All You Need is a Change in Perspective?

Stress, the process by which we perceive and respond to certain events, called stressors, that we appraise as threatening or challenging, is not just a stimulus or a response. It is the process by which we appraise and cope with environmental threats and challenges. Stress arises less from events themselves than from how we appraise them. The events of our lives flow through a physiological filter. How we appraise an event influences how much stress we experience and how effectively we respond.

When short-lived, or when perceived as challenges, stressors can have positive effects. A momentary stress can mobilize the immune system for fending off infections and healing wounds. Stress also arouses and motivates us to conquer problems. Having overcome cancer or rebounded from a lost job, some people emerge with stronger self-esteem and a deepened spirituality and sense of purpose. Some stress early in life is conducive to later emotional resilience. However, stressors can also threaten us. And experiencing severe or prolonged stress may harm us.  Children’s physiological responses to severe child abuse puts them at later risk of chronic disease.

This leads me into my topic for today. I was watching a fascinating video on TED entitled, "How to Make Stress Your Friend," given by Kelly McGonial, a health psychologist. Used to viewing stress as a harmful emotion, she once saw a study that completely changed her perspective. In this study, people who experienced a heavy amount of stress, yet didn't see it as hazardous, had the lowest risk of dying. So, can thinking about stress in a positive way make you healthier?

If you change your mind about stress, you change your body's response to stress. If you see stress as the body preparing you for challenge, it affects you. At a study conducted at Harvard University, participants who were told to think of the stress response as helpful before going through a social stress test, were less stressed out and more confident, and their physical stress response changed. In a typical stress response, the blood vessels constrict and heart rate rises. However, the blood vessels of these participants remained relaxed and although the heart was still pounding, it was a healthier response, and looked very similar to moments of joy and courage. Therefore, how you think about stress matters.

In the video, McGonial continues to say that stress makes you social. Oxytocin (also known as the cuddle hormone) is a neuro-hormone, and is released when you hug someone. It primes you to crave physical contact, enhances empathy, and makes you more willing to help and support those you care about. However, what many people are not aware of is that oxytocin is a stress hormone. The pituitary gland provides it as part of the stress response. And when oxytocin is released in the stress response, it is motivating you to seek support. When life is difficult, your stress response wants you to be surrounded by people who care about you.

However, oxytocin doesn't act solely on the brain. It also has an impact on the body, and one of its primary roles in the body is to protect the cardiovascular system from the effects of stress. It's a natural anti-inflammatory. The super-cool thing is that the influence of oxytocin is maximized by social contact and social support, so when you reach out to others under stress, either to seek support or to help others, you release more of this hormone, your stress response becomes healthier, and you actually recover faster from stress. McGonial concludes that, "when you choose to view your stress response as helpful, you create the biology of courage. And when you choose to connect with others under stress, you can create resilience. You're saying that you can trust yourself to handle life's challenges, and you're remembering that you don't have to face them alone."

For your viewing pleasure, the video is below:

Do you think that you would be able to change your perspective of stress? Do you believe your body and mind would elicit a different, perhaps more positive response to stress if you did alter your outlook on stress? Do you think it varies with the types of stressors? Can stress really be our friend?