Positive Eustress Negative Stress

There are fundamentally different methodologies to the definition and study of stress that interrelate with each other and this has been concluded in several different evaluations of the scientific collected works (Appley & Trumbull, 1967).

A person experiences stress when they perceive that the demands of their work are greater than their ability to cope. Coping means balancing the demands and pressures placed on you (i.e. the job requirements) with your skills and knowledge (i.e. your capabilities). For example, if you give a member of your team a tight deadline on a project they feel they have neither the skills nor ability to do well, they may begin to feel undue pressure which could result in work related stress.

Read the the following case studies and determine if they are a form of stress, distress, or disorder. In the spaces provided below, indicate which type of disorder is portrayed in each scenario. Justify each response in 100- 200 words.

2. Which of the following is the BEST definition of stress? A) the demands that are made on you by other people B) deadlines, daily hassles, or inconveniences C) a negative emotional state caused by your perception that you are unable to cope with events or circumstances D) the mental processes that people use to make sense out of their environment

Defining attributes are “characteristics most frequently associated with the concept and those which help distinguish the concept from other concepts” (Walker& Avant, 2011, pp. 162-163). A quote, from a translation of Hans Seyle’s work, reveals how challenging it can be to pinpoint stress’s attributes. According to Seyle “Stress, in addition to being itself, was also the cause of itself, and the result of itself” (American Institute of Stress (n.d.). In light of this quote, and following a review of the literature, three defining attributes of stress are:

10.) There a many types of stressors that one may encounter, but among most people I believe the most common is sociological stress. Sociological stress can be one of the hardest to deal with because it is stimulated from a relationship with another person. This can cause someone to feel extremely overwhelmed and tensed because they do not know how to deal with the situation at hand. I know personally I have a hard time dealing with sociological stressors, especially when it has to do with a person close to me that I care about. I believe most people feel like they are constantly under social stress, which can cause one to feel anxiety, depression or anger throughout the day. Because we live in such a fast paced environment, many can feel sociological stressors. It can

Our book describes stress as “any circumstances that threaten or are perceived to threaten one’s well-being and tax one’s coping ability” (Weiten, 2014). Stress is not necessarily a traumatic, life destroying event. It can be as simple a small change in one’s daily schedule. People will have multiple stresses throughout their lifetime. Some will be little and daily, but overtime these add up and can affect you in many ways. Stress can be positive or negative and can take many forms; a few being frustration, internal conflict, change, and pressure. All of which make almost a daily appearance in my life (Weiten, 2014).

How can the effects of stress/depression be minimized or prevented? Identify & list three stressful situations in your life and describe how you might decrease or eliminate the stressors associated with them. Identify & list three examples of eustress in your life.

capabilities, resulting in biopsychological charges that may make him/her of risk for disease. Effects may vary from one person to another. (Niabi; H. et. al., 2013)

Stress is a mental or emotional strain that results from a difficult situation. There does exist a positive stress that people will purposely put on themselves to motivate themselves. However, for the duration of this paper I am referring to the negative type that is unneeded and unwanted worry or strain.

With all the benefits from stress it is hard to find a downside to stress, but there is one. Chronic stress that lasts for weeks and months can cause serious health risks. Acute stress that lasts for hours provides the boost in traits that many people thrive off of. Acute stress has been classified as eustress for its beneficial qualities. Eustress can also help you enter a state of “flow,” a heightened sense of awareness and complete absorption into an activity, according to research from psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.

Many believe that stress is a simple problem, however it is often misunderstood and more complex than they believe (p. 181, Griffin & Moorhead, 2014). Stress is the physiological and psychological response to excessive and usually unpleasant stimulation as well as threatening events in the environment (p. 284, Schultz and Schultz, 2010). Stress appears in silent and subtle ways but this negative response affects millions of employees in all levels of all types of jobs (p. 284, Schultz and Schultz, 2010). If identified

Central Idea: There are many forms of stress and it is important to know what they are and why they are that way.

As one has seen, positive stress adds anticipation and excitement to life, and we all thrive under a certain amount of stress. Deadlines, competitions, confrontations, and even our frustrations and sorrows add depth and enrichment to our lives. Our goal is not to eliminate stress but to learn how to manage it and how to use it to help us. Insufficient stress acts as a depressant and may leave us feeling bored or rejected; on the other hand, excessive stress may leave us feeling "tied up in knots." What one needs to do is find a safe level of stress, which will individually motivate but not overwhelm them.

Distress is the type of stress that has negative implications, whereas eustress has a positive form of stress, usually related to desirable events in someone’s life. Therefore, I would characterize the Genentech’s employees as experiencing eustress. For example, all these programs that Genentech offers to its employees make life less stressful. The employees, who work for Genentech, enjoy working and they are proud of the cancer-fighting drugs their company produce, and also the egalitarian policies.