Stress-Is-Enhancing Mindset

In today's session with Modupe Akinola you will learn how to adopt a stress-is-enhancing mindset. Did you know that it is not stress itself that dictates whether you'll perform well or poorly? It's your mindset about stress that affects how you experience stress. When you are present with your stress, embracing it instead of fearing it, the impact can in fact be positive, increasing focus and taking performance to another level.

Transcript

Welcome to day 11 of Insight Timers Strategies for Stress Challenge.

Let's take a moment to get settled.

Close your eyes,

Take a deep breath in and exhale out.

Let's dive into today's strategy for stress.

Hello and welcome to Insight Timers Strategies for Stress Challenge.

Throughout the course of this challenge,

You will learn strategies to not only help you handle stress in the short term,

But also adopt lifestyle changes to shift your relationship with stress in the long term.

My name is Dr.

Madhupa Akinnola.

My research examines the relationship between stress and performance.

I ask questions like,

How do our work environments with constant deadlines and lots of pressures affect our performance?

Performance in areas like creativity or our ability to negotiate and to do so much more.

And today,

I want to talk to you about developing a stress is enhancing mindset to help you embrace stress instead of fearing it.

What if I told you that it's not stress itself that dictates whether you'll perform well or poorly?

It's your mindset about stress that can affect how you experience stress.

And why is this so important?

Well,

It stems from a lot of research I've read and done supporting the idea that the mindset we adopt can have a powerful influence,

Not only on our psychological health,

But also on our physiological health.

So what's a mindset anyway?

Well,

At any given moment,

We take in tons of information,

So we need a simplifying system or a lens through which we can make sense of this vast world.

This lens is what we call a mindset.

Essentially,

The state or frame of mind which selectively orients us to various aspects of reality.

Now,

This isn't new.

There's tons of research in social psychology and other fields that talk about this.

Take for instance,

The placebo effect.

If you're able to get someone into the mindset or expectation to heal,

Just by giving them a pill without any active pharmaceutical or chemical substance,

They actually do heal.

It's the patient's mindset that makes a difference.

And you know that 60 to 90% of all diseases benefit from the placebo effect.

The same thing is true when it comes to stress.

And what's a stress mindset?

My collaborator,

Aaliyah Crum at Stanford University,

Developed this concept because she realized the dominant message we typically hear is that stress is bad for us.

It's debilitating.

And yes,

We can all think of times where we buckled under stress.

We froze and couldn't complete the speech,

Missed a buzzer-beating shot,

Failed a test that you felt very well prepared for.

But one mindset people commonly hold is that stress is debilitating.

But aren't there moments where you've done well under stress?

The stress made you focused,

In your zone,

Took your mind and performance to another level.

These experiences represent a different mindset about stress.

That stress is enhancing.

I mean,

Think about some of the most productive periods in your life.

What's coming to your mind?

Well,

They most likely involve some sort of stress.

These experiences are your personal testimony,

Highlighting that stress can have enhancing effects.

So yes,

There's lots of research showing the deteriorating aspects of stress.

This is what we tend to remember.

But there's also scientific evidence documenting and explaining that stress can actually enhance your performance,

Improve your health,

And facilitate your learning and growth.

Here's how.

When your body encounters stress,

It pumps hormones like adrenaline and dopamine throughout your system and fuels the brain and body with blood and oxygen.

This response pushes us into a superhuman state of increased energy,

Heightened alertness,

And narrowed focus,

Which can help you meet the demands of any stressor,

Mental or physical.

Researchers call this effect stress-related toughening.

While most research assumes that over time,

This short-term stress response is bad for the system,

Bringing it out of balance,

In many cases,

These stress hormones actually induce a set of growth hormones,

Which rebuild cells,

Synthesize proteins,

And enhance immunity,

Leaving the body even stronger and healthier than it was before.

Researchers call this effect physiological thriving.

We also know that in many cases,

The experience of stress and adversity has been shown to facilitate mental toughness and deepen relationships,

Heightening awareness,

New perspectives,

Sense of mastery,

Greater appreciation for life,

Sense of meaning,

And strengthening priorities.

Researchers call this post-traumatic growth.

You want some specific examples?

Simply reminding people that stress does have enhancing properties can improve creativity,

Enabling them to think more flexibly after a stressful social interaction.

What about negotiating?

Something we do regularly as people always need something from us and we always need something from others.

There are studies showing that women are more anxious than men in negotiation,

Often receiving worse outcomes.

What my collaborators and I have found is that if you tell women that stress can be helpful in negotiations,

Then when they do experience stress,

They actually perform better.

I share these examples to highlight to you.

The stress isn't always a bad thing.

It can surprisingly be good at times.

And if we shift our mindset about stress to embrace its enhancing properties,

Then this can help us thrive under stress.

So how do we change our relationship with stress?

It's not about just stressing less.

It's about stressing better.

Next time you feel intense stress,

First acknowledge that you're stressed.

It's okay to be stressed.

We're all stressed at times.

We don't always need to reduce and deny our stress.

How about we welcome our stress?

Remind yourself of the times where you've thrived under stress.

Remind yourself that stress can be enhancing,

Like I noted in the research I shared with you.

Then try to utilize that stress you're feeling.

Channel the stress.

Ask yourself,

What are the opportunities inherent in this stress?

How can this stress potentially help me now or maybe even down the road?

How might I grow and develop from it?

What might I learn?

Today,

I want to introduce you to some techniques I use to harness the positive power of stress in the moment.

The first thing I want you to do is think about something that is stressing you out right now.

What is stressing you out?

What is that thing that you can't seem to get a clear handle on that is causing you stress?

Well,

All I want you to do is acknowledge your reactions to the stress.

What do you do when you feel this stress?

What does your body do?

Where does your mind go?

How do you behave?

Do you deny it?

Do you try to tell it to go away?

Do you eat junk food?

Do you get a migraine?

Not sure what it is that you do or what happens in your body,

But simply acknowledging and understanding our stress can help move us from reacting when experiencing stress to proactively being present with it.

The second thing I want you to do is to ask yourself,

What are the opportunities inherent in this stress?

Now,

I want to be clear.

Some of you may be experiencing a health challenge that is stressful or a situation with a loved one that's stressful.

But thinking about the opportunities inherent in stress,

I'm not saying that the thing that is stressing you out is a positive or a good thing.

What I'm trying to emphasize is that there are some good things that may emerge from the situation.

You might realize how resilient you are.

You might grow closer to people.

You might not know this right away,

But it's good to open your eyes to the possibility that something positive may come out of this situation.

And finally,

The last tool I have for you is the simplest.

Just take a deep breath.

When we feel stress,

One of the first things that can happen is that our heart begins to race.

Take some deep breaths,

Even if it's just a few seconds,

To center yourself and get that heart rate back to a normal,

Steady state.

And if your heart isn't racing,

Deep breathing can help you relax and calm down.

So it's worth giving that a shot.

Okay,

Which of these techniques might you try?

As I was speaking to you,

Did you try any of them?

How did it feel to try them out?

What did you like?

What didn't you like?

Is there a way to build one of these techniques into your daily routine?

Can you spend the next week trying at least one of the tips I mentioned when you think about that stressor?

Or if another stressor comes to mind,

There is no one-size-fits-all solution to being present with your stress.

So it's important to test different approaches and figure out which ones best suit you.

Please be adventurous as you start the process of developing a habit around embracing stress instead of fearing it.

And if you don't mind,

Could you share your experience in the discussion forum?

Is there something specific you tried that helped you embrace your stress?

I'm sure others would love to learn from you.

Reviews

Great tools and advice.

A gentle and reassuring meditation.

I liked it, seeing stress as a postiive thing. 🙏🏻

Thank you. Namaste 🙏 ❤️

Thank you for sharing, i will absolutely try this.