Rewiring Your Brain for Stress-Resilience With Dr. Melanie Greenberg! by Christine Jones

Unfortunately, stress is a part of most of our lives. From raising kids to managing careers, relationships and family obligations, stress and anxiety is often a byproduct of modern life. This week at our #30Seconds Twitter chat, we were thrilled to have Dr. Melanie Greenberg, licensed clinical psychologist, expert on relationships, stress and mindfulness, and author of the "The Stress-Proof Brain," as our special guest. During this informative chat, Dr. Greenberg shared tips and strategies for managing stress! Relax and read on...

@DrMelanieG I can always use some stress management tips and tools #30seconds

— Kate Brown (@Katejosh09) March 30, 2017

Q: Tell us how you came to write a book on stress.

Stress is, unfortunately, a natural part of life – especially in our busy and hectic modern times. But stress doesn’t have to get in the way of your health, happiness or relationships. Studies show that the key to coping with stress is simpler than we think. I wrote this book to give people powerful, comprehensive tools to help put a stop to unhealthy responses to stress.

Neighbors chatting on Twitter #30Seconds pic.twitter.com/7KHwkhKGJG

— Nicole DeAvilla (@NicoleDeAvilla) March 30, 2017

Q: What does your brain do under stress?

Your amygdala (brain’s alarm center) hijacks your brain into a “fight, flight, freeze” response. Hormones like cortisol and epinephrine “amp up” your brain and body to take protective action against a threat.

@30seconds A2: Take a deep breath of air and think of something happy.. There is always a solution to a hard issue.n #30seconds

— lobo☮..... (@witteeme) March 30, 2017

Q: What aspects of stress make it stressful?

Stressors are more stressful if they are out of your control, have important consequences and are chronic. Animal studies show uncontrollable stress is particularly toxic to our brains and bodies.

@30seconds A4. #Stress happens! You need to be proactive about managing #stress: #sleep enough, #exercise, #eat right, relax. #30Seconds

— Elizabeth Ward (@EWardRD) March 30, 2017

Q: Does your attitude to stress make a difference?

Research shows it does. If you can see your stress as having some potential benefit, you’ll have a better hormonal response. A “stress is beneficial mindset” is protective, while seeing your stress as an overwhelming threat makes it worse. Stress makes us think in black-and- white terms. Stay cognitively flexible and try to see the situation from different perspectives. Ask yourself how you can learn or grow as a person from this situation.

This is an interesting perspective. I have never thought of #stress in this way. #30Seconds https://t.co/EtuiFfy50C

— Kim Kusiciel (@barefoot79) March 30, 2017

A4: attitudes make all the difference in any stressful situation. if you are negative&doom it will b worse for all involved #30Seconds

— Holly @Tweenspot (@tweenspot) March 30, 2017

Q: What are unhealthy ways of managing stress?

Avoidance, turning to alcohol, drugs, shopping, going mindless and zoning out, anger and rage. Worrying and ruminating – creating doomsday scenarios.

@DrMelanieG Shopping and over eating are mine! or sleeping all day wanting to shut the world out #30Seconds

— 🐇Blessed✝Gurl🐥 (@Babygurlie73) March 30, 2017

Q: What should you do to manage stress instead?

Find a healthy stress-management activity, like meditation or yoga, and make it a regular part of your life. Remind yourself that you have overcome adversity in the past and can get through this, too. Be compassionate with yourself – drop the perfectionism and guilt. I wrote a blog post this week that provides powerful tools to help you ditch the guilt for good. (Read that blog post  here.) 

@30seconds A6 take a walk, talk to a friend #30Seconds

— melinda (@MelindaGail74) March 30, 2017

Q: What does it take to be resilient to stress?

• A “growth mindset” – committing to your long-term goals, working hard and persisting despite obstacles.
• De-fusing from negative thoughts and asking, “Is this thought true or helpful?”
• Focusing on your senses – what you see, hear, smell, feel right now to get out of judgmental thinking cycles.

@30seconds a4: I honestly try to relax and joy life because you never know when your last day is going to be, just enjoy Life #30Seconds

— JeannieGreener👬 (@JeanGMike) March 30, 2017

Q: How can you help your kids and teens manage stress?

• Teach them to see stress as an opportunity to learn and grow.
• Help them see their stresses as manageable challenges they can master.
• Teach them that stress is a normal part of life and doesn’t have to be overwhelming.

@30seconds A8 Have them create a vision board with positive stuff that they can focus on #30seconds

— Toni B 🎨 🎬 (@rychepet) March 30, 2017

@DrMelanieG @NicoleDeAvilla And be happy when you remove negative things from your life. :) Bye Felecia #30seconds

— Kate Brown (@Katejosh09) March 30, 2017

Q: Is there an upside to stress?

Yes. The stress hormones like cortisol and epinephrine can energize you to perform at your best. Successfully handling stress can build resilience and stress-tolerance for the future.

@CYJones30 re: We all agree it's the best happy hour on Twitter! #30Seconds > Great people! 💯

— Ian Gertler ☕️📲 (@IanGertler) March 30, 2017

Be sure to follow @drmelanieg, like her on Facebook, visit her website and check out her 30Seconds page!