By Dana DeMercurio
So you’re stressed? That’s nothing new. You might be too busy pulling your hair out or chewing your fingernails down to the cuticle to read this with a clear mind, but this is something that you will definitely benefit from in the long run. And don’t just speed read, let it really sink in.
First of all, we love a good TED Talk, especially when alternative conclusions to conventional theories are up for debate and discussion. Never heard of TED before? Here’s what you’re missing: Industry leaders, scientists, doctors, scholars, moguls and philanthropists alike spread their ideas through short yet powerful talks covering topics from business to medicine to global issues, all in the name of free knowledge and deeper understanding of the world around us.
Exhibit A: Psychologist Kelly McGonigal. In a 2013 TED Talk, McGonigal urged her audience to purge conventional understanding of stress and encouraged them to embrace the benefits instead.
In her presentation, McGonigal admits that throughout her ten-year tenure as a psychologist, she told her patients that stress makes a person sick and heightens their chance of illness, from common issues to severe medical problems such as cardiovascular disease.
She had a radical epiphany, however, that came when a study found that people who viewed stress as harmful to their health did indeed suffer from health-related issues and even premature death. Their counterparts, who in comparison had neutral views of stress, had a lower risk of death of anyone in the study.
“When you change your mind about stress, you can change your body’s response to stress,” McGonigal stated.
To get her audience to understand this concept, she had them all pretend they were participants in a study meant to cause stress. At the end of this experiment, she explained that while their hearts are pounding and their breathing a bit faster and perhaps even sweating from the brow, they should not interpret these changes to their physical being as negative signs of anxiety or inability to cope or perform. Actually, she suggested quite the opposite.
“The pounding heart is preparing you for action. If you’re breathing faster, it’s no problem. It’s getting more oxygen to the brain. This is your body rising to the challenge. And when you view stress in that way, your body believes you, and your stress response becomes healthier.”
McGonigal continued to convey what new science has found about stress when she stated, “over a lifetime of stressful experiences, this one biological change could be the difference between a stress-induced heart attack at age 50 and living well into your 90s.”
After reviewing several other studies, including one conducted at Harvard University, McGonigal’s speech aimed to debunk the health-related fears associated with stress, and in turn provided meaningful insight into the benefits of a healthy outlook on everyday stress, big or small.
Stress is synonymous with life, especially parenting. Just as McGonigal challenged her audience to befriend stress instead of demonize it, we give you that same task. The next time you think your child’s temper, bad attitude, lack of respect or general tomfoolery will cause your heart to explode in your chest, just remember…the brain is a powerful tool. Rather than harming your health with negative thoughts about stress, embrace it for what it is and move on. You’ll be thankful you did.
