A 30-minute online class promises to transform your response to stress
Conventional wisdom tells us that stress is bad. There’s no question that it feels bad. When I’m stressed, a black hole opens up in my stomach, my digestive system goes haywire and I tend to miserably fixate on whatever’s stressing me out.
A team of researchers at Stanford and the University of Texas at Austin says it doesn’t have to be this way — and that stress is actually healthy, normal and can be beneficial. The team set out to help students deal with stress, developing a 30-minute online course that details how stress works, why stress itself can be a good thing and why a negative perception of stress can be harmful. The course is called Synergistic Mindsets Stress Intervention (which could probably benefit from a name upgrade, but we won’t stress about that).
“We’re trying to change teenagers’ beliefs about stressful situations,” David Yeager, study author and a psychologist at the University of Texas at Austin, tells the Guardian. “We’re trying to get teenagers to realise that when you’re doing something hard and your body starts to feel stressed, that could be a good thing.”
Just understanding that stress isn’t always a bad thing can help you deal with it.
The researchers found that simply exposing students to concepts that show stress can be both good and natural showed an improvement in students' mental health and academic performance.
They conducted six randomized, controlled trials, involving 4,000 teens and undergrads, and found that people who took the course were 14% more likely to pass their classes. Those who took the course displayed lower levels of anxiety even months after taking the course.
Wait, so why is stress good?
The course dissects our stress response quite simply. "Difficulty, struggle, and frustration when you’re learning something are not signs that you’ve reached your limits, they’re signs that you’re expanding your limits,” it says.
The idea that stress can be positive is based on two psychological theories.
The first, known as the growth mindset theory, is the idea that our abilities and intelligence are not fixed; we can improve our skills and talents through hard work, support from others and effective strategies. The way that that theory relates to the course’s message is that when you feel stress, that’s your brain getting bigger and stronger.
The other main idea of the course is that stress is the body’s healthy, natural way of preparing you to tackle something challenging. As such, stress can actually bolster your performance rather than diminish it. This applies to physical symptoms, too: When your heart beats faster, it’s delivering oxygen, which serves as fuel, to your muscles and brain. When you sweat, that’s your body cooling you off so you can perform without overheating.
Important disclaimer: The researchers are clear that their findings don’t apply to stress caused by trauma — it’s strictly for stress caused by everyday challenges.
Instead of feeling stressed by your stress, try feeling grateful for it.
What would life be like if every time our hearts started to pound, we thought, “Oh good, everything’s working just right?” How much happier could we be, and how much better would we do on that test, interview or presentation?
It’s pretty hard to imagine, but the answer might only be 30 minutes away. You can take the course here.
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