In one study, we had people just watch a video showing the many ways in which stress can be enhancing. When we show people these videos and then have them engage in a creative task, we find that they're more creative. On the flip side, tell people or show them videos of when stress can be debilitating and see the opposite. They're less creative and also generally more negative mood, more attentive to threats.
We’re all familiar with the ways that stress can make us feel bad. But professor and stress expert Modupe Akinola argues that a simple change in our mindset can turn short-term stress into a helpful resource. Modupe walks us through some strategies for how to better tolerate and understand our stress, and gives us tools for coping when a small “mindset shift” isn’t enough.
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