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How to Make Stress Your Friend | Kelly McGonigal | TED

TED

17.2M views 13 years ago

Warm-up Questions

When you hear the title “How to Make Stress Your Friend,” what do you think the main message will be?
Do you think stress is always harmful, or can it sometimes be useful? Why?
What advice do you expect from a TED talk about stress?

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How to Make Stress Your Friend | Kelly McGonigal | TED

Segment 1: Stress as an “enemy” and a surprising study (00:00 – 03:28)

Transcript will load here…

1. What is the speaker’s confession?

She thinks stress has no effect on health.
She wants everyone to quit stressful jobs immediately.
She worries her teaching about stress may have caused harm.
She has never experienced stress.

2. In the study of 30,000 adults, who had the increased risk of dying?

People with a lot of stress who also believed stress is harmful
Only people with little stress
Everyone who had a lot of stress, no matter what they believed
People who believed stress is helpful, even if they had little stress

3. According to the researchers’ estimate, many people died prematurely because of what?

Cardiovascular disease unrelated to stress
Stress itself
The belief that stress is bad for you
Not getting enough sleep

How to Make Stress Your Friend | Kelly McGonigal | TED

Segment 2: Rethinking the stress response (social stress test) (03:28 – 07:36)

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1. What is the “social stress test” designed to make participants do?

Give an impromptu speech and then do a difficult math task while being pressured
Meditate in silence for five minutes
Exercise on a treadmill in front of a camera
Watch relaxing videos and answer questions

2. In the Harvard study, what were participants taught before doing the stress tests?

To breathe slowly so their heart rate would not change
To ignore all physical sensations
To see their stress response as helpful for performance
To avoid eye contact with the evaluators

3. When participants viewed stress as helpful, what happened to their blood vessels?

They stopped reacting to stress
They narrowed permanently
They stayed relaxed
They constricted more strongly

How to Make Stress Your Friend | Kelly McGonigal | TED

Segment 3: Oxytocin, connection, resilience, and final advice (07:36 – 14:29)

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1. What “underappreciated aspect” of stress does the speaker highlight?

Stress makes you hungry
Stress makes you social
Stress makes you forgetful
Stress makes you avoid people

2. What does the speaker say most people don’t understand about oxytocin?

It is harmful to the heart and blood vessels
It is a stress hormone released as part of the stress response
It is only released when you hug someone
It is a vitamin you can only get from food

3. In the study of about a thousand adults, who showed no stress-related increase in dying?

People who had the highest-paying jobs
People who avoided stressful events completely
People who slept eight hours every night
People who spent time caring for others

How to Make Stress Your Friend | Kelly McGonigal | TED

Transcript will load here…

1. What is the main idea of the talk?

Only certain personalities can handle stress without harm.
How you think about and respond to stress can change its effects on your body and health.
The best health strategy is to remove all stress from life.
Stress is always dangerous, so people should avoid it at any cost.

2. Which action is presented as a way to build resilience during stress?

Focusing only on distractions until stress disappears
Bottling up feelings so you don’t burden others
Avoiding any challenging situations
Connecting with others by seeking or giving support

3. What decision-making advice is given in the Q&A at the end?

Choose whatever other people recommend to reduce uncertainty.
Choose based on what creates meaning, and trust yourself to handle the stress that follows.
Always choose the least stressful option available.
Choose the job with the highest salary because money reduces stress.

Discussion Questions

Discuss the ideas from this video

How to Make Stress Your Friend | Kelly McGonigal | TED

Do you usually interpret a pounding heart (before a test, interview, or presentation) as a sign of danger or a sign of readiness? Why?
What are some practical ways to “connect with others under stress” in your culture or daily life?
Do you agree that “chasing meaning is better for your health than trying to avoid discomfort”? Give an example from work or study.
How might this talk change the way schools or workplaces teach people to manage stress?