Stress – it’s all in the mind

STRESS is a secret weapon that can be harnessed to transform you into a high achiever, researchers claim.

The techniques they suggest to make the most of it include puffing your chest out like a superhero and telling yourself you are excited rather than anxious.

Professor Ian Robertson, a neuroscientist, claims stress has been wrongly demonised.

He said it is being blamed for numerous ills like obesity, cancer and premature ageing, whereas it can actually drastically improve self-confidence.

He also argues that stressful situations and traumas can trigger incredible feats of creativity that allow people to achieve far more than if they were more relaxed.

“Stress is a kind of energy that we can harness,” he said. “The stress hormone, cortisol, is a symptom of anxiety but also of excitement.

“When you are anxious or excited you can feel your heart going bang, bang, bang, and the same hormone affects you differently depending on the context your mind imposes upon it. If you are anxious, cortisol will impede performance, but if you are excited, we know that it boosts performance,” said Robertson, of Trinity College Dublin.

“When you are facing a difficult situation and feeling anxious, it’s enough to say ‘I feel excited’ once out loud and that changes the mindset from ‘threat’ to ‘challenge’,” he said. – Daily Mail