While the harmful effects of chronic stress are widely recognized, emerging research highlights the value of eustress—a form of positive stress that can enhance motivation, performance, and emotional resilience. This oral presentation explores how mental health professionals can harness eustress as a culturally responsive and strength-based intervention to promote well-being across diverse populations.


Drawing from neuroscience, positive psychology, and culturally grounded frameworks, the session outlines how the perception and experience of stress vary across cultural contexts. The presentation centers on communities in which high expectations, interdependence, and collective responsibility are deeply valued—such as many Asian and Pacific Islander cultures—and where traditional models of stress management may fall short. By reframing stress as a source of purpose, connection, and growth, practitioners can support clients in transforming pressure into fuel for resilience.


Participants will be introduced to key principles of eustress, its physiological and psychological impacts, and how to identify eustress versus distress in clinical practice. Through real-world examples, the session will illustrate how culturally informed reframing, values alignment, and self-regulation practices can help individuals shift their relationship with stress.


This presentation offers an innovative approach for clinicians, educators, and researchers looking to expand their toolbox with interventions that not only reduce distress but actively cultivate healthy engagement with life's challenges.