Is your mindset towards stress causing you more problems?
I started reading the Upside of Stress by Kelly McGonigal the other week. I’m reading a bit slower than usual at the moment so I’m only a few pages in. But already, I’m fascinated by the research coming to light with regards to stress.
McGonigal kicks the book off by stating that stress is not inherently bad and goes on to cite various research papers that back up her claims. One such research study asked 30,000 people about their levels of stress over the previous year, in addition to whether they believed that stress was harmful to their health. Eight years later, they looked at how many of these people had died since the initial data gathering. They found that high levels of stress increased the risk of dying by 43%. However, that increased risk only applied to those in the sample who believed that stress was bad for their health. Those who had high levels of stress but didn’t think that stress was detrimental were less likely to suffer from poor physical and mental health. The findings of this research suggest that it wasn’t the stress alone that was the problem, but the combination of stress AND the belief that stress was harmful to them. (Keller et al, 2012)
Further research has shown that when people have a positive mindset when they anticipate a high workload, they come up with positive coping strategies which improve their performance and vigour. The very opposite happens for those with a negative stress mindset. (Casper, Sonnentag & Tremmel, 2017)
Having a positive mindset towards stress appears to help us cope better when under pressure, build resilience, and therefore help us to manage stress levels more effectively.
We’re all told stress is bad for us, so it makes sense that a negative stress mindset is commonplace. But in light of this new research, is this way of thinking causing us more problems?
Stephen Covey, in his book The Sevens Habits of Highly Effective People, shares an experience he had on the subway. Whilst on the subway, a man got on with his kids. The kids were playing up and the man did nothing to stop them. Stephen got annoyed, just like most of the others on the subway. He decided to say something and suggested the man take control of his kids. The man explained that they were on their way home from the hospital after their mother had died. This new information completely changed how Stephen viewed the situation. When we move from a negative to a positive mindset towards stress, a paradigm shift occurs, just like that which Stephen had. The things that cause stress are still there. The situation is still the same. But our beliefs and attitudes around stress have changed, which causes us to have a very different experience of the stress.
So how can you start to change your mindset about stress? Here are some ways to help you:
Take note. Start viewing the stress response as your body’s way of helping you. It’s alerting you to the fact that your environmental demands, internal demands, or both, are taxing or exceeding your resources. (Monat & Lazarus, 1991) Take note of this, notice what you have control of and that which you do not, and take action where necessary. Find out how to determine what you can control and what you cannot.
Accept it, don’t fight it. This is one of the main tenets of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). ACT techniques do not seek to reduce stress or anxiety but allow the symptoms or sensations to come and go without letting them drag you down or hold you back from doing anything. Often symptom reduction occurs as a result of using these techniques, but it is rather a by-product as opposed to the goal. Check out my 3 part series on ACT starting with Diffusion of thoughts, the ACT way.
Believe in yourself. Self-efficacy has been defined as “one's belief in one's ability to succeed in specific situations or accomplish a task”. When self-efficacy is high, we are more able to tackle challenges and gain new experiences.
Look at your resources. Lazarus & Folkman (1984) suggested that people are more likely to suffer from stress when they believe that they lack the resources to deal with difficult events than if they feel confident that they have the resources to cope. What resources do you already have and what others do you require to help you manage stress more effectively?
Reach out. When the stress response is triggered, our brain produces Oxytocin, a neurotransmitter which is also known as the cuddle hormone. According to McGonigal, oxytocin encourages you to seek physical contact with other people, enhances empathy and encourages you to support other people. So basically, it is produced to help you reach out for support from others to help you through a stressful time. Speak to your friends, family, colleagues about what is going on.
Equip yourself. There are a wide variety of tools and techniques out there to help you manage your stress more effectively including relaxation techniques, problem-solving, self-hypnosis. You’ll find many techniques listed here on this blog. I also teach my hypnotherapy clients many ways they can help themselves, so if you would like to ‘get tooled up’, you are more than welcome to get in touch to find out how I can help you.
References:
Ben-Avi, N., Toker, S., & Heller, D. (2018). “If stress is good for me, it’s probably good for you too”: Stress mindset and judgment of others’ strain. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. 74: 98–110
Casper, A., Sonnentag, S. & Tremmel, S. (2017). Mindset matters: the role of employees’ stress mindset for day-specific reactions to workload anticipation. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology. 26(6)
Keller, A., Litzelman, K., Wisk, L.E., Maddox, T., Cheng, E.R., Creswell, P.D. & Witt, W.P. (2012). Does the perception that stress affects health matter? The association with health and mortality. Health Psychology. 31(5): 677-84
Lazarus, R.S. & Folkman, S. (1984) Stress, Appraisal and Coping, New York, Springer
Monat, A., & Lazarus, R. S. (1991). Stress and coping: An anthology (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Columbia University Press.