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The other side of stress - Good Magazine
by: Good Magazine
For decades, stress has had a bad name. But new research is shining light on the misconception that it’s inevitably bad for our health. In fact, make stress your friend, and you might even become healthier.
Make stress your friend
Stanford University health psychologist Kelly McGonigal spent years spreading the message that stress makes you sick. Then one day, she changed her mind.
Her 2013 TED Talk, ‘How to make stress your friend’, where she discusses research suggesting stress may only be bad for you if you believe that to be the case, has been viewed more than 15 million times.
McGonigal’s change of mind began with research that included an eight-year study in the United States which tracked 30,000 adults. It initially asked them how much stress they experienced in the past year, as well as whether they believed stress was harmful to their health. The researchers then used public death records to find out who died.
The findings showed that people who experienced a lot of stress in the previous year had a 43 per cent increased risk of dying – but that was only true for the people who also believed that stress is harmful for your health.
Explains McGonigal, “People who experienced a lot of stress but did not view stress as harmful were no more likely to die. In fact, they had the lowest risk of dying of anyone in the study, including people who had relatively little stress.
“The researchers estimated that over the eight years they were tracking deaths, 182,000 Americans died prematurely, not from stress, but from the belief that stress is bad for you.
“That is over 20,000 deaths a year. Now, if that estimate is correct, that would make believing stress is bad for you the 15th largest cause of death in the United States in a year, killing more people than skin cancer, HIV/AIDS and homicide,” she says.
This led McGonigal to wonder whether changing how you think about stress could make you healthier. “Here the science says yes. When you change your mind about stress, you can change your body’s response to stress,” she says.
Therefore, instead of perceiving our body’s changes during stress as the first step to bad health, we should rather view these changes as signs our body is becoming energised to help us meet a challenge.
That is exactly what participants were told in a study conducted at Harvard University, adds McGonigal. “Before they went through the social stress test, they were taught to rethink their stress response as helpful. That pounding heart is preparing you for action. If you’re breathing faster, it’s no problem. It’s getting more oxygen to your brain. And participants who learned to view the stress response as helpful for their performance, well, they were less stressed out, less anxious, more confident…” she says.
Seek support and hug it out
They say a problem shared is a problem halved, and new research shows this can be the case when it comes to stress. Seeking support from loved ones, showing empathy and having it returned can reduce our fight-or-flight stress response. This is to do with another stress hormone, oxytocin, which is also released when people hug one another.
Says McGonigal, “Oxytocin is a neuro-hormone. It fine-tunes your brain’s social instincts. It primes you to do things that strengthen close relationships. Oxytocin makes you crave physical contact with your friends and family. It enhances your empathy. It even makes you more willing to help and support the people you care about.”
Studies have shown oxytocin levels are higher under stressful conditions, such as social isolation and unhappy relationships. One study reported in Psychosomatic Medicine, for example, found that women who reported more gaps in their social relationships and less positive relationships with their significant others had higher levels of oxytocin and cortisol than those reporting better relationships.
Most people don’t understand oxytocin is a stress hormone, McGonigal adds. When it’s released, oxytocin motivates you to seek support. “Your biological stress response is nudging you to tell someone how you feel, instead of bottling it up.”
Empathetic listening also helps produce oxytocin, as psychologist Arthur Ciaramicoli explains in his book The Stress Solution: Using Empathy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to Reduce Anxiety and Develop Resilience. He suggests being more mindful of the ways we communicate with loved ones. “Learning to communicate with empathy can go a long way toward building more positivity in your relationships and reducing your stress,” he says. “If we all focused more on listening and understanding each other, the world would be a lot less stressful – and a lot happier – place to live.”
防病毒
Ways to Virus-Proof Your Life msn.com
Slide 1 of 16: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak is incredibly scary, as it continues to spread across the globe at a rapid rate. While we are still in the process of understanding exactly how the virus that causes the highly infectious and deadly virus works, there are a handful of things we do know about it. One of these is how it is spread—between people who are in close contact with one another and through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes—and also via contact with infected surfaces or objects. Here are all the things you should be doing to virus-proof your life during the scary coronavirus outbreak.
Slide 2 of 16: It shouldn't take a deadly virus to remind the world how important hand-washing is. However, if this isn't a habitual practice of yours, learning the proper method of washing your hands is crucial during the current coronavirus crisis. And, chances are, you are doing it wrong. According to a study conducted by the US Department of Agriculture, hand washers are committing faux pas 97 percent of the time. The CDC stresses the importance of washing your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds—especially after going to the bathroom, before eating, and after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing. And, don't forget to dry your hands after washing, as germs transmit more easily via wet hands.
Slide 3 of 16: Because soap and water isn't always available, you should start investing in hand sanitizer. The CDC recommends an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol in order to kill the virus before further contamination. Apply to the palm of one hand—read the label to learn the correct amount—and rub the product all over the surfaces of your hands until they are dry.
Slide 4 of 16: While it is currently unclear just how long the coronavirus can survive on surfaces, one study found that it can live for up to nine days. Stephen Morse, Ph.D., a professor of epidemiology at Columbia University Medical Center, told NPR that while we don't know exactly how this current strain reacts, based on previous coronaviruses it is likely that COVID-19 can be killed by most household cleaners, including bleach, alcohol, or even just old soap and water. Therefore, you should definitely wipe down everything in your home—counters, doorknobs, tables, faucets, light switches, cellphones included—in order to keep the members of your home safe. "Viruses can persist on surfaces, so anything you can do to keep them clean is a help, including the use of bleach solutions and disinfecting wipes," Dr. Morse explained.
Slide 5 of 16: Viral infections are incredibly scary, as they are passed from person-to-person. Therefore, the closer you are to others, the more likely you are to be infected. The World Health Organization suggests maintaining at least a three foot distance between yourself and anyone who is coughing or sneezing, as they are spraying small liquid droplets from their nose or mouth which may contain virus. "If you are too close, you can breathe in the droplets, including the COVID-19 virus if the person coughing has the disease," they warn. You may even want to consider working remotely if that is an option. The less interactions with others, the more likely you are to stay healthy.
Slide 6 of 16: One of the top ways you can avoid getting a scary virus is by keeping your hands away from your facial area. The WHO points out that because hands touch many surfaces, they can easily pick up viruses. Once contaminated, they can transfer the virus to your eyes, nose or mouth, where it can enter your body and can make you sick. "Many respiratory viruses are transmitted from contaminated surfaces by our own hands to our eyes and nose," explains Richard Martinello, MD, a Yale Medicine infectious disease specialist. "Keeping your hands and fingers away from your face may be one of the most effective ways to keep from getting sick." If you must touch your eyes or nose, make sure to first wash your hands carefully with soap and water. Or, use an alcohol based hand rub to destroy germs.
Slide 7 of 16: In addition to hand-washing hygiene, the WHO stresses the importance of making sure you and those around you practice respiratory hygiene. "This means covering your mouth and nose with your bent elbow or tissue when you cough or sneeze. Then dispose of the used tissue immediately," they explain. This is due to the fact that droplets spread viruses. "By following good respiratory hygiene you protect the people around you from viruses such as cold, flu and COVID-19."
Slide 8 of 16: Now more than ever it is important to be hyper aware of any and all symptoms, and to act promptly. "Stay home if you feel unwell," urges WHO. If you have a fever, cough, or difficulty breathing, seek medical attention immediately, and if you think it could be coronavirus, you should call ahead so your health care provider can direct you to the right health facility to be tested. "This will also protect you and help prevent the spread of viruses and other infections," they explain.
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