There Is A Secret to Stressing Less...

Hey there ✨

Do you sometimes feel like this?

Your calendar is running wild, the pile of tasks on your desk and in your head is growing like weed and you just don’t know how and where to start – without stressing out?

What if I told you there is one way of changing that, which has nothing to do with changing the situation itself?

What if a simple shift of your perspective can already influence your perceived level of stress?
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Now I don’t mean to say: Just don’t stress about it.
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Believe me, I hate it when people come with this kind of “wisdom” to me –
as if it was THAT easy.

That is why, what I mean to tell you, is this:
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​If you manage to change your perspective on stress, you will stress less...

What am I up to?

I believe I have some findings on the stress-mindset for you…

a) that you are probably not aware of

&

b) that will have an influence on your perspective

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So – hear me out and let’s dive into: ONE SECRET TO STRESSING LESS.

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STARTING POINT: YOUR MIND AND YOUR BODY

If you have been with me from the beginning, you’ve seen me writing about the Body-Mind-Connection quite often and maybe you’ve realized by now:

It is always an underlying topic.

If something happens in your mind, there is a reaction in your body – PERIOD.

That is how your brain is wired.

There is no such thing as your thoughts being separate entities. Your thoughts are part of a huge communication network that is integrated within us human-beings.

You perceive, and then assess situations, to create valuable information for the body to work with: to send electric signals, to create neurotransmitters, to spread hormones…

Your neurons are permanently working to protect you, to prepare you for challenges, to support your ideas becoming plans and actions… etc.

Because, how else would you be able to receive information about a ball flying your way to then signal your body to move a step aside for not being hit by it?

How else do you explain the excitement and the rush of happiness flushing your body, when you win a game?

How else does your anxiety pump up your blood pressure and heart rate, when you need to go on a stage to talk in front of other people?

Your brain is constantly communicating with your body, as well as the other way around.

On different levels.
Sometimes we are aware of it.
Most often we are not.

Okay fine, we have an integrated body-mind-communication-network, but where am I going with this?

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THE PLACEBO EFFECT

A thought has the power to influence your body and it’s reactions – that seems pretty straight forward.

But how about beliefs?

Ask yourself for a second

Do you think what you believe about your food matters on how your body reacts to it?

Do you think what you believe about stress influences your own response to it?

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Maybe I’ve primed you too much and you already know what is coming now.

But, guess what: Your beliefs matter.

The way you perceive a certain situation influences your reaction on a PHYSICAL LEVEL.

What do I mean by that?

We have all heard of the most common proof for this phenomenon: The placebo effect.

Within clinical trials there are two groups of people. One group that receives the actual drug and one group that receives a placebo. Both groups believe they have been given the actual drug. And even though the second group is not receiving a “real treatment”, by believing they have been given the actual thing they end up with a positive body reaction to something that could basically also be a gummy bear.

Think about this for a second: JUST BECAUSE they believe the pill is working, without the pill itself actually working, IT IS working.

The number of experiments using placebo controlled groups, actually makes the effect itself the best studied “drug” on the market.

But let’s not stop here.

I have three other examples for you on how this works.

And I promise, if you have not yet heard about these studies, I promise, you’re about to be MIND BLOWN.

At least I was, when I first heard about it.

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THE PROOF YOU NEED TO BELIEVE

A thought has the power to influence your body and it’s reactions – that seems pretty straight forward.

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The Milkshake Study

In this study two groups received the very same milkshake. Same amount of calories and content. While one group was told they are drinking a diet shake, the other group was made believe that they are consuming a high-fat milkshake.​
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​Results: Even though they were consuming the SAME product, the high-fat group showed increased production of hormones signalling the body that it is not hungry anymore. They were more “filled up”.

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The Housekeeper Study

Here the researches gathered a group of housekeepers who were asked to evaluate how much they exercise per week – most of them saying: not at all – because they have no time due to their work.
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​Now think about it for a second: They are running around making beds, cleaning rooms, cleaning toilets, washing linen - THEY are exercising daily, yet they did not see it. ​
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In the next step, half of the participants were made aware of the exercise they were doing daily, the other half simply proceeded with their work.
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​Results: After four weeks the informed group started loosing weight, decreasing their blood pressure and feeling more healthy.

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The Stress Mindset Study

During the banking crisis the employees of a financial institution were tested in terms of their stress mindset; how they viewed stress.

Stress was mainly associated with negative feelings (distress) and was desired to be avoided.

The research team then taught half of the group about the positive effects stress can have, how it best prepares your body for challenges, how it supports you to “fight” or “flight”...

​Results: The group that was taught about the positive side of stress not only changed their mindset from “stress-is-debilitating” to “stress-is-enhancing”, furthermore their body adjusted the hormonal production of cortisol in stressful situations, changing the intensity of the stress reaction.

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Think about it: The way they viewed stress, the effect they believed stress had on them, CHANGED the actual stress response itself.

The research team did not decrease any stressors or adjust the situation itself, they just influenced how the participants perceive the stress.

A simple perspective change from stress being the sign of threat towards stress being the sign of a challenge. A challenge that you can master more effectively with and through your stress reaction.

I am not saying it isn't worth to reduce stressors – but don’t you think it makes sense to use this mechanism for your benefits as well?

If so – I’ve got something for you.

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GET A MINDSET UPDATE

In in the aforementioned study they changed the stress mindset of the participants just by showing them short videos on how your brain and your body react under stress (but with a focus on the positive effects.

Luckily the Stanford University is providing a whole library with materials on this (and other subjects) for free. So, if you want to figure out the status-quo of your stress-mindest and if you want to watch the content that supports a "stress-is-enhancing"-mindset, here you go:

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1. Stress-mindset test​

2. Stress-mindset toolkit

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Should you try it, I am curious: What was your result? (I'll share mine with you if you let me know yours...)
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And whenever you feel like diving into this more deeply, I am here for you.

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Stay mindful,

Carina 🌻

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​Disclaimer: Please be aware, that my content is meant to increase your awareness of your mental health, it is not meant to be a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor in case of mental health issues.​

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