How to make stress your friend | Kelly McGonigal | TED

翻译人员: Samson Zhong 校对人员: Zhiting Chen

I have a confession to make.

我要跟大家坦白一件事

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

但首先，我要各位

也对我坦白

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

如果相对来说，你去年压力不大的

if you've experienced relatively little stress.

请举手

Anyone?

有吗?

How about a moderate amount of stress?

那觉得承受的压力算普通的呢?

Who has experienced a lot of stress?

有没有倍觉压力的?

Yeah. Me too.

看来我们都一样。

But that is not my confession.

不过这不是我要坦白的

My confession is this:

我要坦承的是，我 一名健康心理学家

I am a health psychologist,

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

我的职责就是让人们更健康快乐

But I fear that something I've been teaching

不过我担心自己这10年来传授的

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

与压力有关的内容

and it has to do with stress.

恐怕弊多于利

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

这些年我不断跟人说，压力会让人生病

It increases the risk of everything from the common cold

患有从一般感冒到心血管疾病的风险

to cardiovascular disease.

都随之升高

基本上我把压力当作敌人

Basically, I've turned stress into the enemy.

But I have changed my mind about stress,

但我对压力的看法已经变了

and today, I want to change yours.

而我今天就是要让你们改观的

Let me start with the study that made me rethink

先来谈让我对压力

my whole approach to stress.

另有看法的研究

这研究追踪在美国的3万名成人

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

历时8年，研究首先问这些人

and they started by asking people,

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

「去年你感受到了多大压力?」

同时问他们

They also asked,

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

「你相信压力有碍健康吗?」

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

之后研究人员以公开的死亡统计

找出参与者中去逝的人

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Okay.

好，先说坏消息

Some bad news first.

People who experienced a lot of stress in the previous year

前一年压力颇大的人

had a 43 percent increased risk of dying.

死亡的风险增加了43%

But that was only true for the people

但这只适用于

who also believed that stress is harmful for your health.

那些相信压力有碍健康的人

(Laughter)

（笑声）

People who experienced a lot of stress

承受极大压力的人

but did not view stress as harmful

若不将此视为有害

were no more likely to die.

死亡的风险就不会升高

In fact, they had the lowest risk of dying

事实上，与压力相对较小的

of anyone in the study,

研究参与者相比

including people who had relatively little stress.

这样的人死亡风险反而最低

Now the researchers estimated that over the eight years

研究人员花了8年

they were tracking deaths,

追踪死亡案例

18.2万 美国人过早离世

182,000 Americans died prematurely,

not from stress,

原因并不是压力本身

but from the belief that stress is bad for you.

而是认为压力有害的这个想法 (笑)

(Laughter)

That is over 20,000 deaths a year.

估计超过2万人符合这情形

Now, if that estimate is correct,

若估计正确

that would make believing stress is bad for you

「相信压力有害」

就成为美国去年的

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

第15大死因

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

致死率更胜皮肤癌

爱滋病和谋杀

(笑声）

(Laughter)

You can see why this study freaked me out.

你们应能体会为何这研究让我担心害怕了

Here I've been spending so much energy telling people

我一直努力告诉他人

压力有碍健康

stress is bad for your health.

因此这研究使我想知道

So this study got me wondering:

Can changing how you think about stress make you healthier?

改变对压力的看法

是否能促进健康? 显然科学对此抱以肯定

And here the science says yes.

When you change your mind about stress,

改变看待压力的方式

you can change your body's response to stress.

生理上的压力反应亦随之改变

Now to explain how this works,

我来解释为什么会这样

I want you all to pretend that you are participants

假设你参与一项

in a study designed to stress you out.

意图使你紧张的研究中

It's called the social stress test.

就是所谓的「社会压力测试」

You come into the laboratory,

你进入实验室后

and you're told you have to give

才知道要发表5分钟的即席演说

a five-minute impromptu speech on your personal weaknesses

这段演说以个人缺点为题

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

眼前的听众将是一群专业评审

and to make sure you feel the pressure,

为了确认你确实感到压力

there are bright lights and a camera in your face,

镜头和灯光都会聚焦在你脸上

kind of like this.

有点像现在这样!

(Laughter)

And the evaluators have been trained

且评审都经过培训

to give you discouraging, non-verbal feedback,

用令人沮丧的非口语言词给你回应，就像这样

like this.

(Exhales)

（笑）

(Laughter)

就在你已够泄气时

Now that you're sufficiently demoralized,

time for part two: a math test.

第二场好戏上演了: 数学测验

And unbeknownst to you,

且你们事前不知道

the experimenter has been trained to harass you during it.

实验己设定成受测者会被干扰

Now we're going to all do this together.

现在我们一起做做看

It's going to be fun.

很好玩的

For me.

至少对我来说昰这样

Okay.

好，现在你们开始倒数

(Laughter)

I want you all to count backwards from 996

从996开始，每数一个数减7

in increments of seven.

You're going to do this out loud,

要大声地数

as fast as you can,

越快越好，从996开始

starting with 996.

Go!

开始！

(Audience counting)

（观众纷纷数箸）

Go faster. Faster please.

请快ㄧ点！

你们太慢了

You're going too slow.

(Audience counting)

停......停......停

Stop. Stop, stop, stop.

That guy made a mistake.

那个人算错了

We are going to have to start all over again.

所以我们得重来ㄧ次(笑)

(Laughter)

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

这方面你们不太行，对吧？

现在大家弄清楚是怎么ㄧ回事了

Okay, so you get the idea.

If you were actually in this study,

若各位也参与这项研究

you'd probably be a little stressed out.

可能会有点神经紧张

Your heart might be pounding,

也许会心跳加速

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

呼吸急促，甚至满身大大汗

And normally, we interpret these physical changes as anxiety

通常我们将这些生理变化

称为焦虑

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

或代表压力失调的信号

但若将这些现象当成

But what if you viewed them instead

身体活力充沛的象征

as signs that your body was energized,

was preparing you to meet this challenge?

表示已准备好迎接挑战，又会怎样呢?

在哈佛大学所进行的一项研究中

Now that is exactly what participants were told

in a study conducted at Harvard University.

他们正是这样告诉受试者的

Before they went through the social stress test,

在社会压力测试开始前

they were taught to rethink their stress response as helpful.

受试者学着将压力反应当作助力

That pounding heart is preparing you for action.

心跳加速是蓄势待发

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

呼吸急促也不要紧

It's getting more oxygen to your brain.

这是为了让大脑得到更多氧气

And participants who learned to view the stress response

受试者中，那些学会将压力反应

as helpful for their performance,

想成有助表现的人

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

比较不会忧虑紧张

焦虑少了，信心反而倒提升了

but the most fascinating finding to me

但最令我着迷的发现是

was how their physical stress response changed.

受试者生理上压力反应改变的方式

Now, in a typical stress response,

典型的压力反应是

your heart rate goes up,

心跳加速

and your blood vessels constrict like this.

血管收缩成这样

这也是为何长期压力

And this is one of the reasons that chronic stress

is sometimes associated with cardiovascular disease.

有时会与心血管疾病有所关连的原因之一

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

总是如此，对健康不是好事

But in the study,

但在这项研究中，当受试者

when participants viewed their stress response as helpful,

把压力反应看作是有帮助的

their blood vessels stayed relaxed like this.

他们的血管就会像这样放松

Their heart was still pounding,

他们的心脏仍在强力收缩

but this is a much healthier cardiovascular profile.

但心血管系统的样子比较健康

It actually looks a lot like what happens

事实上看起来更像

in moments of joy and courage.

感到兴奋和鼓起勇气时的样子

Over a lifetime of stressful experiences,

要克服人生中的各种压力

this one biological change

这样的生理差异

could be the difference

足已产生

between a stress-induced heart attack at age 50

50岁时，因压力导致心脏病发

and living well into your 90s.

以及健康活到 90多岁的区别

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

最新的压力研究结果便是如此

that how you think about stress matters.

如何看待压力至关重要

所以我身为徤康心理学家的目标也改变了

So my goal as a health psychologist has changed.

I no longer want to get rid of your stress.

不再想要帮人摆脱压力

I want to make you better at stress.

而是让人更善于处理它

And we just did a little intervention.

刚才我们所做的就是疗程的一小部分

If you raised your hand and said

如果你刚才举手表示

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

去年压力很大

we could have saved your life,

我们可以拯救你

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

因为 但愿下次

压力使你心跳加快时

you're going to remember this talk

你会记得今天的演讲

and you're going to think to yourself,

然后 你会自我盘算

this is my body helping me rise to this challenge.

这是我的身体在帮助我准备迎接挑战

And when you view stress in that way,

当你如此看待压力

your body believes you,

身体会信任你的判断

and your stress response becomes healthier.

而你的压力反应就更健康了

Now I said I have over a decade of demonizing stress

曾有10年的时间我视压力为恶¶

to redeem myself from,

为了自我改正

so we are going to do one more intervention.

我们接下来再做一趟疗程

I want to tell you

我想跟你们谈谈

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

压力反应中，最受忽视的部份

and the idea is this:

这部分的概念是

Stress makes you social.

压力让人有社交能力

To understand this side of stress,

要了解压力的这部分¶

我们要先谈一种叫「催产素」(OT)的激素

we need to talk about a hormone, oxytocin,

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

我知道在激素中

「催产素」掀起许多热潮

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

甚至有个可爱的小名，叫 「拥抱激素」

because it's released when you hug someone.

因为拥抱时就会产生这种激素

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

但这只是它的一小部分作用

Oxytocin is a neuro-hormone.

催产激素是一种神经激素

It fine-tunes your brain's social instincts.

能微调大脑的社交本能

It primes you to do things

让人为增进密切关系

that strengthen close relationships.

所需的努力做好准备

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

催产素让人渴望

亲友间的肢体接触

It enhances your empathy.

强化同理心

It even makes you more willing to help and support

甚至让人更愿意对关心的人

the people you care about.

伸出援手及给予支持

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

甚至还有人建议

为了更有同情心和关爱

我们应吸一点这种激素

to become more compassionate and caring.

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

但关于催产素

大多数人都不知道

It's a stress hormone.

它是一种压力激素

Your pituitary gland pumps this stuff out

由脑下垂体分泌

as part of the stress response.

是压力反应的其中一环

It's as much a part of your stress response

和肾上腺素一样

as the adrenaline that makes your heart pound.

都是压力下让人心跳加速的反应之一

And when oxytocin is released in the stress response,

在压力反应中加入催产素

it is motivating you to seek support.

便会驱使人寻求支持

Your biological stress response

生理上的压力反应

is nudging you to tell someone how you feel,

让人想要找他人倾诉

instead of bottling it up.

而不是闷在心里

Your stress response wants to make sure you notice

压力反应确保人会注意

when someone else in your life is struggling

周遭有人陷入挣扎

so that you can support each other.

因此我们能相互扶持

When life is difficult,

当生活陷入困难，压力反应让你希望

your stress response wants you to be surrounded

身旁围绕着的都是关心你的人

by people who care about you.

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

好的，那了解压力这方面的事实¶

又怎会让我们更健康呢？

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

其实催产素不只影响大脑

It also acts on your body,

对身体也有作用

and one of its main roles in your body

其中一个主要生理功能

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

就是保护心血管系统

免于压力影响

It's a natural anti-inflammatory.

是天然的抗炎成份

It also helps your blood vessels stay relaxed during stress.

还能帮血管在压力下保持松弛

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

但我最爱它对心脏的生理效果

Your heart has receptors for this hormone,

心脏有许多催产素的受体

and oxytocin helps heart cells regenerate

这激素还能促进心脏细胞

and heal from any stress-induced damage.

从压力导致的损害中恢复再生

This stress hormone strengthens your heart.

这种压力激素可强化心脏

And the cool thing is that all of these physical benefits

且最棒的是，社交接触

of oxytocin are enhanced by social contact and social support.

和社会支持

会增强它有益生理健康的好处

So when you reach out to others under stress,

所以与人接触时感受到压力

either to seek support or to help someone else,

不论是求助或协助他人

you release more of this hormone,

这种激素的分泌都会增加

your stress response becomes healthier,

压力反应因此更健康

and you actually recover faster from stress.

你能更快地从压力中恢复

I find this amazing,

我认为这很奥妙

that your stress response has a built-in mechanism

压力反应本身

for stress resilience,

竟有减压的机制

and that mechanism is human connection.

这机制就是人际关系

最后我想谈另一个研究

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

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

听仔细了，这研究也可救人一命

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

研究追踪约1千名美国境内

and they ranged in age from 34 to 93,

34到93岁的成人

and they started the study by asking,

研究一开始就问

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

「你去年有多大压力? 」

They also asked,

接着又问：「目前你花过多少时间

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

帮助邻居朋友

people in your community?"

和邻里中的其他人?」

And then they used public records for the next five years

他们以这之后五年内的公开档案

to find out who died.

找出死亡人口

Okay, so the bad news first:

好，先说坏消息

For every major stressful life experience,

任何引起重大压力的生活经验

like financial difficulties or family crisis,

像财务困难或家庭危机

that increased the risk of dying by 30 percent.

会让死亡的风险增加30%

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

但是，我希望各位正期待有所转圜

but that wasn't true for everyone.

并非每个人都这样

People who spent time caring for others

那些花时间关心他人的

showed absolutely no stress-related increase in dying.

他们的致命风险完全不受压力影响

Zero.

Caring created resilience.

关爱造就韧性

And so we see once again

我们再次见证

that the harmful effects of stress on your health

压力对健康的危害

are not inevitable.

并非无法避免

How you think and how you act

人的想法和行动

can transform your experience of stress.

可以转化压力的经验

When you choose to view your stress response as helpful,

当人选择将压力反应

当作助力

you create the biology of courage.

生理系统也跟着无所畏惧

And when you choose to connect with others under stress,

面对压力，选择人际互动

you can create resilience.

便能造就韧性

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

我不一定会希望

生活中有更多压力经验

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

但这样的科学实证

让我对压力有全新的正面看法

Stress gives us access to our hearts.

压力让我们跟自己的心沟通

The compassionate heart that finds joy and meaning

同情心在人际交流中

in connecting with others,

得到快乐和意义

and yes, your pounding physical heart,

是的，加速的心跳

working so hard to give you strength and energy.

为的是努力产生力量和能量

And when you choose to view stress in this way,

当你如此看待压力

you're not just getting better at stress,

你不只更善于处理压力

you're actually making a pretty profound statement.

还实际作出深刻的宣示

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

等于在说：你相信自己

能应付生命中的挑战

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

然后你想起

自己并非单独面对这一切

Thank you.

谢谢!

(Applause)

（掌声）

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

克里斯 安德森: 你说的这一切颇为神奇

我对压力能大幅影响预期寿命这个观念，

It seems amazing to me that a belief about stress

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

感到十分惊讶

How would that extend to advice,

但如何将之应用到咨询中呢

like, if someone is making a lifestyle choice

像是，有人要对他的生活方式作选择，

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

例如，在备受压力的工作和舒适安逸的工作之间选择

does it matter which way they go?

选哪个重要吗？

It's equally wise to go for the stressful job

就某方面而言，只要相信自己能胜任

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

选择压力大的工作，是否也不失为明智的选择？

KM: Yeah, and one thing we know for certain

凯利 麦格尼格尔:是的，而且有一件事是确定的

也就是，相对于逃避不安

is that chasing meaning is better for your health

than trying to avoid discomfort.

追求意义对健康比较好

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

因此我会说，最好的选择方式就是

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

选择那些你认为对人生有意义的事

然后相信自己能应付随之而来的压力

and then trust yourself to handle the stress that follows.

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

克里斯·安德森 :非常谢谢妳，凯利，这真是太棒了！ 凯利:谢谢！

（掌声）

(Applause)