The stress workbook: there's good stress and bad stress. One gives you energy and passion, the other wrecks your looks and your health. This special section will show you dozens of ways to harness the power of positive stress, and tame the tension tiger

STRESS HAS GOTTEN A BUM RAP. That is, we think of it in one way and one way only: as bad. But stress can be positive as well as negative. Positive stress--known as eustress--is what helps you write your best report, ace your tennis game and deepen your relationships. This type of stress encompasses the "fight or flight response" which provides you with extra physical and emotional resources when your safety--or that of someone you love--is threatened.

"Positive stress is designed to help us deal with legitimate emergencies," says James Campbell Quick, Ph.D., executive director of the Goolsby Leadership Academy at the University of Texas at Arlington. "Because of the energy that the stress response provides, it enables you to perform at higher levels when that's appropriate."

Distress, on the other hand, refers to negative stress, the kind that, over time, can lead to a laundry list of conditions, including immune disorders, gastrointestinal problems, allergies, insomnia, hypertension, stroke, sexual dysfunction, fatigue, depression and hair loss. In our fast-forward, always-on society, distress is epidemic.

What to do? You don't have to eliminate stress so much as manage it--to determine the level that's optimal for you. The key is to find a moderate level of "arousal" so as to achieve a state of eustress. "Arousal is the energizing function of the body," says Daniel M. Landers, Ph.D., a professor of kinesiology at Arizona State University in Tempe. "If you're too aroused, you're likely to be in distress and fall apart; if you're not aroused enough, you won't be in eustress and you won't get much done."

What constitutes the "right" level of stress depends on circumstances, careers, personalities and experience. "For tasks that require delicate movements or greater levels of concentration, you need to keep arousal low," says Landers. So a surgeon or golfer needs to sustain a lower stress level than a weightlifter or actor to succeed. Extroverted personalities seem to require more arousal, whereas introverts fare better with less. And experts tend to thrive with more stress while novices do poorly.

Once you find your optimal arousal zone, says Landers, you can begin to manage your stress against that baseline. You may encounter instances in which you need to pump yourself up a little--volunteer for a bit of public speaking, maybe, or do some calisthenics.

If you're like most people, however, you'll more often need to reduce negative stress and build your resilience to it. This special section is packed with quick fixes and long-term strategies designed to let stress better you, not beat you; use it to create a stress prescription that's just right for your mind, body and spirit. From diet advice to workout plans to beauty boosters, our Stress Workbook will keep you healthy and "stress-hardy."

COPYRIGHT 2004 Weider Publications
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group