Designing for stressed out users | Part 3

Not all stress is bad stress

[See also — Part 1 — what is stress and Part 2 — how to reduce it through design]

Following on from my previous two-parter on the psychology of stress and design, I wanted to follow it up with one of the most interesting findings from that piece of work — that not all stress is “bad stress”.

Let me introduce you to something called Eustress.

(and no, that’s not the feeling induced by Brexit)

Eustress is essentially the level of stress needed to get you excited about something. To get you riled up enough to get something done. It’s when you’re brain is working and maybe your heart is going a bit but you’re focused on something that you want to be doing and a goal you believe you can hit.

It’s not just that it’s not bad for you — it’s actually good for you. Merriam Webster says it is

a positive form of stress having a beneficial effect on health, motivation, performance, and emotional well-being

So where does it fit?

Well it turns out there are actually four categories of stress, that eustress sits within. Again, the stress responses are understood in relation to the individual’s perception of their own abilities. Let’s define them in relation to each other.

First, the two extremes:

Hyperstress

This is when you are forced to operate above and beyond your own capacity and tolerance. This is very bad stress; it’s bad for you physically and emotionally and it can have a massive impact on those around you.

Real world example: your job is working you to death while your boss is shouting at you.