Kelly McGonigal · ストレスを友にする方法

I have a confession to make. But first, I want you to make a little confession to me. In the past year, I want you to just raise your hand if you've experienced relatively little stress. Now I want you to raise your hand if you've experienced a lot of stress. Now look at me. I am committed to science, and I have been tracking stress-health data for years. The old belief? Stress is harmful. Avoid it. But I've changed my mind about stress. Today, I want to try to persuade you to make friends with stress — to treat it as an ally rather than an enemy. Here's the key insight: stress makes you social. When you view your stress response as helpful — your heart is pounding, you might be breathing faster — you can actually change your body's response. People who spent time caring for others showed absolutely no stress-related health decline. Importantly, stress was not associated with dying in people who spent time helping others. Chasing meaning is better for your health than trying to avoid discomfort. When you choose to reach out to others under stress — when you take on challenges rather than avoiding them — you create resilience. Our minds are incredibly good at making sense of whatever information we give them. Choose to believe that stress is helpful, and your body will follow. So next time your heart is pounding, think: this is my body helping me rise to this challenge. Turn to the people around you and tell them: I've got this.