Making Stress Your Friend - 3 Things You Should Know

Kelly McGonigal is a Stanford University psychologist. Her recent TED Talk "How to Make Stress Your Friend" caught my eye this weekend, as my life has just ... WhoWeAre About MeettheTeam GlobalPartners Events PR|News Careers WhatWeDo CorporateWorkshops OnlineCourses coach|sulting® Keynotes Tools&Resources NEWBOOK! Resources ROICalculator SuccessStories Blog Podcast WhoWeAre About MeettheTeam GlobalPartners Events PR|News Careers WhatWeDo CorporateWorkshops OnlineCourses coach|sulting® Keynotes Tools&Resources NEWBOOK! Resources ROICalculator SuccessStories Blog Podcast ContactUs VIEWALLARTICLES ScienceofHappiness, Burnout, happiness, tedtalks, Uncategorized MakingStressYourFriend-3ThingsYouShouldKnow Sharethispost    KellyMcGonigalisaStanfordUniversitypsychologist.HerrecentTEDTalk"HowtoMakeStressYourFriend"caughtmyeyethisweekend,asmylifehasjustbeenCHOCKFULLofstresslately!(Andhonestly,whoamongusisn'tstressedatsomepointorother?) Sheexplainsthatwhilewehaveallspentthelast30yearsorsothinkingthatstress,anditsphysicalmanifestations,wereunhealthy,thatthat'sactuallynotexactlythecase.Overthecourseofhertalkshediscussesthreestudiesthatshednewlightonthestressresponse,andhowtoreprogramourthoughtsaboutittomakeithealthier. Changeyourbeliefs Thefirststudyshowsfollowsgroupsofpeoplewhoexperiencevaryinglevelsofstressoverseveralyears,andthentracksdeathrecords.Notonlydoesitshowthatthepeoplethatbelievestresscankilldieatamuchhigherrate;butalsoitshowsthatthepeoplewhoareundermorestress,butdon'tbelieveorknowaboutits"negative"effectsareactuallyhealthierandmorelikelytolivelonghappylives. Sheexplainsthatithasbeenshownthatthedangerouspartofthephysicalstressresponsesisinthevascularconstrictionthatoccurswhiletheheartispumpingatanincreasedrate.Thisvaso-constrictionhowever,hasonlybeendocumentedinpeoplewhoalreadybelievethatstressisdangerous. Sowhatdoesthisteachus?Weneedtochangeourbeliefsaboutstress,that'sforsure.IthinkitisKelly'slaststatement,totheinterviewerattheendofhertalk,thathadthemostpowerforme.Sheisasked,toparaphrase,"So,ifoneisfacedwithachoicebetweenalowstressjobandahighstressjob,itreallydoesn'tmatterwhichoneyoutake?It'sequallywisetoacceptthehigherstressroleifyouthinkyoucanhandleit?"Sheresponds: Onethingweknowforcertain isthatchasingmeaningisbetterforyourhealth thantryingtoavoiddiscomfort. AndsoIwouldsaythat'sreallythebestwaytomakedecisions, isgoafterwhatitisthatcreatesmeaninginyourlife andthentrustyourselftohandlethestressthatfollows. Stressfacilitatessocialconnection Thephysicalstressresponsehasbeenshowntoreleasetheneuro-hormoneoxytocin.Heardofit?Ifyouhave,itwasprobablyinreferencetocuddling,andthehappinessresponseourbrainhastophysicalandsocialconnections.StudiesshowthatnotonlydoesthestressresponseitselfNOTcausedangerousvaso-constriction,butalsothatitallowsforandincreasesthereleaseofoxytocin.AccordingtoKelly: Whenoxytocinisreleasedinthestressresponse, itismotivatingyoutoseeksupport. Yourbiologicalstressresponse isnudgingyoutotellsomeonehowyoufeel insteadofbottlingitup. Yourstressresponsewantstomakesureyounotice whensomeoneelseinyourlifeisstruggling sothatyoucansupporteachother. Whenlifeisdifficult,yourstressresponsewantsyou tobesurroundedbypeoplewhocareaboutyou. Showyoucare Thefinalresearchpresentedfollowedabout1,000adultsintheUS,andwatchedbothhowtheydescribedtheirlevelofstress,andwhetherornottheyspenttimehelpingpeople,whetheritbefriends,family,orcommunitymembers.Italsotrackeddeathrecordsofthefolksinthestudy.Theresultsaresupercool: Foreverymajorstressfullifeexperience,likefinancialdifficultiesorfamilycrisis,thatincreasedtheriskofdyingby30percent.But--andIhopeyouareexpectingabutbynow--butthatwasn'ttrueforeveryone.Peoplewhospenttimecaringforothers showedabsolutelynostress-relatedincreaseindying.Zero.Caringcreatedresilience.Andsoweseeonceagain thattheharmfuleffectsofstressonyourhealth arenotinevitable. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcGyVTAoXEU   AbouttheAuthor LindsayBrunner Comments Subscribetoourblog FeaturedArticles HowtoNavigateLayoffsWhileHonoringyourPurpose,Values,andPeople GETINTOUCH [email protected] ContactUs MediaInquiries Partnerships WHOWEARE About MeettheTeam Events Resources Blog Podcast WHATWEDO CorporateWorkshops OnlineCourses coach|sulting® Keynotes SuccessStories JOINOURCOMMUNITY Gettipsandinsightsfromourblogdeliveredtoyourinbox,bi-monthly! ©2022DELIVERINGHAPPINESS PRIVACYPOLICY /TERMSOFUSE