Positive stress can be referred to as eustress, while negative stress can be referred to as distress. However, things are not quite as black-and-white as they seem.

When we are faced with stress, we may either react with a threat response, or with a challenge response. The first one occurs when in danger, such as when being chased by a predator, while the latter occurs when presented with a difficult task, such as when chasing prey.

While the threat response can be detrimental to your body, the challenge response has been shown to be beneficial, improving blood flow to the brain and even the ability to learn.

A 40-year-long study shows that people who experienced a moderate (4-7) amount of traumatic events rated their life satisfaction the highest.

One may conclude that stressful events alone are not enough to deteriorate us and the meaning we assign to those events matters.

Stres...