Then Dr. McGonigal goes on to cite another study called the social stress test, where participants were asked to perform stressful tasks such as standing on stage and giving a speech to a panel of expert judges about their weakness and doing difficult math tests as fast as they can, all while these judges were giving them judgmental looks and making condescending remarks. Most people would view this scenario pretty stressful and normally we would interpret the physical changes, such as pounding heart and faster breaths, as signs of anxiety or that we are not coping very well with the pressure. But Dr. McGongal asked, what if you viewed these signs as your body was energized, was preparing you to meet this challenge? This is exactly what the participants in this Harvard study was told. Before taking the social stress test they were told that their stress response was helpful – that pounding heart is preparing them action, the faster breath is getting more oxygen into their brain,. When participants viewed their stress response as helpful for their performance they were less stressed out, less anxious and more confident.
The more fascinating part about the finding was how their physical stress response changed. In a typical stress response the heart rate goes up and the blood vessels constrict. This is one of the reasons that chronic stress is associated with cardiovascular disease – because it’s not healthy to be in this state all the time. In the study where participants viewed their stress response as helpful, their blood vessels stayed relaxed. Their heart was still pounding but this is a much healthier cardiovascular profile. It actually looks a lot like what happens in moments of joy and courage. Over a lifetime of stressful experiences this one biological change could be the difference between someone who gets a stress-induced heart attack at age 50 versus someone who lives well into their 90s. Therefore, Dr. McGonigal believes that the new science about stress is no longer about getting rid of stress but rather getting better at stress.
Dr. McGonigal talks about another benefit of stress, which is making us social. Oxytocin, traditionally viewed as the “cuddle” hormone, is also a stress hormone. It is as much part of the stress response as the adrenaline that makes our heart pound. When it is released during the stress response it is motivating us to seek social support. When life is difficult our stress response wants to make sure that we are surrounded by people who care about us. Oxytocin doesn’t just act on our brain but it also acts on our body. One of the benefits is that protects our body from the stress response – it’s a natural anti-inflammatory, it also helps our body stay relaxed, and it even helps heart cells regenerate and helps the heart heal from any stress-induced damage. All these physical benefits of oxytocin are enhanced by social contact and social support. So when we reach out to others either to seek support or to help someone else, we release more of this hormone, our stress response becomes healthier, and we recover faster from stress. This means that our stress response has a built in mechanism for stress resilience, and that mechanism is human connection.
