Stress and Mindset
How you think about stress REALLY matters.
Turns out, there’s a huge difference between…
“Ugh, why does everything in my life have to be so HARD!?”
And…
“This sucks, it’s hard but I can learn and grow from it.”
In fact, research shows that people with a healthier stressed mindset (I know sounds weird) cope better when confronted with stressors.
And progress can be made faster compared to someone who’s faced with stressors and has an unhealthy mindset about it, according to a study published in Emotion.
In a randomized controlled trial, the scientists wanted to evaluate the efficacy of novel imagery-based interventions for stress management. They found that once people did a short journal exercise, they immediately — and for two weeks after — experienced a better attitude about stress.
Want to try a similar experiment? Do one of these visualization activities to help manage your stress better:
- Come up with a general list of common stressors and write down what lessons someone might learn from them.
- Imagine the top three stressors you think you’ll deal with in the next month. Now, detail how you’ll tackle them to learn from them and be better.
- Spend five minutes jotting down what was most stressful for you in the past week and the positives that came from that stress (no matter how small).
If you feel the benefits, continue to do this. Consistency is always the “secret” to making change and with stress and mindset, it’s no different. It’s like exercising your muscles to grow and change. You’re exercising your mindset and gaining better habits to make a change.
Do you have any stress management tips you can share here? Comment below and let us know!
Liked this piece? Subscribe here for more info like this.
References:
Keech JJ, Hagger MS, Hamilton K. Changing stress mindsets with a novel imagery intervention: A randomized controlled trial. Emotion. 2021 Feb;21(1):123–36.
