How to make stress your friend | Kelly McGonigal | TED

Translator: Chong Chen Reviewer: Bighead Ge

I have a confession to make.

我要坦白一個事實

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

但係首先，我希望你哋能夠對我坦白

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

喺過去嘅一年裡面——舉手就得喇

if you've experienced relatively little stress.

你有冇經歷過相對較小嘅壓力？

Anyone?

有冇人？

How about a moderate amount of stress?

咁中等嘅壓力呢？

Who has experienced a lot of stress?

邊個又經歷過好大嘅壓力？

Yeah. Me too.

好嘅。我都有

But that is not my confession.

但係呢樣唔係我要坦白嘅

My confession is this:

我要坦白嘅係：我係一個健康心理學家

I am a health psychologist,

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

我嘅任務係令人哋更加嘅開心同健康

But I fear that something I've been teaching

但係，我恐怕過去十年我一直所教嘅嘢

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

壞處多過好處

and it has to do with stress.

當中原由同壓力有關

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

多年嚟，我一直話畀人哋聽

壓力令你病

It increases the risk of everything from the common cold

壓力增加患上所有疾病嘅風險：

從普通感冒到心血管疾病

to cardiovascular disease.

所以，我將壓力當作係敵人

Basically, I've turned stress into the enemy.

But I have changed my mind about stress,

但係，我已經改咗對壓力嘅睇法

and today, I want to change yours.

而且我想你哋改變對壓力嘅睇法

Let me start with the study that made me rethink

等我哋由呢一個 令我重新思考壓力嘅研究開始

my whole approach to stress.

呢個研究用八年時間 追蹤咗三萬個美國成年人

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

and they started by asking people,

研究問嘅問題係︰

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

「喺過去嘅一年裡面， 你經歷過幾多壓力？」

研究又問：「你哋相唔相信 壓力對你嘅健康有害？」

They also asked,

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

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

之後，研究員翻查公眾死亡記錄

嚟確定邊個死亡

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Okay.

先講一啲壞消息

Some bad news first.

People who experienced a lot of stress in the previous year

嗰啲喺過去嘅一年經歷好多壓力嘅人

had a 43 percent increased risk of dying.

死亡風險增加咗 43%

But that was only true for the people

但係呢個結果係講緊嗰啲 相信壓力對健康有害嘅人

who also believed that stress is harmful for your health.

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

People who experienced a lot of stress

嗰啲經歷好多壓力

but did not view stress as harmful

但唔認為壓力對身體有害嘅人 唔會話容易死亡

were no more likely to die.

In fact, they had the lowest risk of dying

實際上，佢哋嘅死亡風險 喺呢個研究嘅所有對象當中

of anyone in the study,

including people who had relatively little stress.

包括嗰啲經歷相對少壓力嘅人當中

係最低嘅

Now the researchers estimated that over the eight years

目前，研究員估計

喺過去佢哋追蹤死亡嘅八年當中

they were tracking deaths,

有 182,000 個美國人 冇因為壓力而提早死亡

182,000 Americans died prematurely,

not from stress,

而係因為信咗壓力對佢哋嘅健康有害

but from the belief that stress is bad for you.

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

That is over 20,000 deaths a year.

即係話，每年會有 超過二萬人因為咁而死亡

Now, if that estimate is correct,

如果呢一估計係正確嘅話

that would make believing stress is bad for you

相信壓力對身體有害呢一個觀念

就會變成舊年美國第十五大死亡原因

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

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

排喺皮膚癌、愛滋病同謀殺前面

（笑聲）

(Laughter)

You can see why this study freaked me out.

可想而知我睇到 呢個研究嗰陣有幾錯愕

Here I've been spending so much energy telling people

過去，我一直花費大量精神話畀人知

壓力對你嘅健康有害

stress is bad for your health.

所以呢個研究令我諗：

So this study got me wondering:

Can changing how you think about stress make you healthier?

改變你對壓力嘅態度 會唔會令你更加健康？

And here the science says yes.

科學話畀我哋聽的確係咁

When you change your mind about stress,

當你改變對壓力嘅睇法時

you can change your body's response to stress.

你就能夠改變身體對壓力嘅反應

Now to explain how this works,

要解釋個原理

I want you all to pretend that you are participants

我想你哋都想像自己參與

in a study designed to stress you out.

一個特登令到你感覺到壓力嘅研究

It's called the social stress test.

呢一個研究叫做社會壓力測試

You come into the laboratory,

你入去實驗室

and you're told you have to give

你被告知要坐喺你專家評委面前 即場做一個五分鐘嘅演講

a five-minute impromptu speech on your personal weaknesses

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

講你嘅性格弱點

and to make sure you feel the pressure,

為咗等你感受到壓力 會有好強嘅燈光同攝影機

there are bright lights and a camera in your face,

kind of like this.

好似咁樣

（笑聲）

(Laughter)

And the evaluators have been trained

呢啲評委，事先訓練好 畀你非言語上嘅消極反應

to give you discouraging, non-verbal feedback,

like this.

好似咁樣（吸氣）

(Exhales)

（笑聲）

(Laughter)

宜家，你已經夠曬失落

Now that you're sufficiently demoralized,

time for part two: a math test.

然後你就要嚟到第二部分：數學測驗

And unbeknownst to you,

令你措手不及嘅係

the experimenter has been trained to harass you during it.

實驗人員喺過程中不斷咁騷擾你

Now we're going to all do this together.

宜家等我哋一齊嚟做呢個實驗

It's going to be fun.

對我嚟講會係好歡樂嘅時刻

For me.

Okay.

（笑聲）

(Laughter)

I want you all to count backwards from 996

我希望你哋所有人倒數數字

由 996 開始以 7 遞減

in increments of seven.

You're going to do this out loud,

你哋必須大聲講出嚟

as fast as you can,

盡可能嘅快，由 996 開始

starting with 996.

Go!

開始！

(Audience counting)

（聽眾倒數）

Go faster. Faster please.

快啲。快啲

你哋太慢喇（聽眾倒數）

You're going too slow.

(Audience counting)

停，停，停，停，停

Stop. Stop, stop, stop.

That guy made a mistake.

呢位男士數錯咗

We are going to have to start all over again.

我哋必須從新開始

(Laughter)

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

你哋都唔擅於減數，係嗎？

所以，你哋宜家知道嗰種感覺喇

Okay, so you get the idea.

If you were actually in this study,

如果你哋真係參與呢個研究

you'd probably be a little stressed out.

你哋應該會有一啲壓力

Your heart might be pounding,

你嘅心臟或者會砰砰跳

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

呼吸可能加快，亦可能會流汗

And normally, we interpret these physical changes as anxiety

正常情況下 我哋會話呢種係焦慮嘅反應

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

或者係一種訊號反映 我哋唔能夠好好應對呢種壓力

但係如果你將呢種反應解讀為 身體充滿活力

But what if you viewed them instead

as signs that your body was energized,

was preparing you to meet this challenge?

而且準備好應對壓力，咁又會係點呢？

呢啲說話正係

Now that is exactly what participants were told

in a study conducted at Harvard University.

哈佛大學一個研究裏面 參與者被告知嘅

Before they went through the social stress test,

喺佢哋做社會壓力測試之前

they were taught to rethink their stress response as helpful.

佢哋被引導去諗 呢啲壓力嘅反應係有益嘅

That pounding heart is preparing you for action.

心跳加快係令你準備好應對

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

如果你呼吸加快，冇問題

It's getting more oxygen to your brain.

咁會令你嘅大腦獲得更多嘅氧氣

And participants who learned to view the stress response

嗰啲學識將壓力視為 對表現有幫助嘅參與者

as helpful for their performance,

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

佢哋嘅壓力降低咗 少咗一份焦慮，多咗一份自信

but the most fascinating finding to me

但係更加令人欣喜嘅發現係

was how their physical stress response changed.

佢哋身體對壓力嘅反應有所改變

Now, in a typical stress response,

一般嘅壓力反應都係 心跳會加快、血管收窄

your heart rate goes up,

and your blood vessels constrict like this.

呢啲都係慢性壓力 同心血管疾病有關嘅原因

And this is one of the reasons that chronic stress

is sometimes associated with cardiovascular disease.

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

持續咁樣嘅狀態對身體冇好處

But in the study,

但係，喺個研究裏面

when participants viewed their stress response as helpful,

當參與者認為 佢哋嘅壓力反應係正面嘅時候

their blood vessels stayed relaxed like this.

佢哋嘅血管保持鬆弛，就好似咁樣

Their heart was still pounding,

而佢哋嘅心臟仍然係砰砰直跳

but this is a much healthier cardiovascular profile.

但呢種心血管嘅情況更加健康

It actually looks a lot like what happens

呢個時候嘅心血管就同你 開心、受到鼓舞時嘅心血管一樣

in moments of joy and courage.

Over a lifetime of stressful experiences,

喺你一生經歷咁多壓力裏面

this one biological change

呢一個生理變化足以決定

could be the difference

between a stress-induced heart attack at age 50

一個人五十歲因為壓力而心臟病發

and living well into your 90s.

定係直到九十歲仍然活得好好

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

呢個就係科學 喺研究壓力方面嘅新發現︰

that how you think about stress matters.

你點樣看待壓力，足以影響你嘅健康

作為一個健康心理學家 我嘅目標都唔同咗

So my goal as a health psychologist has changed.

I no longer want to get rid of your stress.

我唔再想清除你嘅壓力

I want to make you better at stress.

我想讓你哋將壓力處理得更加好

And we just did a little intervention.

而我哋只做少少介入療法

If you raised your hand and said

如果你舉手話

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

喺過去嘅一年，你感受到好大嘅壓力

we could have saved your life,

咁今日呢個演講可以拯救到你嘅生命

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

因為可能下一次 你嘅心跳因為壓力而加快

you're going to remember this talk

你會記得呢場演講，然後話畀自己

and you're going to think to yourself,

this is my body helping me rise to this challenge.

呢個係我嘅身體幫我應對挑戰

And when you view stress in that way,

當你用咁樣睇壓力嘅時候

your body believes you,

你嘅身體會信任你

and your stress response becomes healthier.

身體對壓力嘅反應就會更加健康

Now I said I have over a decade of demonizing stress

我剛才講過 過去十年我一直將壓力妖魔化

to redeem myself from,

並試圖從壓力裏面釋放自己

so we are going to do one more intervention.

所以我想做多一樣嘢

I want to tell you

我想話畀你哋知

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

壓力反應最被低估嘅一樣嘢係：

and the idea is this:

Stress makes you social.

壓力可以令得你更加交際

To understand this side of stress,

要明白壓力呢方面嘅特性

we need to talk about a hormone, oxytocin,

我哋需要睇下一種激素，催產素

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

我知道催產素已經同其他激素一樣出名

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

催產素甚至有一個可愛嘅別名︰ 「擁抱激素」

because it's released when you hug someone.

因為當你擁抱某個人時，催產素會釋放

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

但係呢樣僅僅係催產素其中一個作用

Oxytocin is a neuro-hormone.

催產素係一種神經激素

It fine-tunes your brain's social instincts.

佢可以調節大腦嘅社交本能

It primes you to do things

催產素能夠令你做 一啲加強同別人聯繫嘅事情

that strengthen close relationships.

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

催產素令你渴望同 朋友、同家人有身體接觸

It enhances your empathy.

催產素能夠增加你嘅同情心

It even makes you more willing to help and support

佢仲會令你更願意幫助同支持 嗰啲你關心嘅人

the people you care about.

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

有啲人甚至提議

我哋應該用鼻吸催產素

令我哋變得更有同情心同愛心

to become more compassionate and caring.

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

但係呢正表明大部分嘅人 並唔了解催產素

It's a stress hormone.

佢係壓力激素

Your pituitary gland pumps this stuff out

你嘅腦垂體釋放呢種物質

as part of the stress response.

作為對壓力反應嘅一部分

It's as much a part of your stress response

腎上腺素令心跳加快 其實係身體對於壓力嘅反饋

as the adrenaline that makes your heart pound.

And when oxytocin is released in the stress response,

當身體應對壓力釋放催產素時

it is motivating you to seek support.

催產素能夠促使你去搵人幫手

Your biological stress response

呢啲壓力嘅生理反應 促使你話畀人知你嘅感受

is nudging you to tell someone how you feel,

instead of bottling it up.

而唔係屈喺心裡面

Your stress response wants to make sure you notice

壓力反應令你會留意 生活當中嘅人有冇遇到困難

when someone else in your life is struggling

so that you can support each other.

如果有，你就可以互相幫助

When life is difficult,

當生活變得困難嘅時候

your stress response wants you to be surrounded

壓力反應會叫你走去俾人關心你

by people who care about you.

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

咁樣知道壓力嘅呢一面 點樣令你哋更健康？

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

催產素並唔單單對你嘅大腦有作用

It also acts on your body,

佢同樣對你嘅身體有作用

and one of its main roles in your body

佢對身體嘅其中一個重要作用

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

係保護你嘅心血管功能免受壓力傷害

It's a natural anti-inflammatory.

催產素係天然嘅抗炎物

It also helps your blood vessels stay relaxed during stress.

佢幫助你嘅血管 喺應對壓力時保持放鬆

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

但係我最感興趣嘅，係佢對心臟嘅作用

Your heart has receptors for this hormone,

你嘅心臟有催產素受體

and oxytocin helps heart cells regenerate

佢幫助心肌細胞重生 同從壓力導致嘅損傷中復元

and heal from any stress-induced damage.

This stress hormone strengthens your heart.

壓力激素強化你嘅心臟

And the cool thing is that all of these physical benefits

更加犀利嘅係 催產素對身體嘅呢啲好處

of oxytocin are enhanced by social contact and social support.

可以透過社交接觸 同別人嘅支持去加強

So when you reach out to others under stress,

因此，當你有壓力去搵人

either to seek support or to help someone else,

或者人哋有壓力你幫人

you release more of this hormone,

你嘅身體都會釋放更多催產素

your stress response becomes healthier,

你嘅壓力反應會變得更加健康

and you actually recover faster from stress.

你亦會快啲由壓力當中復元

I find this amazing,

我發現一樣嘢好神奇

that your stress response has a built-in mechanism

就係壓力反應有 一個內在機制去釋放壓力

for stress resilience,

and that mechanism is human connection.

而呢個機制就係同人嘅接觸

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

我想講另一個故事去結束我嘅演講

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

因為呢個研究可以救到某個人嘅生命

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

呢個研究追蹤咗大約一千位美國成年人

and they ranged in age from 34 to 93,

佢哋嘅年齡喺 34 歲到 93 歲之間

個研究開始時問佢哋：

and they started the study by asking,

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

「喺過去嘅一年，你經歷幾多壓力？」

They also asked,

然後又問佢哋，「你哋花幾多時間嚟

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

幫助朋友，鄰居同你社區嘅人？」

people in your community?"

And then they used public records for the next five years

然後佢哋令用公共記錄 睇返之後五年有邊個死咗

to find out who died.

Okay, so the bad news first:

首先講壞消息：

For every major stressful life experience,

每個人生重大嘅壓力經歷

譬如經濟困難或者家庭危機

like financial difficulties or family crisis,

that increased the risk of dying by 30 percent.

都會增加 30% 死亡風險

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

但係——你哋都係想聽到「但係」啫

but that wasn't true for everyone.

但係呢樣嘢並唔係對每一個人都適用

People who spent time caring for others

嗰啲會關心人嘅人

showed absolutely no stress-related increase in dying.

死亡風險並冇實質嘅增加 —— 係零呀！

Zero.

Caring created resilience.

關心人令你對抗到壓力

And so we see once again

然後，我哋再一次睇到

that the harmful effects of stress on your health

壓力對於健康嘅害處並唔係必然嘅

are not inevitable.

How you think and how you act

你點樣思考及點樣應對壓力 能夠影響你嘅壓力反應

can transform your experience of stress.

When you choose to view your stress response as helpful,

當你將身體嘅壓力反應睇得好正面時

you create the biology of courage.

你就建立咗一種生理性嘅激勵

And when you choose to connect with others under stress,

當你選擇喺壓力下同人接觸、交流

you can create resilience.

你就會建立到抗逆機制

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

我當然唔需要多啲嘅壓力經歷

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

但係科學令我對壓力有全新嘅認識

Stress gives us access to our hearts.

壓力令得我哋認識心臟

The compassionate heart that finds joy and meaning

喺我哋同人聯繫嘅時候 會搵到歡樂同意義

in connecting with others,

and yes, your pounding physical heart,

同時心臟努力揼動俾你力量同能量

working so hard to give you strength and energy.

And when you choose to view stress in this way,

當你用呢種方式睇壓力時

you're not just getting better at stress,

你唔單止能夠喺壓力之下做嘅更好

you're actually making a pretty profound statement.

你仲話俾自己聽

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

你可以信任自己應對生活嘅挑戰

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

同埋你會記得你唔需要獨自面對壓力

Thank you.

多謝

(Applause)

（鼓掌）

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

Chris Anderson： 你話畀我哋知嘅呢啲嘢真係好神奇

對我嚟講，好神奇在於

It seems amazing to me that a belief about stress

點樣睇壓力原來可以影響一個人嘅壽命

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

How would that extend to advice,

就住呢個發現，我哋可唔可以建議人

like, if someone is making a lifestyle choice

譬如：有人諗緊做 有壓力嘅工定無壓力嘅工

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

does it matter which way they go?

佢哋應該點樣揀好？

It's equally wise to go for the stressful job

係咪只要相信你應付壓力

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

無論揀邊個都係咁明智？

KM: Yeah, and one thing we know for certain

講者︰係嘅，而且我哋能夠肯定嘅係

is that chasing meaning is better for your health

追尋意義比逃避不安 對你嘅身體更加好

than trying to avoid discomfort.

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

所以我想講，最好嘅決定

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

就係當你可以做構成你生命意義嘅事

同埋相信自己能夠處理伴隨嘅壓力

and then trust yourself to handle the stress that follows.

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

Chris Anderson： 非常感謝 Kelly 呢場演講非常精彩

（鼓掌）

(Applause)