When Healthy Stress Becomes Unhealthy

Andy Jordan is President of Roffensian Consulting S.A., a Roatan, Honduras-based management consulting firm with a comprehensive project management practice. Andy always appreciates feedback and discussion on the issues raised in his articles and can be reached at [email protected]. Andy's new book Risk Management for Project Driven Organizations is now available.

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Have you heard of “eustress”? I hadn’t until I started researching this article, but it’s apparently the label that psychologists have given to “good stress” or “healthy stress.” Those same psychologists use examples like a roller coaster ride or a first date. That’s not quite what I have in mind when I think of good stress, but I see a relationship.

In a project context, I see good stress in myself and colleagues when we are starting a new initiative, or when there is a challenge put in front of us that we believe that we can overcome. It’s a sense of anticipation, the knowledge that we are going to have some problems to deal with—and some days when things won’t go our way—but that we’ll be able to get through it as a team and achieve the goals of the initiative.

I’ve seen healthy stress referred to as excitement, and I guess that’s a good word, but I see it more as nervous anticipation. There’s that uncertainty in the back of the mind that is trying to make itself heard, but it’s being drowned out by the belief I have in my abilities and those of my colleagues. But because there’s that element of uncertainty—the thing that makes it a form of stress in my mind—I feel that it helps to improve performance.

It makes everyone more aware, and less …

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