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How to know you’re experiencing eustress
Examples of eustress in everyday life
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How to know you’re experiencing eustress
Examples of eustress in everyday life
The last time you gave an important presentation, you were probably nervous. You likely prepared quite a bit, practicing your speech every day.
But then once presenting, the nerves disappeared. You were charismatic, you made no mistakes, and you answered questions with ease.
What changed? Did your stage persona take over? Some alternate version of yourself that only appears in front of a crowd?
Kind of, but not exactly. What you experienced is called eustress.
Eustress is kind of the goldilocks version of stress. It’s not harmful like acute or chronic stress. But it boosts your performance when you’re out of your comfort zone — whether you’re giving a speech on stage, watching a scary movie, or changing jobs.
But that’s just one of the many benefits of eustress. There’s a lot more to it, so let’s dive in.
Eustress, like all other types of stress, is derived from humanity’s natural fight-or-flight response. When you see or experience something stressful, your brain pumps hormones through your body to help you respond urgently. These hormones include epinephrine (adrenaline) and cortisol. They increase your heart rate, constrict your blood vessels, and rapidly deploy energy to avoid danger.
Eustress is a type of stress that is actually good for your mental health and well-being. It deploys the necessary hormones in low doses for a short period of time — to provide certain health benefits and help you respond to a potential threat.
Good stress like this can benefit you in these three areas:
Think of what you could do with a boost in any or all of these categories.
If you need help navigating a stressful situation, try working with BetterUp. Our coaches can help you use eustress to your advantage.
Here are some examples of how eustress can help us:
Which characteristics are typical of eustress? Here are the common eustress symptoms:
Eustress is exhilarating, and it can kick you when you need it most. But it can teeter into negative stress if you’re not careful. Too much stress has consequences.
Cortisol and adrenaline raise your blood pressure, heart rate, and sugar levels to have extra energy at the moment. When experienced in high doses, the negative effects of stress can leave a lasting impact on your mental health, potentially leading to acute stress disorder and other health conditions.
Stress hormones can also be harmful at low doses over an extended period of time. Such is the case with chronic stress. This stress can lead to permanent high blood pressure, heart conditions, a lowered immune system, diabetes, and burnout.
The eustress scale is a management tool to help measure employees’ stress responses.
When people are unchallenged, they’re unmotivated and can’t perform at their best. But, on the other end of the scale, employees also underperform when they’re overwhelmed.
The goal is to strike a balance. Employers should seek the optimal stress level (eustress) to promote motivation among staff.
While this was primarily designed for business contexts, you can apply it to your everyday life. You should pay attention to your current workload. And when you feel high levels of stress, it’s time to make a change.
Here’s how to change an overwhelming situation into eustress:
It’s also helpful to remember the dos and don’ts of eustress.
Do:
Don’t:
Eustress can appear anywhere in your life. Whether it’s at work or home, you’ll encounter situations that rev up your stress hormones and generate excitement.
Here are some examples of eustress you might encounter in stressful events.
Whether it’s your first day back after maternity leave, after working from home due to COVID-19, or on a new project, you probably feel both anxious and exhilarated.
Remember to stay calm and take one step at a time. If you bite more than you can chew, you can easily experience the negative consequences of distress.
You might set your own goals for your personal life. Maybe you’re going out for a first date, have family visiting for the holidays, or are looking for friends in a new city. These challenges can cause eustress.
The trick is to power through in the beginning. As you set small milestones and start to reach them, you’ll find yourself motivated.
Traveling is stressful — especially if you’re going somewhere you’ve never been. It takes work to plan your trip, book your tickets and hotels, pick destinations, and potentially learn a new language.
But what makes traveling stressful is also why it’s thrilling. That’s why we can consider it eustress.
Are you trying to run a faster mile? Lift more weights? Do more pull-ups? Eustress can motivate you to achieve your fitness goals.
You might experience this when you lose yourself in your workout. You no longer feel the exhaustion, so you plow through to reach your goals.
Maybe you can relate to the above examples. But if not, it’s time to experience eustress more in your life:
If you’re worried about stress in your life, ask yourself whether it’s good or bad stress. One will help you feel empowered, and the other will make you drained. It’s important to know the difference and adjust your life accordingly.
Remember that some stress is good for you in small doses. Whether you’re taking the stage or starting a new job, the benefits of eustress will push you to succeed.
For more stress management tips, consider working with BetterUp. Whether you want a better work-life balance or a more fulfilling work life, our experienced coaches will help you thrive.
Create a plan for a healthier life with personalized guidance from our wellness coaches.
Create a plan for a healthier life with personalized guidance from our wellness coaches.
Elizabeth Perry is a Coach Community Manager at BetterUp. She uses strategic engagement strategies to cultivate a learning community across a global network of Coaches through in-person and virtual experiences, technology-enabled platforms, and strategic coaching industry partnerships.
With over 3 years of coaching experience and a certification in transformative leadership and life coaching from Sofia University, Elizabeth leverages transpersonal psychology expertise to help coaches and clients gain awareness of their behavioral and thought patterns, discover their purpose and passions, and elevate their potential. She is a lifelong student of psychology, personal growth, and human potential as well as an ICF-certified ACC transpersonal life and leadership Coach.
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