Book: The Upside of Stress: Why Stress Is Good for You, and How to Get Good at It by Kelly McGonigal
Rethink your stress response activity
When I had to commit to Nitin abt being an SDM, my mind kept going to things I wasn’t comfortable doing. At the time I only saw it as things I hate to do instead of things I’ll get an opportunity to learn from. I did experience sweaty palms then. But someone I found it hard to connect with other people. I met Kate and Jon, but it was already too late by the time I met them. What mechanism can I use to get advice much earlier to prepare for a decision? This decision - to not continue as SDM was a very creaky door decision. If I’d categorized it as such before I went into the meeting with Nitin I think I would’ve been better prepared.
Preparing for the India trip. Don’t clearly recall if I experienced sweaty arms and higher heart rate, but I did not want to socialize, I was even thinking of canceling the trip making some excuse or another.
Connect with others:
When I cut my finger and was worried about the healing, I called Amma and asked her about it. I’m usually in my shell and don’t want to connect with anyone else, including my family, but in this instance I connected with my family.
Same with doing my taxes. I somehow found the courage to msg Patrick and call Amit to ask abt the W9. On most other days I haven’t usually done that.
Learn & grow:
I keep thinking of events I’ve made a mistake, reliving it. I shouldn’t. I wonder if this constant recall is because I’m not recovering from a stress response well. The book talks about people being injected with Cortisol right before or after a traumatic event dealing with it better. I need to find better mechanisms to deal with this. That said I don’t think I’m alone in this situation. A lot of people face similar situation. Improving my stress response is a skill I can learn.
Types of stress responses: - Fight or flight - Tend and befriend - Defeat