Description
Stress is everywhere in life. It can’t be avoided, and in fact, for most of us, living totally stress-free actually isn’t desirable. Doing hard things can give us an incredible sense of purpose and accomplishment. But too much stress can make us feel overwhelmed, paralyzed and incapable of handling even the smallest tasks.
So how do we learn to increase our stress tolerance so we keep making good decisions and accomplishing things even when life starts to feel like a lot?
This episode, we’re joined by Jenny Evans. She’s a speaker, coach, and author who has spent decades studying and teaching about physiology, chemistry, and stress.
The three big questions we have for Jenny are:
1. What is stress, and how is our experience of stress connected to resiliency?
2. What causes us to have low resiliency, and why do we struggle with traditional stress management?
3. What steps can we take to increase our resiliency and minimize the impact of stress on our lives?
Learn more about On Human Optimization and access Pod-Club questions at: https://ce.mayo.edu/content/mayo-clinic-human-optimization
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00:00 Introduction
02:34 What is stress?
05:20 Early signs of stress
07:09 Common stressors in modern life
10:28 Stress load vs. stress capacity
12:45 What is resiliency?
14:45 Can you increase your stress tolerance?
16:08 Why recovery is essential for growth
17:30 Benefits of increasing your stress capacity
19:22 Why recovery matters for resiliency
21:35 Why traditional stress management can fall short
23:39 What determines your stress capacity?
23:57 How physical fitness builds resilience
25:02 Using movement to manage stress
26:29 Purpose, connection and resilience
29:12 Stress and the need for control
33:16 How to focus on what you can control
35:42 Why stress management starts with physiology
38:24 Building resilience through recovery
43:17 Practical ways to increase stress capacity
43:37 Using movement to reduce stress
44:01 Sleep, nutrition and stress
45:18 Why purpose builds resilience
46:43 Journaling as a stress management tool
48:48 Why a stress-free life isn't the goal
49:35 Key takeaways