How To Make Stress Your Friend by Kelly McGonical (2013) [TED Summary]

Kelly McGonical is an psychologist. He conducted a study that looked at 30,000 adults in the US for 8 years. She said that stress is harmful to health. Started by asking people, "How much stress have you experienced in the last year?" And also asked, "Do you believe that stress is harmful for your health?". People who experienced a lot of stress in the previous year had a 43 percent increased risk of dying. But that is only true for the people who also believes that stress is harmful for your health. That is over 20,000 deaths a year, and she also said if that estimate is correct, that would make believing stress is bad for you. This study shows that instead of the stress that kills people, it is a belief that stress is dangerous. By reshaping how you think about stress, you can restore the body's response. Kelly have been spending so much energy telling people stress is bad for your health.

Kelly says when stress, the heart beats faster, breathes faster, and will also sweat. Usually we see this as a sign that we are not coping well, but people can also teach the body to prepare for action. By pumping more blood and breathing more, we are preparing for something difficult, and ready to face any challenge.

            She also said The dangerous part of stress is the restriction of blood vessels, which are linked to cardiovascular disease. When people learn to see stress as positive, the blood vessels do not narrow. The response of the body looks more like full of joy.

            Stress makes people social. Octytocin is a neural hormone that convinces a person to strengthen a relationship, and help a friend. It is also known as 'the cuddle hormone'. But Oxytocin is also released in response to stress - to make us want to tell someone that we are struggling. Oxytocin is also received in the heart, to strengthen, heal and protect it from the effects of stress. When you release more of these hormones by helping others, you increase your stress resilience.

            Kelly also explained Another study looked at how stressed the person was, how much time they spent helping their family / friends / community. Major stress crisis increases the risk of death by 30%. However, people who spend time taking care of others do not experience an increased risk of death from stress.

            Kelly says that Stress results are changed by your mindset. When you think of stress as a benefit, it acts like if we help others, then we build resistance to stress.

            When given the choice between stressful and less stressful work, Kelly suggests that we follow the one that gives us the most meaning, and believe in yourself to handle the stress it produces.