KellyMcGonigal 2013G transcript

But first,

Let me start with the study that made
me rethink my whole approach

They also asked do you believe that
stress is harmful for your

The 15th largest cause of death
in the United States last year,

but did not view stress is harmful
were no more likely to die.

you change your mind about stress
you can change your body's

about stress make you healthier and
here the science says yes when

Yeah.

The researchers estimated that over
the 8 years they were tracking

stress anyone.

a lot of stress,

is bad for you.

killing more people than skin
cancer HIV-AIDS and homicide.

Some bad news first.

basically I've turned stress
into the economy.

And it has to deal with stress.

It's called the social stress test,

So this though you got me wondering
can changing how you think

help.

People who experience,

social stress tests they were taught
to rethink their stress

I want you to make a little
confession to me.

harass you doing it now.

Well,

you know.

designed to stress you out.

. This is one of the reasons that
chronic stress is sometimes

On your personal weaknesses to a
panel of expert evaluate sitting

I've been telling people
stress makes you sick,

I want you all to pretend that you
are participants in a study

Happens.

you think about stress matters.

Okay,

yourself.

Now that is exactly what participants
were told in a study

they were less stressed out less
anxious more confident.

response to stress now to
explain how this works.

we need to talk about the hormone
oxytocin and I know now oxytocin

But I've changed my mind about stress
and today I wanna change

change could be the difference
between a stress-induced heart

8 years and they started by asking
people how much stress the

a lot of stress in the previous year
had a 43% increased risk of

conducted at Harvard University
before they went through the

I no longer want to get
rid of your stress.

But what if you view them instead
as signs that your body was

Stress is bad for your health.

experience in the last year.

Now that you're sufficiently demoralized
time for part 2 a math

you can support each other.

has already gotten as much
hype as a hormone can get.

The heart was still pounding,

I've been spending so much
energy telling people.

you can do this out loud
as fast as you can,

I want to tell you about one of the
most underappreciated aspects

So when you reach out to
others under stress,

Hello.

it is motivating you to seek support
your biological stress

it's a natural anti-inflammatory.

So my goal as a health psychologist
has changed,

that we are coping very
well with the pressure.

And then they use public death
records the find out who died.

That is over 20,000 deaths a year.

you're going to remember the stock
and you're gonna think to

so you get the idea.

You probably be a little stress out
in fact might be pounding you

So the bad news first for every
major stressful life experience

but my favorite effect on the body
is actually on the heart.

risk of dying by 30%.

is that all of these physical benefits
of oxytocin are enhanced by

to stress the study tracked 30,000
adults in the United States for

there are bright lights and
a camera in your face.

It's a stress hormone.

So we are gonna do one more intervention.

I want to make you better at stress
and we just did a little

And they started the study by
asking how much stress you

helpful their blood vessel
stayed relaxed like this.

Machine.

And when you view stressing in that way,

stress related increase in dying zero.

Me too,

feed.

to become more compassionate and caring.

heart is pounding from stress,

In the past year.

The evaluated have been trained to
give you discouraging nonverbal

But here's what most people don't
understand about Nixzmary.

normally we interpret these physical
changes as anxiety were signs

Your stress response wants to make sure,

It enhances your empathy it even
makes you more willing to help

connection.

healthier.

You can see why the study
freaked me out here,

including people who have relatively
little stress now.

Your pituitary gland the stuff out
as part of the stress response

you had a lot of stress in the last year,

I don't have to.

profound statement.

But the most fascinating finding
to me was how their physical

It also acts on your body and one
of its main roles in your body,

all the time.

yours.

But I fear that something I've been
teaching for the last 10 years

A moderate amount of stress.

Over a lifetime of stressful experiences
this one biological

Whose experience in lot of stress.

and this is really what the new science
of stress reveals that how

you notice when someone else in
your life is struggling so that

And when you choose to view
stress in this way,

but this is a much healthier
cardiovascular profile.

Now you are actually in the study.

courage.

psychologist and my mission is
the help people be happier and

you come into the laboratory and
you're told you have to give a

A confession to make.

your body believes you and your stress
response becomes healthier

For years,

social contact and social support.

response,

harmful for your health.

We're gonna have to start all over again.

with others and yes you're pounding
physical heart working so hard

dying.

intervention if you raise
your hand and said,

but from the belief that
stress is bad for you.

And one offended by telling you about
one more study and listen up

instincts it primes you to do
things that strengthen close

energize was preparing new
to meet this challenge.

you're breathing faster,

associated with cardiovascular disease.

To understand the sight of stress,

but that is not my confession my
confession is this I'm a health

is doing more harm than good.

The hot that's that's that
that guy made a mistake.

Yeah and.

It's going to be fun.

And oxytocin helps heart cells regenerate
and heal from any stress

this hormone your stress response
becomes healthier and you

because the study could also save a life.

Okay,

We're gonna all do this together.

your heart rate goes up and your blood
vessels constrict like that

You're remembering that you don't
have to face them along.

I'm just raise your hand if you've
experienced relatively little

it's equally wise to go for the
stressful job so long as you

In fact they had the lowest risk
of dying of anyone in the study,

5-minute impromptu speech.

I want you all to count backwards
from 996 in increments of 7,

That was only true for the people
who also believed that stress is

of the stress response and the
idea is this stress makes you

it increases the risk of everything
from the common cold to

social.

that's really the best way to make
decisions is go after what it

believe that you can handle it and some.

But in the study when participants
viewed their stress responses

friends and family.

we could have saved her life because
hopefully the next time your

Kinda like this.

bottling it.

cardiovascular disease:

stress response changed.

handle the stress that follows.

People who experience,

ranged in age from 34 to 93.

right in front of you know and to
make sure you feel the pressure

starting with 9-96 go.

deaths 182,000 Americans died
prematurely not from stress,

it's no problem,

. Now,

Oxytocin is a neuro hormone it
fine-tunes your brains social

And so we see once again that the
harmful effects of stress on

And then they use public records
for the next 5 years to find out

but the science has given me a whole
new appreciation for stress.

from.

stress.

It's not really healthy
to be in the state,

Now if that estimate is correct that
would make believing stress

so how is knowing this side of stress
going to make you healthier

it's getting more oxygen to your brain.

tests and unbeknownst to you the
experiment has been trained to

how would that extend to advice
I could someone's making a

You're not very good at those are,

but that wasn't true for everyone.

life,

That's Ripley's you're going too slow.

helpful for their performance.

Your heart has receptors for this forum.

you're not just getting better at
stress actually making a pretty

When life is difficult your stress
response wants you to be

And participants who learned to
view the stress response as

who died.

that makes your heart Pat and oxytocin
is released in the stress

response is nudging you to tell
someone how you feel instead of

I said I had over a decade of demonizing
stressed to redeem myself

It also helps your blood vessels
stay relaxed during stress,

She.

neighbors people in your community.

It actually looks a lot like what
happens in moments of joy and

how you think and how you act can
transform your experience of

And so I would say,

might be breathing faster may be
breaking out into a sweat and

Now the typical stress response,

, it's as much a part of your stress
response as the adrenaline

And the cool thing is,

well oxytocin doesn't only
act on your brain.

responses helpful that pounding heart
is preparing for action if

attack at age 50 and living
well into your'90s

surrounded by people who
care about you know.

The study tracked about 1,000 adults
in the United States and they

I find his amazing that your stress
response has a built-in

Okay.

and support the people you care about.

is a creates meaning in your life
and then trust yourself to

And when you choose to connect
with other is under stress.

This is kind of amazing we you're
telling us is just it seems

relationships oxytocin makes you
crave physical contact with your

And I hope you are expecting about Bono,

release when you had someone,

experienced in the last year.

They also asked how much time have
you spent helping out friends,

induced damage this draft pheromone
strengthens your heart.

to give you strength and energy.

And one thing we know for certain
is that chasing meaning is

This is my body helping me
rise to this challenge.

Some people have even suggested
we should ignore oxytocin there

stress,

Stress gives us access to our heart.

but this is a very small part of
what oxytocin is involved in.

amazing to me that a belief about
stress can make so much

is to protect your cardiovascular
system from the effects of

difference to someone's life
expectancy but how,

He even has its own cute nickname
the cuddle hormone because its

actually recover faster from stress.

mechanism for stress resilience
and that mechanism is human

your health are not inevitable,

better for your health and trying
to avoid discomfort.

You're saying that you can trust
yourself to handle life's

Carrion created a resilience.

I wouldn't necessarily ask for more
stressful experiences in my

Thank you so much.

either to seek support or to help
someone else you release more of

The compassionate heart that finds
joy and meaning in connecting

lifestyle choice between say a stressful
job and non-stressful job

it's,

challenges.

You created the biology of courage.

People who spent time caring for
others showed absolutely no

like financial difficulties or family
crisis that increase the

You can create resilience.

When you choose to view your
stress response as helpful.

is it doesn't matter that
which way they go there,