How to Make Stress your Best Friend - An Informative Speech
INFORMATIVE SPEECH
Topic: Stress Management through mindset intervention
General Purpose: To Inform
Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about stress and mindset intervention
Central Idea: Accepting stress-related beliefs and positively transforming them through mindset intervention
Title: Stress can be your Best Friend
How many of you think college is stressful? Sounds like most of you agree with the idea that college entails a lot of stress.
If you have experienced stress, then I am sure that you have also come up with a solution that works for you all the time? Oh.. so most of you actually haven’t .. And for those of you who do, you probably thought about meditation, yoga, art, and the like… but let’s get real… are these magic tricks that work all the time?
I don’t think so.
That’s why I want to tell you about a technique that will work 100% of the time! And I will let you in on a little secret -this skill has been hiding inside you this whole time!
Hmm… so how can the solution to our external stresses lie inside us? Well, that’s what I am going to talk to you about today…
First…we must accept our inherent belief systems about stress. Second, we must transform our mindset to make stress our best friend, and finally, we must learn to apply these techniques to deal with stress in college and in the rest of our lives.
When I say college … we think about deadlines, exams, sleep deprivation, homesickness…and that definitely all sounds stressful to most of us, right?
And that makes me wonder… how does all this stress affect us? Well, the American Institute of Stress says that stress can cause headaches, body aches, trouble sleeping, all the nine yards... Now, how many of you would agree that stress is harmful? A vast majority … as we would expect.
Okay, now let me tell you about this next study done at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2012 … they discovered that over 8 years, 182,000 Americans died prematurely … not because of stress… but because they BELIEVED that stress was harmful to them. So now stress-beliefs seem to be the 15th largest cause of death in America. Shocking! Exactly. Now tell me how many of you think stress is helpful? Ahh… now we are thinking, aren’t we?
Both studies are completely accurate by the way and mindset differences are what led to these drastic results. So then let’s get to the basics. What is stress really?
We would all agree that whether it’s missing an important appointment or the loss of a loved one - stress has a broad layman definition. But the founder of the stress theory, Hans Selye, defines stress as a “non-specific response to demands made on the body”... So stress is a RESPONSE.
The Upside of Stress, a book by psychologist Kelly McGonigal, describes stress as “a response to rely on, rather than an enemy to vanquish”. But why would we rely on stress? Because let’s be honest… you can’t really eliminate or control your stress… so why not make it your friend?
Think about the last time you experienced growth or a turning point in your life…. would you also describe that as a stressful period? A study conducted by Stanford and Florida State Universities in 2013 discovered that people who felt their lives were meaningful also felt that their lives were stressful. This means that if something is making you feel stressed, it also means that it matters. You stress because you care… so your stress for that exam … it comes from the deep-rooted meaning that you attached to it.
Yet we all still fear stress? Why? Let me explain.
So our fight-or-flight and stress responses produce the same hormones - cortisol and adrenaline. So the same sweaty palms, adrenaline spikes, and rapid pulse in both situations. Yet that doesn’t mean that you can run away from college or punch your professor. Then what’s the difference? The coffee is the same but your fight or flight system is your double threat espresso that activates BIOLOGICAL systems to tackle FEAR whereas our stress response is a Focus Latte that activates the BIOLOGICAL, SOCIAL and PSYCHOLOGICAL systems to COPE.
So how is stress changing us socially and psychologically?
Stress also creates a Cuddle Mocha by releasing oxytocin, which, according to The Upside of Stress, allows us to derive strength from our loved ones to face our own challenges.
Stress responses create the Mastery Frappucino through the release of the DHEA hormone which stimulates learning from the experience.
Stress is a strong ally that holds the potential to REWIRE your brain! If you think of stress as harmful, you will try to avoid it which will cause more stress. If you view it as helpful, you will make active strategies to make the best of the situation. Basically, a shift in your mindset will change your response. Stress can be your friend… if you let it. But how?
One way to actively respond to stress is by viewing it as excitement to engage in meaningful activities. For example, the more stressed you are about a grade, the more important it is to your mind. You can also journal or use physical reminders to find meaning.
Another way to change our mindset is to connect. A study at the University of Buffalo in 2013 revealed that people who routinely gave back to the community experienced lower health risks. That’s because altruism protects you from stress… by reducing loneliness, releasing oxytocin, and building connections.
Finally, make it a point to learn from stressful situations. Ask yourself if that tough exam or the loss of a loved one gave you personal strength, increased your appreciation for someone or something, improved your relationships, or provided new opportunities.
To wrap it up, our beliefs about stress are what give stress the power to harm our physical and mental health. We fear stress because of wrong perceptions about the body’s physiological response to stress. Remember that stress is ultimately rooted in values that matter to us.
By engaging in activities that help uncover the meaning behind stresses, connecting with others through giving and caring, and finding opportunities for growth and learning, we can make stress our friend.
Stress is not a choice to fight and survive… rather it is an opportunity to grow and thrive
Thank you!
Do you think stress can be your best friend? Let me know in the comments below!
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Bibliography
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Marksberry, K. (2011, October 6). Stress effects. The American Institute of Stress. https://www.stress.org/stress-effects
McGonigal, K. (2013, September 4). How to make stress your friend.
McGonigal, K. (2016). The upside of stress: Why stress is good for you, and how to get good at it. Avery Publishing Group.
Poulin, M. J., & Holman, E. A. (2013). Helping hands, healthy body? Oxytocin receptor gene and prosocial behavior interact to buffer the association between stress and physical health. Hormones and Behavior, 63(3), 510–517. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2013.01.004
Tan, S. Y., & Yip, A. (2018). Hans Selye (1907-1982): Founder of the stress theory. Singapore Medical Journal, 59(4), 170–171. https://doi.org/10.11622/smedj.2018043
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