HOW STRESS CAN BOOST CREATIVITY - Part 2

Eustress Effect

✨The Creative Potential of Positive Stress (Eustress)

When we talk about stress, the mind almost automatically summons images of exhaustion, irritation, suffocating deadlines and sleepless nights. But for the brain — this sophisticated and surprisingly pragmatic machine — efficient work does not happen only at the poles of “absolute calm” or “total chaos”. The real magic lies in the space between stillness and collapse, where there exists a vast, fertile and deeply human territory: positive stress. Or, as it is also called, eustress. 🌱

If in Part 1 we explored the creativity that emerges from urgency, improvisation and the “now or never”, now we enter a different kind of neural landscape: the creativity that flourishes with stability, energy, motivation and challenge in just the right dose.

The kind of creativity that doesn’t burn — it builds. The creativity that doesn’t knock you down after it appears, but instead awakens new ideas, uplifts, prepares, mobilises — without posing a threat. 💡🔥

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🌱 What Eustress Really Is

The Midway

Eustress is not the “absence of stress”. It is nowhere near absolute peace, nor spiritual silence, nor a brain floating in some zen bubble.

It is something else entirely.

Eustress is that type of tension that does not threaten — it stimulates. It is born from that flutter in the stomach, pushing you forward. ❄️➡️🔥

It is purposeful activation, with directed energy and with the body saying:“These matters. Let’s grow with this.”

It does not narrow your field of vision — it expands it.

It does not demand survival — it invites transcendence.

It appears in situations such as:

• starting a new project that excites you,

• learning something challenging but achievable,

• working with an inspiring team,

• preparing a presentation that makes you nervous and excited at the same time,

• setting a goal that is provocative but does not overwhelm you.

It is a type of tension that activates the brain in a completely different way from toxic stress, because it amplifies cognitive resources instead of draining them.

Unlike emergency stress, here everything is moderate, stable and predictable, without arriving like an alarm or flooding the body with hormones. Instead, there is a gentle rise in the brain’s activation system — just enough to increase energy, attention and motivation, without crossing the threshold that paralyses. ⚖️💛

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🔥 The Biochemical Dance of Eustress: Energy Without Collapse

The Brain Beauty

The brain needs specific fuel to function under stress, especially if we want that stress to be positive. It needs a minimum level of activation to work well, particularly when we talk about flexible thinking, motivation and applied imagination.

In eustress, activation happens — but within healthy limits. It is not that chemical tsunami, but rather neurochemistry working in fine, almost elegant harmony to sustain continuous creativity.

✨ Dopamine: The Spark of Possibility

This is the gold of eustress.

Dopamine, in eustress, is released mainly through the mesolimbic pathway, travelling from the ventral tegmental area (VTA) towards the nucleus accumbens — the heart of the reward circuit. This route creates the sensation of possibility and of “this could work”. 🚀

And when dopamine travels to the prefrontal cortex, it sustains ongoing motivation, improves idea exploration and maintains focus without rigidity.

A gentle, continuous — not explosive — rise in dopamine creates the sensation of curiosity, focus and positive anticipation:

“I want to do this. I can do this.”

Dopamine increases motivation, exploration and the search for new solutions. It provides the initial impulse to begin — and the internal reward to keep going.

The chemistry involved here keeps the individual engaged in the creative process from beginning to end. In other words, the fundamental enthusiasm required for creative processes, especially long ones.

Balanced dopamine levels stimulate exploration, initiative, persistence and curiosity.

⚡ Noradrenaline at Optimal Levels

In this system, noradrenaline is released gradually, in doses stable enough to sustain attention without hyperactivation.

The locus coeruleus, when operating at moderate intensity, sends noradrenaline to areas that refine attention — especially the prefrontal cortex and sensory systems. This creates that state of calm vigilance: mind awake, soft focus, zero frenzy. 🧘‍♀️✨

We are talking about finely tuned noradrenaline — enough to improve attention and mental clarity without narrowing the mind. It enhances focus by improving attention to relevant details and heightening healthy vigilance.

It is the state in which ideas come more easily because the brain is awake but not pressured. The brain is “on”, but it is not fighting anything.

⚖️ Cortisol in the Right Amount

Yes, cortisol still appears in a leading role, but now in a different tone.

This time it does not come to put out fires — it comes to organise the workspace, the brain, prioritising what matters, increasing available energy when needed and improving cognitive efficiency.

Because there are no threats, huge risks or overwhelming deadlines, cortisol levels remain low and stable, helping rather than hindering.

🏗️ Endorphins – The Natural Effort Buffer

Frequently ignored when discussing creativity — which is a mistake — endorphins are our natural morphine, released through movement, laughter, pleasure, a sense of progress, social connection and so on.

Released mainly by the hypothalamus and pituitary gland, endorphins bind to opioid receptors in the brain, reducing the perception of effort and increasing the sensation of wellbeing. This mechanism is essential in long creative processes: it protects the brain from emotional fatigue and keeps motivation stable, without abrupt drops. 💛

🧠 Prefrontal Cortex Awake and Functional

Thank God, here we have our Frontal Cortex back.

While toxic stress shut the prefrontal cortex down, eustress makes it even more efficient for:

• better decision-making,

• greater cognitive flexibility,

• the ability to combine ideas from different areas,

• better planning and self-regulation.

Eustress promotes not only creativity that emerges, but creativity that endures. This is because the PFC steps in to refine, giving logical structure to abstract thinking.

The prefrontal cortex operates at its “functional peak”: connections between its subregions become more efficient, supporting flexibility and planning. It is what ensures that creativity is not just improvisation — but consistent construction. 🔧✨

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🌈 The “Engagement Zone” Effect: The Emotion of Eustress

The Perfect Synchrony

There is a moment — a cognitive state many people recognise intuitively, even without knowing how to name it: that moment when the mind is awake, aligned, present. An awakened emotion, but without a “cause”.

Nothing begins with fire and fury, as in emergency stress — but it is not lukewarm either.

It is the sensation of:

• "I'm on the right track",

• "it's flowing",

• "this challenges me, but I want to continue".

This state is neurobiologically precious.

In this moment the brain is in a state of creative ecstasy, in flow, with peaks of creativity and satisfaction, and a cascade of ideas and energy.

It is in this moment that creativity becomes:

• more curious,

• more persistent,

• more expansive,

• more refined.

Eustress creates an emotional context that allows ideas to mature, gain layers, be tested without fear and polished until they take shape.

Here, endorphins are both the equipment and the master builder. 🛠️💛

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🧠 Brain Networks in Eustress: The Brain in a State of Creative Openness

Eustresse Creativity

If in Part 1 we saw the brain reacting quickly, now we observe the brain expanding. Eustress modifies connectivity patterns between networks that are fundamental for creativity to emerge in a stimulatingly safe environment.

• 🌙 DMN (Default Mode Network):

Divergent thinking — more active and more stable.

The brain explores, imagines, connects memories, makes self-references and creates unlikely combinations.

It works best when the body is calm, but not apathetic.

• 🎯 ECN (Executive Control Network):

Convergent thinking — more precise, less critical.

It evaluates without crushing. Selects without blocking. Focuses. Decides. Organises.

It works best when there is energy, but without excessive pressure.

• 🎬 Salience Network:

It coordinates the flow without urgency.

It acts like an artistic director: “Now it's time to explore. Now it's time to analyse.”

No haste. No panic. With purpose.

In eustress, then:

A mind awakens — curious, regulated and with space to think — without falling into unproductive daydreaming.

• The SN maintains gentle and steady focus

• The DMN generates ideas with calm and depth

• The ECN organises those ideas and turns them into solutions

Eustress is the only type of stress capable of getting the DMN, ECN and Salience Network to work in synchrony. It is this alignment that transforms energy into focus, focus into idea, and idea into solution.

It is DMN and ECN in a creative looping that enables ideas that are more sophisticated, original and consistent. 🔄💡

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🌬️ Eustress Is Not Constant Smiling: It Is Direction

Eustress is Direction

It is important to say that eustress does not mean “being happy while working”.

Not that this cannot represent feeling pleasure in your work, but it has nothing to do with joy and everything to do with meaning.

It is necessary to know how to separate feeling joy or happiness about the work you do from feeling pleasure with the task you have been entrusted with.

Here, I refer to when the challenge is at the right level to pull you — but not break you.

When the pressure exists — but does not hurt.

When the energy rises — but does not become disorganised.

Eustress moves you forward in what you are doing because it keeps you:

• emotionally regulated,

• cognitively flexible,

• motivated,

• with clarity of purpose.

It is an internal force that moves, not pushes. And yes, if this is constant, it may mean you are on the right path and in the right role.

However, do not confuse pleasure with satisfaction.

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💡 How to Cultivate Eustress in Real Life

Daily Strategy

Studies by Amabile, Deci & Ryan, Fredrickson, Baumeister and other researchers show that certain psychological elements function as natural triggers for eustress:

1. Adjust the Size of the Challenge

Too easy → boredom.Too difficult → exhaustion.

The ideal point is:

➡️ challenging enough to make you grow, possible enough to make you move forward.

Without autonomy, there is no eustress. There is control.

2. Celebrate Progress, Not Perfection

The brain responds to small milestones.

It is neurobiology, not self-help.

Knowing “I can learn this” is different from “I already know how to do this”. The brain loves challenges that expand — not those that crush.

3. Create Environments That Work in Your Favour

• natural light,

• pauses,

• simple rituals,

• stimuli that invite attention (not hyperstimulation)

4. Use the Body as an Ally

Light movement → more dopamine → more sustainable creativity.

Have purpose: meaningful projects activate dopamine + intrinsic motivation.

5. Build Less Heroic and More Realistic Routines

Eustress does not arise from “I’m going to pull three all-nighters”.

It comes from the consistent and the possible.

It is psychological safety that allows exploration, mistakes, risk-taking — essential conditions for creativity.

6. Create Positive Emotions

According to the Broaden-and-Build Theory, positive emotions expand cognitive repertoires and favour complex creative solutions.

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🔗 Conclusion

Eustress

If emergency stress lights the spark,eustress keeps the fire burning.

It is the type of pressure that does not break you — it builds you.

It is the ground where ideas stop being brilliant improvisations and become mature work, ongoing projects, smarter and more creative solutions.

The human brain was made to create in two modes:

✨ when it needs to survive

✨ and when it wishes to evolve

Eustress speaks to this second mode — the one that, at its core, moves the world.