Essentials: Manage Stress & Build Resilience | Dr. Elissa Epel
📚 Main topics
- Stress and the stress responseStress arises when demands feel greater than our resources. Stressors themselves are not the whole story: our response and ability to recover matter, while repeatedly keeping stress alive through our thoughts can become harmful. 0:30
- Three ways to manage ruminationEpel groups strategies into noticing and reframing thoughts, using the body to process stress, and changing the environment. Relaxing cues such as comforting sounds, smells, pictures, or pets can help create a sense of safety. 3:08
- Stress, energy, and recoveryVigilance can consume energy even when we do not consciously feel stressed. Acute challenges may be manageable, but restoring ourselves between them is important; chronic stress that cannot be changed may call for acceptance strategies. 5:11
- Challenge versus threatThe same stressor can feel like a threat or an opportunity. A challenge response—believing we can cope—can support better problem-solving and recovery than feeling our survival or social standing is at risk. 10:25
- Chronic stress, aging, and moodEpel discusses research connecting chronic stress with cellular aging and mitochondrial activity. In one study, caregivers with stronger mitochondrial measures reported more positive emotions, particularly in the evening. 15:39
- Acceptance and uncertaintyRadical acceptance can help people stop wishing an unchangeable situation were different. For uncertainty, Epel suggests easing out of an alert posture, breathing slowly, and meeting what happens with curiosity. 19:15
- Purpose and narrativeMaking a coherent story about our experiences can help us find meaning and resolution. A sense of purpose can shape how we interpret stress and imagine the way we want to live. 29:10
✨ Key takeaways
- Stress can be beneficialManageable, repeated challenges can build stress resilience, much like physical training. Reframing a stress response as useful may help people perform and recover better. 9:53
- Notice stress in the bodyClenched hands and ongoing tension can reveal stress even when we are not aware of it. Checking in with bodily sensations can help interrupt an automatic cycle of vigilance and rumination. 2:35
- Choose the right responseSome problems call for action; others cannot be solved by pushing harder. Learning when to “muscle through” and when to let go is an important part of navigating stress. 27:38
- Daily mood mattersPositive feelings such as contentment, ease, confidence, and joy at the end of a difficult day are associated with healthier long-term outcomes. 17:42
🧠 Lessons learned
- Find believable “stress shields”Remind yourself, in words that feel authentic, that you can cope and that your body’s stress response may be helping you meet a challenge. 13:32
- Drop the ropeWhen a situation is like a brick wall that cannot be moved, continuing to pull only wears you down. Letting go can free attention and energy for the parts of life you can influence. 22:56
- Practice acceptance repeatedlyAcceptance is not a one-time decision; it is a practice of loosening your grip on unwanted circumstances and reclaiming attention for the present. 20:53
- Make room for uncertaintyRelax your posture, take slow breaths, and adopt a receptive, curious stance instead of trying to predict or control what comes next. 25:00
🏁 Conclusion/next steps
- Build a flexible toolkitUse active coping when action can help, and acceptance when a stressor is beyond your control. Combine mindset, body-based tools, calming surroundings, and purpose to support resilience. 28:09
- Create a meaningful narrativeConsider what matters to you, how you understand your experiences, and how you want to live and be remembered. 29:10
Transcript excerpt
0:00 Welcome to Huberman Lab Essentials, where we revisit past episodes for the most potent and actionable science-based tools for mental health, physical health, and performance. I'm Andrew Huberman and I'm a professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine. And now for my discussion with Dr. Elissa Epel. Dr. Epel, welcome. >> Thank you. >> So great to have you here. I'd love to just kick off by you explaining a little bit about the different forms of stress. You know, we hear stress, stress is bad,
0:30 stress can kill us. No one likes to feel stressed, etc. But as you and I both know, that's not the entire picture. So, love for you to just educate us a bit on what stress is and what it isn't, where it can be problematic, and where perhaps it can even be beneficial. Mhm. >> So, as a stress scientist, it is a word I use a lot, but it has to be broken down because it has so many different kind of dimensions and meanings. So, there's good and bad stress, there's
1:00 acute and chronic stress, and you know, technically it just means anytime we feel overwhelmed that we feel like the demands are too much for our resources. So that's kind of a a very technical way to put it, but really so much of life is about meeting challenges and we're never going to get rid of different stressful situations in life. If anything, they are increasing. And so it really comes down to not the stressors of what's happens to us, but really how we
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Questions & Answers
Common questions about this video
¿Qué es el estrés y cuándo se convierte en un problema?
El estrés aparece cuando sentimos que las demandas superan nuestros recursos. Una respuesta de estrés aguda, seguida de recuperación, puede ser útil y necesaria; el problema surge cuando mantenemos esa respuesta activa con pensamientos y rumiación, incluso después de que el evento terminó. 1:00
¿Qué estrategias propone Elissa Epel para manejar el exceso de pensamientos y la rumiación?
Propone tres grupos de herramientas: estrategias mentales, como tomar conciencia de los pensamientos y replantear nuestras creencias; estrategias corporales, que ayudan a procesar el estrés mediante el movimiento; y cambios en el entorno, como buscar un lugar tranquilo o rodearse de señales de seguridad, como mascotas, imágenes, aromas o música. 3:39
¿Cómo puede influir la forma de interpretar un desafío en la respuesta física al estrés?
Si interpretamos una situación como una amenaza, podemos sentir que nuestra supervivencia o nuestra posición social están en peligro y tardar más en recuperarnos. Si la vemos como un desafío que podemos afrontar, la respuesta tiende a favorecer el flujo de sangre al corazón y al cerebro, la resolución de problemas y una recuperación más rápida. 10:56
¿Qué son los “escudos contra el estrés” y cómo se usan?
Son frases que cada persona encuentra creíbles y fortalecedoras, como «puedo con esto», «tengo lo necesario» o «mi cuerpo está haciendo lo que debe». También se puede recordar que la respuesta de estrés puede ayudar a afrontar la situación, en lugar de asumir que sus señales físicas son perjudiciales. 13:32
¿Qué significa practicar la aceptación radical ante un factor estresante que no podemos cambiar?
Significa reconocer repetidamente que una situación no deseada no va a desaparecer por mucho que nos preocupemos o deseemos que fuera distinta. Esa aceptación puede liberar atención y energía para vivir mejor y actuar en los aspectos que sí podemos controlar. 20:21
¿Qué representa la metáfora de “soltar la cuerda”?
Representa dejar de forcejear con un problema que no podemos cambiar, como tirar de una cuerda atada a un muro de ladrillos. Soltarla no hace desaparecer el problema, pero libera nuestras manos y recursos para dedicarles a las áreas de la vida en las que sí tenemos influencia. 22:56
¿Cuándo conviene actuar y cuándo conviene soltar el control?
Conviene esforzarse cuando nuestras acciones pueden producir un resultado útil y dejar ir cuando estamos ante un obstáculo inamovible. Epel describe la resiliencia como saber cuándo avanzar y cuándo soltar, adaptándose a las distintas “olas” de la vida. 28:09
¿Cómo pueden ayudar la narrativa, la escritura y el sentido de propósito frente al estrés?
Crear una narrativa coherente puede ayudarnos a dar sentido a lo vivido, encontrar significado y resolver experiencias. Reflexionar sobre lo que es importante y sobre nuestro propósito también puede cambiar cómo interpretamos el estrés y cómo elegimos vivir. 29:10
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