Many people are unaware that there are two categories of stress: Eustress and Distress
Eustress is the good stress that motivates you to continue working. Stress can be a motivater and provide incentive to get the job done. This "good stress" is what eustress can be identified as and some people enjoy it. Everyone needs a little bit of stress in their life in order to continue to be happy, motivated, challenged and productive. It is when this stress is no longer tolerable and/or manageable that distress comes in.
Bad stress, or distress, is when the good stress becomes to much to bear or cope with. Tension builds, there is no longer any fun in the challenge, there seems to be no relief, no end in sight. This is the kind of stress most of us are familiar with and this is the kind of stress that leads to poor decision making. Physiological symptoms of distress include and increase in blood pressure, rapid breathing and generalized tension. Behavioral symptoms include overeating, loss of appetite, drinking, smoking and negative coping mechanisms.
Eustress
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eustress
The prefix eu- derives from the Greek word meaning either "well" or "good."
Eustress is a term coined by endocrinologist Hans Selye. The word eustress consists of two parts. The prefix eu- derives from the Greek word meaning either "well" or "good." When attached to the word stress, it literally means "good stress".
Eustress was originally explored in a stress model by Richard Lazarus, it is the positive cognitive response to stress that is healthy, or gives one a feeling of fulfillment or other positive feelings.[1][2] Selye created the term as a subgroup of stress to differentiate the wide variety of stressors and manifestations of stress.