The Best Mindset for Minimizing Stress
To optimize dealing with stress, we should develop a "synergistic mindset."
KEY POINTS
- We often attempt to deal with stress by avoiding it. That doesn't work.
- Instead, we need to focus on how we interpret the stressful experiences we inevitably encounter.
- A "synergistic mindset" appraises stress optimistically by considering how it's helpful, including as a way to improve the self.
"Life is stressful. What makes stress more difficult to navigate is that many of us haven't yet developed effective approaches for dealing with it. Too often, the default way of dealing with stress is to try to avoid it. As we all know, that isn't terribly effective because many (most?) of life's stressors are unavoidable. For that reason, it's important to develop effective coping strategies that can help now, and into the future. Since we can't prevent stress from happening in the first place, we can get better at how we interpret the stress we do experience.
A team of researchers, including scientists from the University of Texas at Austin, Stanford University, University of Rochester, and Google's Empathy lab sought to determine the best way for helping teens address their stress (Yeager et al., 2022). Because stress is often inescapable, the researchers wanted to focus on strategies that helped adolescents shift their perspective and meet stress head-on.
They examined two key possibilities:
Growth Mindset: The idea that our ability is not permanent, and that we can develop our skills and intelligence. In the context of stress, this "...casts normal but challenging stressors (for example, rigorous, advanced coursework) as both helpful (because they provide opportunities for valuable learning and skill development) and controllable (because the abilities needed to overcome them can be developed)."
Stress-Can-Be-Enhancing Mindset: Generally, this is the perspective that experiencing difficulties and stress has benefits. Specifically that stress stimulates physiological responses that help us optimize performance. In the context of stress, teens "...can choose to take advantage of the enhanced capacity for performance it (stress) fuels rather than being worried and distracted by it." In other words, see stress as an asset rather than a burden.
Here's the innovative part: The researchers presented both mindsets together as one integrated "synergistic mindset." Growth mindset should help teens appraise situations more optimistically and not see stress as certain doom, while the stress enhancement mindset should help teens see how stress can help, rather than hinder them. Both mindsets work together synergistically to yield even greater benefits than either mindset by itself.
Read the full available article on Psychology Today
Reflection: Do you think that having a synergistic mindset can be the key to handling stress better?
#Stress #Management #Mindset
@professionalVision2624
I agree as we deal with stress and see how we respond effects us greatly we learn to not avoid and perhaps even embrace the challenge some stress causes.
it is important to deal with items and stress instead of letting it taking control
@toughTiger6481
Exactly! A lot of stress management lies in how we respond and handle stressful situations!
@professionalVision2624 That's an interesting post! Stress is very common nowadays and coping with it can be challenging.
A minimal amount of stress can provide people with motivation and boost creativity. However it can easily get out of control with everyday life being hectic.
My favorite way to cope with stress is doing self-care and mindfulness exercises!
Thank you for the post!
@calmDew1576
That sounds like a perfect example of what self-care is! And yes, there is both good and bad stress although nowadays I feel like the "bad stress" is becoming like an pandemic in itself and affecting a lot of people negatively.
@professionalVision2624
I wasn't aware of what it meant to have a synergetic mindset before.
However, it sounds so helpful for approaching stressful situations.
Thanks for the article<3💛✨
