WEBVTT

00:00:09.617 --> 00:00:13.181
(Applause)

00:00:13.181 --> 00:00:15.720
I have a confession to make,

00:00:15.720 --> 00:00:22.754
But first, I want you to make
a little confession to me.

00:00:22.754 --> 00:00:26.422
In the past year, 
I want you to just raise your hand

00:00:26.422 --> 00:00:32.783
if you've experienced relatively
little stress. Anyone?

00:00:32.783 --> 00:00:36.069
How about a moderate amount of stress?

00:00:36.069 --> 00:00:41.070
Who has experienced a lot of stress? 
Yeah. Me too.

00:00:41.070 --> 00:00:43.343
But that is not my confession.

00:00:43.343 --> 00:00:47.134
My confession is this:
I am a health psychologist,

00:00:47.134 --> 00:00:52.056
and my mission is to help people
be happier and healthier.

00:00:52.056 --> 00:00:57.091
But I fear that something 
I've been teaching for the last 10 years

00:00:57.091 --> 00:01:01.980
is doing more harm than good,
and it has to do with stress.

00:01:01.980 --> 00:01:05.342
For years I've been telling people, 
stress makes you sick.

00:01:05.342 --> 00:01:10.331
It increases the risk of everything from 
the common cold to cardiovascular disease.

00:01:10.331 --> 00:01:14.686
Basically, I've turned stress
into the enemy.

00:01:14.686 --> 00:01:18.657
But I have changed my mind about stress,
and today,

00:01:18.657 --> 00:01:21.242
I want to change yours.

00:01:21.242 --> 00:01:26.296
Let me start with the study that made me 
rethink my whole approach to stress.

00:01:26.296 --> 00:01:30.792
This study tracked 30,000 adults
in the United States for eight years,

00:01:30.792 --> 00:01:33.733
and they started by asking people,

00:01:33.733 --> 00:01:36.941
"How much stress have you 
experienced in the last year?"

00:01:36.941 --> 00:01:39.160
They also asked,

00:01:39.160 --> 00:01:42.760
"Do you believe that stress 
is harmful for your health?"

00:01:42.760 --> 00:01:48.461
And then they used public death records
to find out who died.

00:01:48.461 --> 00:01:49.726
(Laughter)

00:01:49.726 --> 00:01:53.228
Okay. Some bad news first.

00:01:53.228 --> 00:01:56.618
People who experienced 
a lot of stress in the previous year

00:01:56.618 --> 00:01:59.659
had a 43 percent increased risk of dying.

00:01:59.659 --> 00:02:04.620
But that was only true for the people

00:02:04.620 --> 00:02:08.294
who also believed that stress
is harmful for your health.

00:02:08.294 --> 00:02:11.234
(Laughter)

00:02:11.234 --> 00:02:13.368
People who experienced a lot of stress

00:02:13.368 --> 00:02:17.140
but did not view stress as harmful 
were no more likely to die.

00:02:17.140 --> 00:02:21.845
In fact, they had the lowest risk
of dying of anyone in the study,

00:02:21.845 --> 00:02:25.235
including people who had 
relatively little stress.

00:02:25.235 --> 00:02:29.093
Now the researchers estimated that over 
the eight years they were tracking deaths,

00:02:29.093 --> 00:02:34.209
182,000 Americans died prematurely, 
not from stress,

00:02:34.209 --> 00:02:37.293
but from the belief that stress
is bad for you.

00:02:37.293 --> 00:02:38.760
(Laughter)

00:02:38.760 --> 00:02:41.991
That is over 20,000 deaths a year.

00:02:41.991 --> 00:02:44.487
Now, if that estimate is correct,

00:02:44.487 --> 00:02:49.427
that would make believing stress is bad 
for you the 15th largest cause of death

00:02:49.427 --> 00:02:51.231
in the United States last year,

00:02:51.231 --> 00:02:57.695
killing more people than skin cancer, 
HIV/AIDS and homicide.

00:02:57.695 --> 00:02:59.854
(Laughter)

00:02:59.854 --> 00:03:02.018
You can see why this study freaked me out.

00:03:02.108 --> 00:03:06.667
Here I've been spending so much energy 
telling people

00:03:06.667 --> 00:03:08.980
stress is bad for your health.

00:03:08.980 --> 00:03:11.056
So this study got me wondering:

00:03:11.056 --> 00:03:15.090
Can changing how you think about stress 
make you healthier?

00:03:15.090 --> 00:03:17.040
And here the science says yes.

00:03:17.040 --> 00:03:19.930
When you change your mind about stress, 
you can change

00:03:19.930 --> 00:03:22.681
your body's response to stress.

00:03:22.681 --> 00:03:26.339
Now to explain how this works,
I want you all to pretend

00:03:26.339 --> 00:03:30.291
that you are participants
in a study designed to stress you out.

00:03:30.291 --> 00:03:33.146
It's called the social stress test.

00:03:33.146 --> 00:03:34.567
You come into the laboratory,

00:03:34.567 --> 00:03:39.389
and you're told you have to give
a five-minute impromptu speech

00:03:39.389 --> 00:03:43.574
on your personal weaknesses
to a panel of expert evaluators

00:03:43.574 --> 00:03:45.129
sitting right in front of you,

00:03:45.129 --> 00:03:46.983
and to make sure you feel the pressure,

00:03:46.983 --> 00:03:50.831
there are bright lights and 
a camera in your face, kind of like this.

00:03:50.831 --> 00:03:56.675
And the evaluators have been trained
to give you discouraging,

00:03:56.675 --> 00:04:09.533
non-verbal feedback like this. 
(Laughter)

00:04:09.533 --> 00:04:14.205
Now that you're sufficiently demoralized, 
time for part two: a math test.

00:04:14.205 --> 00:04:19.979
And unbeknownst to you, the experimenter
has been trained to harass you during it.

00:04:19.979 --> 00:04:25.848
Now we're going to all do this together.
It's going to be fun. For me.

00:04:25.848 --> 00:04:33.347
Okay. I want you all to count backwards
from 996 in increments of seven.

00:04:33.347 --> 00:04:39.702
You're going to do this out loud 
as fast as you can, starting with 996. Go!

00:04:39.702 --> 00:04:42.382
Audience: (Counting)

00:04:42.382 --> 00:04:48.305
Go faster. Faster please. You're 
going too slow. Stop. Stop, stop, stop.

00:04:48.305 --> 00:04:51.637
That guy made a mistake. We 
are going to have to start all over again.

00:04:51.637 --> 00:04:53.361
(Laughter)

00:04:53.361 --> 00:04:56.779
You're not very good at this, are you? 
Okay, so you get the idea.

00:04:56.779 --> 00:05:00.630
Now, if you were actually in this study, 
you'd probably be a little stressed out.

00:05:00.630 --> 00:05:03.534
Your heart might be pounding, 
you might be breathing faster,

00:05:03.534 --> 00:05:05.292
maybe breaking out into a sweat.

00:05:05.292 --> 00:05:08.315
And normally, 
we interpret these physical changes

00:05:08.315 --> 00:05:12.362
as anxiety or signs that we aren't 
coping very well with the pressure.

00:05:12.362 --> 00:05:17.542
But what if you viewed them instead 
as signs that your body was energized,

00:05:17.542 --> 00:05:20.736
was preparing you to meet this challenge?

00:05:20.736 --> 00:05:25.064
Now that is exactly what participants 
were told in a study conducted

00:05:25.064 --> 00:05:29.132
at Harvard University. Before 
they went through the social stress test,

00:05:29.132 --> 00:05:32.063
they were taught to rethink 
their stress response as helpful.

00:05:32.063 --> 00:05:35.721
That pounding heart 
is preparing you for action.

00:05:35.721 --> 00:05:38.806
If you're breathing faster,
it's no problem.

00:05:38.806 --> 00:05:41.985
It's getting more oxygen to your brain.

00:05:41.985 --> 00:05:44.806
And participants who learned 
to view the stress response

00:05:44.806 --> 00:05:48.782
as helpful for their performance, well, 
they were less stressed out,

00:05:48.782 --> 00:05:52.795
less anxious, more confident, 
but the most fascinating finding to me

00:05:52.795 --> 00:05:55.792
was how their physical stress 
response changed.

00:05:55.792 --> 00:05:59.467
Now, in a typical stress response, 
your heart rate goes up,

00:05:59.467 --> 00:06:04.699
and your blood vessels constrict
like this.

00:06:04.699 --> 00:06:08.415
And this is one of the reasons that
chronic stress is sometimes associated

00:06:08.415 --> 00:06:09.950
with cardiovascular disease.

00:06:09.950 --> 00:06:13.739
It's not really healthy 
to be in this state all the time.

00:06:13.739 --> 00:06:17.401
But in the study, when participants 
viewed their stress response as helpful,

00:06:17.401 --> 00:06:21.431
their blood vessels stayed relaxed
like this.

00:06:21.431 --> 00:06:24.296
Their heart was still pounding, but this 
is a much healthier

00:06:24.296 --> 00:06:26.186
cardiovascular profile.

00:06:26.186 --> 00:06:33.682
It actually looks a lot like what happens
in moments of joy and courage.

00:06:33.682 --> 00:06:38.811
Over a lifetime of stressful experiences,
this one biological change

00:06:38.811 --> 00:06:43.467
could be the difference between a 
stress-induced heart attack at age 50

00:06:43.467 --> 00:06:46.414
and living well into your 90s.

00:06:46.414 --> 00:06:49.847
And this is really what the new science 
of stress reveals,

00:06:49.847 --> 00:06:53.357
that how you think about stress matters.

00:06:53.357 --> 00:06:55.924
So my goal as a health psychologist 
has changed.

00:06:55.924 --> 00:06:58.491
I no longer want 
to get rid of your stress.

00:06:58.491 --> 00:07:04.054
I want to make you better at stress. 
And we just did a little intervention.

00:07:04.054 --> 00:07:07.871
If you raised your hand and said you'd 
had a lot of stress in the last year,

00:07:07.871 --> 00:07:09.461
we could have saved your life,

00:07:09.461 --> 00:07:13.461
because hopefully the next time
yo,ur heart is pounding from stress

00:07:13.461 --> 00:07:17.107
you're going to remember this talk 
and you're going to think to yourself,

00:07:17.107 --> 00:07:22.513
this is my body helping me
rise to this challenge.

00:07:22.513 --> 00:07:24.858
And when you view stress in that way,

00:07:24.858 --> 00:07:29.692
your body believes you, and 
your stress response becomes healthier.

00:07:29.692 --> 00:07:36.188
Now I said I have over a decade of 
demonizing stress to redeem myself from,

00:07:36.188 --> 00:07:38.960
so we are going to do 
one more intervention.

00:07:38.960 --> 00:07:40.527
I want to tell you about

00:07:40.527 --> 00:07:44.304
one of the most under-appreciated
aspects of the stress response,

00:07:44.304 --> 00:07:49.744
and the idea is this: 
Stress makes you social.

00:07:49.744 --> 00:07:53.901
To understand this side of stress, 
we need to talk about a hormone, oxytocin,

00:07:53.901 --> 00:07:59.372
and I know oxytocin has already
gotten as much hype as a hormone can get.

00:07:59.372 --> 00:08:02.391
It even has its own cute nickname, 
the cuddle hormone,

00:08:02.391 --> 00:08:05.190
because it's released 
when you hug someone.

00:08:05.190 --> 00:08:08.584
But this is a very small part of what
oxytocin is involved in.

00:08:08.584 --> 00:08:11.979
Oxytocin is a neuro-hormone.

00:08:11.979 --> 00:08:16.409
It fine-tunes your brain's 
social instincts.

00:08:16.409 --> 00:08:21.445
It primes you to do things 
that strengthen close relationships.

00:08:21.445 --> 00:08:24.953
Oxytocin makes you crave physical contact 
with your friends and family.

00:08:24.953 --> 00:08:28.461
It enhances your empathy.

00:08:28.461 --> 00:08:32.688
It even makes you more willing to help 
and support the people you care about.

00:08:32.688 --> 00:08:36.980
Some people have even suggested we should
snort oxytocin

00:08:36.980 --> 00:08:42.545
to become more compassionate and caring.

00:08:42.545 --> 00:08:47.550
But here's what most people 
don't understand about oxytocin.

00:08:47.550 --> 00:08:51.280
It's a stress hormone.

00:08:51.280 --> 00:08:56.330
Your pituitary gland pumps this stuff out 
as part of the stress response.

00:08:56.330 --> 00:08:59.386
It's as much a part of 
your stress response

00:08:59.386 --> 00:09:02.443
as the adrenaline 
that makes your heart pound.

00:09:02.443 --> 00:09:05.191
And when oxytocin is released 
in the stress response,

00:09:05.191 --> 00:09:07.940
it is motivating you to seek support.

00:09:07.940 --> 00:09:12.127
Your biological stress response 
is nudging you to

00:09:12.127 --> 00:09:16.315
tell someone how you feel 
instead of bottling it up.

00:09:16.315 --> 00:09:19.257
Your stress response wants to 
make sure you notice

00:09:19.257 --> 00:09:22.500
when someone else in your life is 
struggling so that you can

00:09:22.500 --> 00:09:26.294
support each other. 
When life is difficult,

00:09:26.294 --> 00:09:30.096
your stress response wants you 
to be surrounded by

00:09:30.096 --> 00:09:33.331
people who care about you.

00:09:33.331 --> 00:09:37.892
Okay, so how is knowing this side of 
stress going to make you healthier?

00:09:37.892 --> 00:09:42.448
Well, oxytocin doesn't only act 
on your brain. It also acts on your body,

00:09:42.448 --> 00:09:47.883
and one of its main roles in your body 
is to protect your cardiovascular system

00:09:47.883 --> 00:09:50.099
from the effects of stress.

00:09:50.099 --> 00:09:53.040
It's a natural anti-inflammatory.

00:09:53.040 --> 00:09:56.109
It also helps your blood vessels 
stay relaxed during stress.

00:09:56.109 --> 00:09:59.712
But my favorite effect on the body 
is actually on the heart.

00:09:59.712 --> 00:10:06.770
Your heart has receptors for this hormone,
and oxytocin helps heart cells regenerate

00:10:06.770 --> 00:10:10.351
and heal from any stress-induced damage.

00:10:10.351 --> 00:10:15.972
This stress hormone strengthens
your heart,

00:10:15.972 --> 00:10:19.244
and the cool thing is
that all of these physical benefits

00:10:19.244 --> 00:10:23.789
of oxytocin are enhanced 
by social contact and social support,

00:10:23.789 --> 00:10:28.647
so when you reach out to others under 
stress, either to seek support

00:10:28.647 --> 00:10:32.206
or to help someone else, 
you release more of this hormone,

00:10:32.206 --> 00:10:34.891
your stress response becomes healthier,

00:10:34.891 --> 00:10:36.986
and you actually 
recover faster from stress.

00:10:36.986 --> 00:10:41.658
I find this amazing, 
that your stress response

00:10:41.658 --> 00:10:46.331
has a built-in mechanism 
for stress resilience,

00:10:46.331 --> 00:10:51.544
and that mechanism is human connection.

00:10:51.544 --> 00:10:54.652
I want to finish by telling you 
about one more study.

00:10:54.652 --> 00:10:58.454
And listen up, 
because this study could also save a life.

00:10:58.454 --> 00:11:02.296
This study tracked about 
1,000 adults in the United States,

00:11:02.296 --> 00:11:08.285
and they ranged in age from 34 to 93, 
and they started the study by asking,

00:11:08.285 --> 00:11:12.791
"How much stress 
have you experienced in the last year?"

00:11:12.791 --> 00:11:16.343
They also asked,
"How much time have you spent

00:11:16.343 --> 00:11:22.616
helping out friends, neighbors,
people in your community?"

00:11:22.616 --> 00:11:28.108
And then they used public records for 
the next five years to find out who died.

00:11:28.108 --> 00:11:30.495
Okay, so the bad news first:

00:11:30.495 --> 00:11:33.377
For every major stressful 
life experience,

00:11:33.377 --> 00:11:36.259
like financial difficulties 
or family crisis,

00:11:36.259 --> 00:11:40.735
that increased the risk of dying 
by 30 percent.

00:11:40.735 --> 00:11:43.814
But -- and I hope you 
are expecting a but by now --

00:11:43.814 --> 00:11:46.894
but that wasn't true for everyone.

00:11:46.894 --> 00:11:52.022
People who spent time caring for others 
showed absolutely

00:11:52.022 --> 00:11:57.151
no stress-related increase in dying. Zero.

00:11:57.151 --> 00:12:00.904
Caring created resilience.

00:12:00.904 --> 00:12:03.863
And so we see once again 
that the harmful effects of stress

00:12:03.863 --> 00:12:06.822
on your health are not inevitable.

00:12:06.822 --> 00:12:13.252
How you think and how you act 
can transform your experience of stress.

00:12:13.252 --> 00:12:16.792
When you choose to view 
your stress response as helpful,

00:12:16.792 --> 00:12:21.485
you create the biology of courage.

00:12:21.485 --> 00:12:25.456
And when you choose 
to connect with others under stress,

00:12:25.456 --> 00:12:28.930
you can create resilience.

00:12:28.930 --> 00:12:35.493
Now I wouldn't necessarily ask 
for more stressful experiences in my life,

00:12:35.493 --> 00:12:41.813
but this science has given me 
a whole new appreciation for stress.

00:12:41.813 --> 00:12:46.219
Stress gives us access to our hearts.

00:12:46.219 --> 00:12:51.370
The compassionate heart that finds joy
and meaning in connecting with others,

00:12:51.370 --> 00:12:56.671
and yes, your pounding physical heart, 
working so hard

00:12:56.671 --> 00:13:00.209
to give you strength and energy,

00:13:00.209 --> 00:13:03.158
and when you choose to view stress
in this way,

00:13:03.158 --> 00:13:06.024
you're not just getting better at stress,

00:13:06.024 --> 00:13:09.811
you're actually making 
a pretty profound statement.

00:13:09.811 --> 00:13:16.365
You're saying that you can trust 
yourself to handle life's challenges,

00:13:16.365 --> 00:13:21.568
and you're remembering 
that you don't have to face them alone.

00:13:21.568 --> 00:13:23.271
Thank you.

00:13:23.271 --> 00:13:33.427
(Applause)

00:13:33.427 --> 00:13:36.478
Chris Anderson: This is kind of amazing, 
what you're telling us.

00:13:36.478 --> 00:13:40.088
It seems amazing to me 
that a belief about stress

00:13:40.088 --> 00:13:43.458
can make so much difference 
to someone's life expectancy.

00:13:43.458 --> 00:13:47.011
How would that extend to advice, 
like, if someone is making

00:13:47.011 --> 00:13:50.426
a lifestyle choice between,
say, a stressful job

00:13:50.426 --> 00:13:54.777
and a non-stressful job, 
does it matter which way they go?

00:13:54.777 --> 00:13:57.345
It's equally wise to go 
for the stressful job

00:13:57.345 --> 00:14:00.250
so long as you believe 
that you can handle it, in some sense?

00:14:00.250 --> 00:14:02.882
Kelly McGonigal: Yeah,
and one thing we know for certain

00:14:02.882 --> 00:14:05.221
is that chasing meaning 
is better for your health

00:14:05.221 --> 00:14:06.750
than trying to avoid discomfort.

00:14:06.750 --> 00:14:08.900
And so I would say 
that's really the best way

00:14:08.900 --> 00:14:11.539
to make decisions, is go after 
what it is that creates meaning

00:14:11.539 --> 00:14:15.318
in your life and then trust yourself 
to handle the stress that follows.

00:14:15.318 --> 00:14:18.121
Chris Anderson: Thank you so much, Kelly. 
It's pretty cool.

00:14:18.121 --> 00:14:19.548
KM: Thank you.

00:14:19.548 --> 00:14:24.104
(Applause)