if you frame stressors as challenges, you’ll release more DHEA than cortisol. As a result your growth index of stress will be higher, and you’ll actually experience health benefits instead of health detriments.

Role models who push us to exceed our limits, physical training that removes our spare tires, and risks that expand our sphere of comfortable action are all examples of eustress—stress that is healthful and the stimulus for growth.

Acute (or temporary) stress is a different beast entirely and may be one of our most powerful weapons in the fight against entropy. This form of stress may take many shapes. It may be the mental stress that one endures when learning to play an instrument, engaging in a particularly challenging and lifelike video game, or sitting through a tough lec