Written by Ellen Scott
Feeling a bit stressed lately? We feel you. Could a simple mindset switch make a difference?
When you hear the word ‘stress’, what do you think of? If you’re anything like us, the word likely comes hand-in-hand with a lot of negative connotations: burnout, anxiety, fear… the list goes on.
But what if we stopped viewing stress as a big, scary, terrible thing? What if we started to look at it as something that can be positive (in small doses, of course)?
Dr Elissa Epel, a psychologist and the author of The Seven-Day Stress Prescription, believes we should do just that – and the science backs her up.
In one study, students were taught to view their stress response as something that could help them perform better in an exam. When they started to view stress as helpful, rather than harmful, their performance improved. In research by Dr Alia Crum at Stanford, meanwhile, it was found that if you present people with information about the harmful effects of stress, they perform worse in tests. If you tell them about the benefits of stress, they do better.
“When we focus on the benefits of stress, we feel less stress about stress, pay attention to positive cues rather than threatening cues and approach situations more confidently rather than avoid them,” writes Epel. “With positive stress beliefs, people feel more engaged in their work, more positive emotions and less physiological reactivity. What you’re telling yourself matters.”
The key is not to pretend that stress is always a wonderful thing and that we’d love to feel it all the time… that’s just not realistic. But instead, we can start to view stressful moments as a challenge, rather than something to be feared. In other words, we can approach stress like a lion, not a gazelle.
Confused? Stick with us. Imagine the situation of a lion chasing a gazelle. For both animals, this is a high-stress situation. For both animals, their blood is pumping, their heart rate is elevated and they’re in the fight or flight response (the lion is fighting, the gazelle is fleeing) – all the signs of stress.
But for each animal, the stress is different. “The lion is stressed out chasing the gazelle because it wants a good dinner, so the stress is a positive challenge,” Epel tells Stylist. “The gazelle is worried for her life; she is feeling pure threat. When you are in the midst of a stressful event, do you want to feel like the lion or the gazelle?”
Obviously, in this scenario, the gazelle is in fact in danger and its stress response is pretty reasonable. But in our everyday lives, it’s rare that we’ll face this kind of direct prey and predator situation (if you are currently being chased by a lion, however, please do run). Our stressors are more complex. But what we can learn from this is the difference in how we view our stressors. Can we shift around so we’re not the gazelle, fleeing in fear, but the lion, ready to step up?
“Your stress response can be your strength,” she explains. “Prepare yourself. Equip yourself mentally with resources – remind yourself what you can and can’t control in this situation.
“Assess what you can control to shift the stressor from a threat to a challenge. It starts with telling yourself that your stress response is helpful.”
Understanding the science – and reminding yourself of it in times of stress – can make a big difference.
The physical stress response can feel uncomfortable – sweaty underarms, a racing pulse and racing thoughts. Take a moment to think about why it happens: it’s to enable us to respond to a stressful situation effectively, and it can make us better equipped to do just that. When you think of it this way, a bolt of stress isn’t something to fear. Instead, it’s like a mini superpower, energising us to tackle the problem at hand.
“Taking on a challenge mindset instead of a threat mindset – the fear and anxiety response we know so well – can help train our body’s stress response to help us cope well,” Epel suggests. “When we experience the physical reactions that come from a sudden stressor – higher blood pressure, release of cortisol and adrenaline into the bloodstream, heightened nervous system – we can remind ourselves that this can energise us to face the problem even better.”
It goes without saying that there’s a big difference between a little bit of healthy stress and chronic overwhelm. Staying in a sustained stress response can do serious damage to your mental wellbeing.
But if you perhaps say no to doing things because you’re scared or it’ll be too stressful, even though deep down you know it would be good for you, that lion mindset could be what you need. The same goes for the inevitable moments of stress that pop up on your path day to day. Rather than something to be feared, these can be challenges – ones that you’re totally able to handle.
The Seven-Day Stress Prescription by Dr Elissa Epel is available now (Penguin Life, £9.99)
Images: Getty; Stylist.
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