How to make stress your friend | Kelly McGonigal | TED

Translator: Susana Brandariz Reviewer: Serv. de Norm. Lingüística U. de Santiago de Compostela

I have a confession to make.

Teño que confesar algo.

But first, I want you to make a little confession to me.

Pero primeiro, quero que vostedes

me fagan unha pequena confesión.

In the past year, I want you to just raise your hand

Durante o ano pasado, quero que levanten a man

if you've experienced relatively little stress.

se experimentaron relativamente pouco estrés.

Anyone?

Hai alguén?

How about a moderate amount of stress?

E un estrés moderado?

Who has experienced a lot of stress?

Quen experimentou moito estrés?

Yeah. Me too.

Si. Eu tamén.

But that is not my confession.

Pero esa non é a miña confesión.

My confession is this:

A miña confesión é esta: son psicóloga de saúde,

I am a health psychologist,

and my mission is to help people be happier and healthier.

e a miña misión é axudarlle á xente a ser máis feliz e saudable.

But I fear that something I've been teaching

Pero creo que algo do que andei a ensinar

for the last 10 years is doing more harm than good,

durante os últimos 10 anos está facendo máis mal ca ben,

and it has to do with stress.

e ten que ver co estrés.

For years I've been telling people, stress makes you sick.

Durante anos díxenlle á xente, que o estrés nos fai enfermar.

It increases the risk of everything from the common cold

Aumenta o risco de todo, desde un simple arrefriado

to cardiovascular disease.

a enfermidades cardiovasculares.

Basicamente, fixen do estrés un inimigo.

Basically, I've turned stress into the enemy.

But I have changed my mind about stress,

Pero mudei a miña opinión sobre o estrés,

e hoxe, quero cambiar a súa.

and today, I want to change yours.

Vou comezar co estudo que me fixo reconsiderar

Let me start with the study that made me rethink

my whole approach to stress.

a miña forma de abordar o estrés.

Este estudo analizou 30.000 adultos nos Estados Unidos durante 8 anos,

This study tracked 30,000 adults in the United States for eight years,

and they started by asking people,

e empezou preguntándolle á xente:

"How much stress have you experienced in the last year?"

"Canto estrés experimentou no último ano?"

Tamén preguntaron:

They also asked,

"Do you believe that stress is harmful for your health?"

"Cre que o estrés é prexudicial para a saúde?"

And then they used public death records to find out who died.

E despois usaron os rexistros públicos de defuncións

para descubrir quen morrera.

(Risas)

(Laughter)

Okay.

De acordo. As malas noticias primeiro.

Some bad news first.

People who experienced a lot of stress in the previous year

A xente que experimentara moito estrés o ano anterior

had a 43 percent increased risk of dying.

tiña un 43% máis de risco de morrer.

But that was only true for the people

Pero isto só foi certo para a xente

who also believed that stress is harmful for your health.

que tamén cría que o estrés prexudica a saúde.

(Risas)

(Laughter)

People who experienced a lot of stress

As persoas que sufriron moito estrés

pero non o vían como algo danoso

but did not view stress as harmful

non eran máis propensas a morrer.

were no more likely to die.

In fact, they had the lowest risk of dying

De feito, tiñan o menor risco de morte

of anyone in the study,

de todos os participantes,

including people who had relatively little stress.

incluíndo os que tiñan relativamente pouco estrés.

Now the researchers estimated that over the eight years

Agora os investigadores estiman que nos 8 anos

they were tracking deaths,

que estiveron rastrexando as mortes,

morreron prematuramente 182.000 estadounidenses,

182,000 Americans died prematurely,

not from stress,

non de estrés,

but from the belief that stress is bad for you.

senón por crer que o estrés é malo para a saúde. (Risas)

(Laughter)

That is over 20,000 deaths a year.

Iso son máis de 20.000 mortes por ano.

Now, if that estimate is correct,

Entón, se os cálculos son correctos,

that would make believing stress is bad for you

crer que o estrés é malo para a saúde

sería a décimo quinta causa de morte

the 15th largest cause of death in the United States last year,

nos Estados Unidos o ano pasado,

e causaría máis mortes ca o cancro de pel,

killing more people than skin cancer, HIV/AIDS and homicide.

o VIH/SIDA e os homicidios.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

You can see why this study freaked me out.

Xa ven por que este estudo me asustou tanto.

Gastei moita enerxía dicíndolle á xente

Here I've been spending so much energy telling people

que o estrés é malo para a saúde.

stress is bad for your health.

Así que isto fíxome preguntarme:

So this study got me wondering:

Can changing how you think about stress make you healthier?

cambiar a mentalidade sobre o estrés

pode facernos máis sans? E aquí a ciencia di que si.

And here the science says yes.

When you change your mind about stress,

Ao cambiar de opinión sobre o estrés,

you can change your body's response to stress.

pódese cambiar a resposta do corpo ao estrés.

Now to explain how this works,

Para explicar como funciona isto,

quero que todos finxan que participan

I want you all to pretend that you are participants

nun estudo deseñado para estresalos.

in a study designed to stress you out.

It's called the social stress test.

Chámase proba de estrés social.

You come into the laboratory,

Entran no laboratorio,

and you're told you have to give

e dinlles que teñen que improvisar un discurso de 5 minutos

a five-minute impromptu speech on your personal weaknesses

sobre as súas debilidades persoais

to a panel of expert evaluators sitting right in front of you,

ante un grupo de avaliadores expertos sentado en fronte,

and to make sure you feel the pressure,

e para asegurarse de que sintan a presión,

there are bright lights and a camera in your face,

hai luces brillantes e unha cámara apuntándoos,

kind of like this.

coma esta.

(Laughter)

And the evaluators have been trained

E os avaliadores foron adestrados

to give you discouraging, non-verbal feedback,

para darlles unha resposta non verbal desmotivadora,

like this.

coma esta.

(Bufa)

(Exhales)

(Laughter)

(Risas)

Now that you're sufficiently demoralized,

Agora que están desmoralizados dabondo,

time for part two: a math test.

é o momento da segunda parte: unha proba de matemáticas.

And unbeknownst to you,

E vostedes non o saben,

the experimenter has been trained to harass you during it.

pero o avaliador está adestrado para acosalos durante o exame.

Now we're going to all do this together.

Agora imos facelo todos xuntos.

It's going to be fun.

Vai ser divertido.

For me.

Para min.

Okay.

De acordo. Quero que todos conten cara a atrás desde 996

(Laughter)

I want you all to count backwards from 996

in increments of seven.

de 7 en 7.

Van facer isto en voz alta,

You're going to do this out loud,

as fast as you can,

tan rápido como poidan, empezando con 996.

starting with 996.

Go!

Vamos!

(Audience counting)

Audiencia: (Conta)

Go faster. Faster please.

Máis rápido. Máis rápido, por favor.

Van demasiado lento.

You're going too slow.

(Audience counting)

Audiencia: (Conta)

Stop. Stop, stop, stop.

Paren. Paren, paren, paren.

Ese rapaz equivocouse.

That guy made a mistake.

We are going to have to start all over again.

Imos ter que empezar de novo. (Risas)

(Laughter)

You're not very good at this, are you?

Non son moi bos nisto, verdade?

Ben, xa entenden a idea.

Okay, so you get the idea.

If you were actually in this study,

Se estivesen realmente no experimento,

you'd probably be a little stressed out.

seguro que se sentirían algo estresados.

Your heart might be pounding,

O corazón latexaríalles rápido,

you might be breathing faster, maybe breaking out into a sweat.

respirarían máis rápido, se cadra comezarían a suar.

E normalmente, interpretamos estes cambios físicos como ansiedade

And normally, we interpret these physical changes as anxiety

or signs that we aren't coping very well with the pressure.

ou sinais de que non manexamos moi ben a presión.

But what if you viewed them instead

Pero que pasaría se, en cambio, os visen

as signs that your body was energized,

como sinais de que o corpo se activa,

was preparing you to meet this challenge?

se prepara para afrontar este desafío?

Iso é exactamente o que se lles dixo aos participantes

Now that is exactly what participants were told

in a study conducted at Harvard University.

dun estudo realizado na Universidade de Harvard.

Before they went through the social stress test,

Antes de que tivesen a proba de estrés social,

they were taught to rethink their stress response as helpful.

ensináronlles a considerar a súa resposta ao estrés como útil.

That pounding heart is preparing you for action.

Que ao latexar rápido, o corazón prepárase para a acción.

Que respirar máis rápido non é un problema,

If you're breathing faster, it's no problem.

It's getting more oxygen to your brain.

senón que chega máis oxíxeno ao cerebro.

And participants who learned to view the stress response

E os participantes que aprenderon a ver isto

as helpful for their performance,

como unha axuda para o seu rendemento,

well, they were less stressed out, less anxious, more confident,

estiveron menos estresados, menos ansiosos, máis seguros,

but the most fascinating finding to me

pero o máis fascinante para min

was how their physical stress response changed.

foi como cambiou a súa resposta física ao estrés.

Now, in a typical stress response,

Nunha resposta típica,

your heart rate goes up,

aumenta o ritmo cardíaco,

and your blood vessels constrict like this.

e os vasos sanguíneos contráense así.

And this is one of the reasons that chronic stress

E esta é unha das razóns polas que o estrés crónico

is sometimes associated with cardiovascular disease.

ás veces se asocia a enfermidades cardiovasculares.

It's not really healthy to be in this state all the time.

Non é moi saudable estar neste estado todo o tempo.

But in the study,

Pero no estudo, cando os participantes viron

when participants viewed their stress response as helpful,

a súa resposta ao estrés como algo útil,

their blood vessels stayed relaxed like this.

os seus vasos sanguíneos permaneceron relaxados, coma este.

O corazón aínda lles latexaba con forza,

Their heart was still pounding,

but this is a much healthier cardiovascular profile.

pero este é un perfil cardiovascular moito máis saudable.

It actually looks a lot like what happens

Parécese moito ao que sucede

en momentos de alegría e valentía.

in moments of joy and courage.

Over a lifetime of stressful experiences,

No transcurso dunha vida de experiencias estresantes,

this one biological change

este único cambio biolóxico

podería ser a diferenza

could be the difference

between a stress-induced heart attack at age 50

entre ter un ataque ao corazón provocado por estrés aos 50 anos

and living well into your 90s.

e vivir ben ata os 90 anos.

And this is really what the new science of stress reveals,

E isto é o que revela a nova ciencia do estrés,

that how you think about stress matters.

que a nosa visión sobre el é importante.

Así que o meu obxectivo como psicóloga cambiou.

So my goal as a health psychologist has changed.

Xa non quero desfacerme do estrés.

I no longer want to get rid of your stress.

I want to make you better at stress.

Quero preparalos mellor para el.

And we just did a little intervention.

E acabamos de facer unha pequena intervención.

If you raised your hand and said

Se levantaron a man e dixeron

you'd had a lot of stress in the last year,

que padeceron moito estrés no último ano,

we could have saved your life,

igual lles salvamos a vida,

because hopefully the next time your heart is pounding from stress,

porque espero que a próxima vez que o corazón lles latexe de estrés

you're going to remember this talk

recorden esta charla

and you're going to think to yourself,

e se digan a si mesmos,

this is my body helping me rise to this challenge.

"Este é o meu corpo axudándome a enfrontar este reto".

E cando vexan o estrés desa maneira,

And when you view stress in that way,

your body believes you,

o corpo vainos crer,

and your stress response becomes healthier.

e a resposta ao estrés vaise volver máis saudable.

Now I said I have over a decade of demonizing stress

Díxenlles que me teño que redimir por demonizar o estrés

to redeem myself from,

durante máis dunha década,

so we are going to do one more intervention.

así que imos facer unha intervención máis.

I want to tell you

Quero falarlles dun dos aspectos

about one of the most under-appreciated aspects of the stress response,

máis infravalorados da resposta ao estrés,

and the idea is this:

e a idea é esta:

Stress makes you social.

o estrés fainos sociables.

To understand this side of stress,

Para entender este aspecto do estrés,

cómpre falar dunha hormona, a oxitocina,

we need to talk about a hormone, oxytocin,

and I know oxytocin has already gotten as much hype as a hormone can get.

e sei que a oxitocina xa recibiu toda a atención

que pode obter unha hormona.

It even has its own cute nickname, the cuddle hormone,

Mesmo ten alcume propio: a hormona dos abrazos,

because it's released when you hug someone.

porque se libera cando abrazamos alguén.

But this is a very small part of what oxytocin is involved in.

Pero isto é unha pequenísima parte do que implica a oxitocina.

Oxytocin is a neuro-hormone.

A oxitocina é unha neurohormona.

It fine-tunes your brain's social instincts.

Afina os instintos sociais do noso cerebro.

It primes you to do things

Prepáranos para facer cousas

that strengthen close relationships.

que fortalecen as relacións próximas.

Oxytocin makes you crave physical contact with your friends and family.

A oxitocina fai arelar o contacto físico

cos amigos e familiares.

It enhances your empathy.

Mellora a empatía.

It even makes you more willing to help and support

Ata mellora a nosa disposición a axudar e apoiar

the people you care about.

á xente que nos importa.

Some people have even suggested we should snort oxytocin...

Algunhas persoas mesmo suxeriron

que deberiamos inhalar oxitocina...

to become more compassionate and caring.

para ser máis compasivos e agarimosos.

But here's what most people don't understand about oxytocin.

Pero velaí o que moita xente non entende da oxitocina.

É unha hormona do estrés.

It's a stress hormone.

Your pituitary gland pumps this stuff out

A glándula pituitaria libéraa

como parte da resposta ao estrés.

as part of the stress response.

It's as much a part of your stress response

Forma parte da resposta ao estrés

as the adrenaline that makes your heart pound.

tanto coma a adrenalina que fai palpitar o corazón.

E a liberación de oxitocina na resposta ao estrés,

And when oxytocin is released in the stress response,

it is motivating you to seek support.

motívanos para buscar axuda.

Your biological stress response

A resposta biolóxica ao estrés

is nudging you to tell someone how you feel,

impúlsanos a dicirlle a alguén como nos sentimos,

instead of bottling it up.

en lugar de gardalo.

Your stress response wants to make sure you notice

A resposta ao estrés asegúrase de que notemos

when someone else in your life is struggling

cando alguén da nosa vida está en apuros

so that you can support each other.

de xeito que nos apoiemos mutuamente.

When life is difficult,

Cando a vida é difícil, a resposta ao estrés quere

your stress response wants you to be surrounded

que nos rodeemos de xente que se preocupa por nós.

by people who care about you.

Okay, so how is knowing this side of stress going to make you healthier?

De acordo, e como influirá coñecer este aspecto do estrés

en facernos máis saudables?

Well, oxytocin doesn't only act on your brain.

Pois, a oxitocina non actúa só no cerebro.

It also acts on your body,

Tamén actúa no corpo,

and one of its main roles in your body

e un dos seus papeis principais no corpo

is to protect your cardiovascular system from the effects of stress.

é protexer o sistema cardiovascular dos efectos do estrés.

It's a natural anti-inflammatory.

É un antiinflamatorio natural.

It also helps your blood vessels stay relaxed during stress.

Tamén axuda os vasos sanguíneos a estar relaxados durante o estrés.

But my favorite effect on the body is actually on the heart.

Pero o meu efecto favorito sobre o corpo en realidade está no corazón.

Your heart has receptors for this hormone,

O corazón ten receptores para esta hormona,

and oxytocin helps heart cells regenerate

e a oxitocina axúdalles ás células cardíacas a rexenerarse

and heal from any stress-induced damage.

e recuperarse de calquera dano provocado polo estrés.

This stress hormone strengthens your heart.

Esta hormona do estrés fortalece o corazón.

And the cool thing is that all of these physical benefits

O bo é que todos estes beneficios físicos

of oxytocin are enhanced by social contact and social support.

da oxitocina se intensifican co contacto social e o apoio social.

So when you reach out to others under stress,

Así que cando --estresados-- nos achegamos a outras persoas,

either to seek support or to help someone else,

sexa para buscar apoio ou para axudar a alguén máis,

you release more of this hormone,

libérase máis cantidade desta hormona,

your stress response becomes healthier,

a resposta ao estrés vólvese máis saudable,

and you actually recover faster from stress.

e en realidade recuperámonos máis rápido do estrés.

I find this amazing,

Isto paréceme incrible,

that your stress response has a built-in mechanism

que a resposta ao estrés teña un mecanismo incorporado

for stress resilience,

para resistir o estrés,

and that mechanism is human connection.

e que ese mecanismo sexa o contacto humano.

I want to finish by telling you about one more study.

Quero rematar comentando un estudo máis.

And listen up, because this study could also save a life.

Escoiten, porque este estudo tamén pode salvar unha vida.

This study tracked about 1,000 adults in the United States,

Este estudo fixo un seguimento duns 1.000 adultos nos EEUU,

and they ranged in age from 34 to 93,

entre os 34 e os 93 anos de idade,

e o estudo comezaba preguntando:

and they started the study by asking,

"How much stress have you experienced in the last year?"

"Canto estrés experimentou no último ano?"

They also asked,

Tamén preguntaron:

"How much time have you spent helping out friends, neighbors,

"Canto tempo pasou axudando a amigos, veciños,

people in your community?"

persoas da súa comunidade?"

And then they used public records for the next five years

E logo usaron os rexistros públicos dos seguintes 5 anos

to find out who died.

para descubrir quen morrera.

Okay, so the bad news first:

De acordo, as malas noticias primeiro:

For every major stressful life experience,

Por cada experiencia sumamente estresante,

como dificultades financeiras ou unha crise familiar,

like financial difficulties or family crisis,

that increased the risk of dying by 30 percent.

o risco de morrer aumenta un 30%.

But -- and I hope you are expecting a "but" by now --

Pero --e espero que xa contasen cun "pero" agora--

but that wasn't true for everyone.

pero iso non é certo para todos.

People who spent time caring for others

A xente que pasou tempo coidando dos demais

showed absolutely no stress-related increase in dying.

non mostrou ningún aumento do risco de morte por estrés.

Zero.

Cero.

Caring created resilience.

Coidar dos demais crea resiliencia.

And so we see once again

E así vemos unha vez máis

that the harmful effects of stress on your health

que os efectos nocivos do estrés na saúde

are not inevitable.

non son inevitables.

How you think and how you act

A nosa maneira de pensar e actuar

can transform your experience of stress.

pode transformar a nosa experiencia ante o estrés.

When you choose to view your stress response as helpful,

Cando se elixe ver a resposta ao estrés como algo útil,

you create the biology of courage.

créase a bioloxía da valentía.

And when you choose to connect with others under stress,

E cando –estando con estrés-- eliximos relacionarnos con outras persoas,

you can create resilience.

podemos crear resiliencia.

Now I wouldn't necessarily ask for more stressful experiences in my life,

Agora ben, eu non pediría necesariamente

máis experiencias estresantes na miña vida,

but this science has given me a whole new appreciation for stress.

pero esta ciencia deume un novo enfoque sobre o estrés.

Stress gives us access to our hearts.

O estrés dános acceso aos nosos corazóns.

The compassionate heart that finds joy and meaning

O corazón compasivo que encontra alegría e significado

in connecting with others,

no contacto cos demais,

and yes, your pounding physical heart,

e si, o noso corazón latexante,

working so hard to give you strength and energy.

que traballa tanto para darnos forza e enerxía.

And when you choose to view stress in this way,

E cando decidimos ver o estrés desta maneira,

you're not just getting better at stress,

non só estamos mellorando ante o estrés,

you're actually making a pretty profound statement.

en realidade estamos facendo unha declaración moi fonda.

You're saying that you can trust yourself to handle life's challenges.

Estamos dicindo que confiamos en nós mesmos

para manexar os desafíos da vida.

And you're remembering that you don't have to face them alone.

E estamos recordando que non temos que enfrontalos sós.

Thank you.

Grazas.

(Applause)

(Aplausos)

Chris Anderson: This is kind of amazing, what you're telling us.

Chris Anderson: É asombroso isto que nos dis.

Paréceme incrible que a actitude cara ao estrés

It seems amazing to me that a belief about stress

poida marcar tanta diferenza na esperanza de vida dunha persoa.

can make so much difference to someone's life expectancy.

How would that extend to advice,

Como podemos aplicar iso a un consello,

like, if someone is making a lifestyle choice

se alguén está a elixir un estilo de vida

between, say, a stressful job and a non-stressful job,

entre, digamos, un traballo estresante e un traballo sen estrés?

does it matter which way they go?

Importa o camiño que se escolle?

It's equally wise to go for the stressful job

É igual de sensato escoller o traballo estresante

so long as you believe that you can handle it, in some sense?

mentres ti creas que podes manexalo dalgún xeito?

KM: Yeah, and one thing we know for certain

Kelly McGonigal: Si, o que sabemos con certeza

é que é mellor para a saúde buscar un significado

is that chasing meaning is better for your health

than trying to avoid discomfort.

que intentar evitar as molestias.

And so I would say that's really the best way to make decisions,

E eu diría que realmente a mellor maneira de tomar decisións,

is go after what it is that creates meaning in your life

é ir tras do que dá sentido á túa vida

e despois confiar en ti mesmo para manexar o estrés que comporta.

and then trust yourself to handle the stress that follows.

CA: Thank you so much, Kelly. It's pretty cool.

CA: Moitas grazas, Kelly. Moi interesante. KM: Grazas.

(Aplausos)

(Applause)