Eustress

The Canadian physician Hans Selye was first to define stress as the response to stressors in the environment. He considered stressors to be the external demands or influence an individual feels at any given time. Selye separated stress into two categories: distress and eustress. Distress occurs [Page 448]when there is too much or too little demand on an individual, which disrupts homeostasis. Too much stress can cause performance to decline, whereas no stress at all may cause an individual to lack the motivation and energy to perform. When stress is at a moderate level, it supplies the individual with enough energy to accomplish high levels of performance. During this optimal level of arousal, eustress is believed to occur, which is why eustress is commonly referred ...