What is stress regulation? Emotional control? Good stress vs. Bad stress? Can we truly “control our emotions”?
These are all important considerations when considering our hectic and ever-changing lives. One person’s “bad stressful” day is another person’s “opportunity to tackle life’s challenges and improve oneself”. How does this occur that a person can view that oftentimes vilified word “stress” and make it into a productive and powerful part of the their day?
Let’s first look at the definition of the term “stress”. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines stress as:
1): a constraining force or influence: such as
a): a force exerted when one body or body part presses on, pulls on, pushes against, or tends to compress or twist another body part (Think of this as stress on a body part such as the foot when we walk: we can term this physiological or mechanical stress)
b): the deformation caused in a body by such a force (Think of this as stress from a force like slamming a book on your hand: we can term this physiological or mechanical stress)
c): a physical, chemical, or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental tension and may be a factor in disease causation (Think of this as emotional stress from a bad grade or poor performance : we can term this psychological stress)
So right off the bat, we oftentimes think of stress in a negative, hurtful, or harmful way. But (yes a big but!!!), what if we viewed stress in a positive and helpful manner? Dr. David Yeager and colleagues at the University of Texas, Stanford University, and the University of Rochester did just that in a recent study published in Nature (first published online June 6, 2022) titled “A synergistic mindset intervention protects adolescents from stress”. Dr. Yeager et al (2022) showed that a synergistic intervention program in adolescents targeting a combination of growth mindset (the idea that intelligence can be developed) and stress-can-be enhancing mindset (the idea that one’s physiological stress response can fuel optimal performance) improved stress-related cognitions, cardiovascular reactivity, daily cortisol levels, psychological well-being, academic success, and anxiety symptoms in adolescents during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. So long story short, stress response training with the right growth mindset training will turn the negative effects of “stress” into a positive.
Basically, learning how to handle stress makes you stronger. Learning stress regulation techniques is very important for adolescents as they traverse through numerous challenges throughout their lives.
Teaching proper stress regulation is of the highest importance to our children and society at large. Do~Mojo is trying to help fill this space through online and in-person training options for mindset mental performance coaching through personal activity experiences (e.g., sports, performing arts, school). Come join us as we help individuals tap into the magical power of the mind.
Twitter: @domojo999
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