In 1936 the scientist Hans Selye noticed something in his lab rats. Very different stressors, like cold, injury, and toxins, all set off the same three-stage reaction in the body. He named it the General Adaptation Syndrome. Drag the time marker through alarm, resistance, and exhaustion. Then press End the stressor here to see what happens when the stress stops.
The order spells ARE:Alarm → Resistance → Exhaustion. If the stressor ends during alarm or resistance, the body recovers. Only stress that goes on and on, with no break, reaches exhaustion.
Eustress vs. distress: Selye told apart eustress (stress that motivates you and feels doable) and distress (stress that harms and overwhelms). The body climbs the same curve for both. What differs is what the stress means to you, and how much of it there is.