christian phrase, "God is love" or Agape in the Canonical gospels...
, marriageMarriageMarriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
, Sexual intercourseSexual intercourseSexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
or childbirthChildbirthChildbirth is the culmination of a human pregnancy or gestation period with the birth of one or more newborn infants from a woman's uterus...
. - Riding a roller coasterRoller coasterThe roller coaster is a popular amusement ride developed for amusement parks and modern theme parks. LaMarcus Adna Thompson patented the first coasters on January 20, 1885...
. - The holidayHolidayA Holiday is a day designated as having special significance for which individuals, a government, or a religious group have deemed that observance is warranted. It is generally an official or unofficial observance of religious, national, or cultural significance, often accompanied by celebrations...
s. - Engaging in exercise, especially weight trainingWeight trainingWeight training is a common type of strength training for developing the strength and size of skeletal muscles. It uses the weight force of gravity to oppose the force generated by muscle through concentric or eccentric contraction...
.
See also
- DistressDistress (medicine)In medicine, distress is an aversive state in which an animal is unable to adapt completely to stressors and their resulting stress and shows maladaptive behaviors...
, the opposite of eustress. - Hans SelyeHans SelyeHans Hugo Bruno Selye, CC was a pioneering endocrinologist. Selye did much important scientific work on the hypothetical non-specific response of an organism to stressors. While he did not recognize all of the many aspects of glucocorticoids, Selye was aware of their role in the stress response...
, who founded the theory of stress.