Scan barcode
Reviews
The Upside of Stress: Why Stress Is Good for You, and How to Get Good at It by Kelly McGonigal
andyyoo127's review
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
Thiis book is a mindset intervention in of itself and will give you the mindset you need to utilize stress and not fear it. Your heart pumping before important events is because you care, and it is your body giving you the energy you need to perform. It also talks about how connecting with people and allowing yourself to feel the suffering of others, like patients, will better your life. Avoiding feeling other’s pain is not better
thejdizzler's review against another edition
4.0
Going into this book I was very skeptical, (it was a coach Taylor book after all). The author ends up crafting a pretty convincing argument about how stress can actually help you. Now I wish she used so more numbers, because some of these studies that she references could have been trash. However, the sheer number of studies referenced eventually won me around. Here's to getting stressed.
leevoncarbon's review
4.0
There are several points in the book where statements are made that leave you saying: "It cannot be that simple and straightforward". But they are all backed up with substantive research results. At the same time much of the book could be summarized with a couple of statements from another well known book: "Be transformed by the renewing of your mind" and "love your neighbor as yourself".
lilyevangeline's review
4.0
I hesitate to use the phrase "life-changing" in regards to anything, but reading this book has actually been a pretty significant experience for me and initiated rather a shift in my mental landscape, especially as I've been trying to sort through my own anxiety, dread, and a variety of other feelings, good and bad, that I have with regards to my own adequacy or lack thereof while preparing to apply for school. I've been told med school is "living hell," and so as busy as my life is now, it seems probable that my life will only get more stressful from here on out.
The time has come to deal or keel. Thus. This book.
I first learned about Kelly McGonigal after watching her 2013 TED talk, How To Make Stress Your Friend, and while what she presented in that talk was intriguing, it wasn't until I read the book that I felt I really accepted/believed what she had to say.
The message is pretty simple: We've been told all our lives, by health professionals and authorities of all stripes, that stress is bad for us, associated with an early grave, and we should avoid and minimize it at all costs. McGonigal, however, presents an increasing and astonishing body of evidence that rather unequivocally shows that stress only has a negative affect on health (both physical and mental) if you believe that it does.
People with high-stress lives who have a more positive approach to stress, seeing it as a natural part of life and an opportunity for personal growth/etc/etc, not only have none of the negative health issues associated with stress, but actually seem to perform better by most standards of professional and interpersonal success, in addition to apparently leading happier, more fulfilling lives.
I can't explain the whole thing as well as she can, so I won't even bother (watch the TED talk if you want a summarized version), but suffice to say, there's more evidence to back it up than you would think, and it's not an "I think I can I think I can" stubborn positivity mumbo-jumbo, or a ignoring/denial of stress/suffering/etc, or a "you can't have happiness without sadness so how about we see your awful life as a blessing" kind of thing, though it can kind of seem that way at first glance.
It's about understanding our bodies, why they behave the way that they do under stress, and how we can change our own mindsets about stress to work with our bodies instead of against them.
The book can get a bit repetitive at times, thus the 4 stars, but I still feel that it is definitely worth the read and adds a lot of information (specifically more studies/research, interesting info about the stress response, and practical application) that isn't covered in the TED talk and that is worth the time.
The time has come to deal or keel. Thus. This book.
I first learned about Kelly McGonigal after watching her 2013 TED talk, How To Make Stress Your Friend, and while what she presented in that talk was intriguing, it wasn't until I read the book that I felt I really accepted/believed what she had to say.
The message is pretty simple: We've been told all our lives, by health professionals and authorities of all stripes, that stress is bad for us, associated with an early grave, and we should avoid and minimize it at all costs. McGonigal, however, presents an increasing and astonishing body of evidence that rather unequivocally shows that stress only has a negative affect on health (both physical and mental) if you believe that it does.
People with high-stress lives who have a more positive approach to stress, seeing it as a natural part of life and an opportunity for personal growth/etc/etc, not only have none of the negative health issues associated with stress, but actually seem to perform better by most standards of professional and interpersonal success, in addition to apparently leading happier, more fulfilling lives.
I can't explain the whole thing as well as she can, so I won't even bother (watch the TED talk if you want a summarized version), but suffice to say, there's more evidence to back it up than you would think, and it's not an "I think I can I think I can" stubborn positivity mumbo-jumbo, or a ignoring/denial of stress/suffering/etc, or a "you can't have happiness without sadness so how about we see your awful life as a blessing" kind of thing, though it can kind of seem that way at first glance.
It's about understanding our bodies, why they behave the way that they do under stress, and how we can change our own mindsets about stress to work with our bodies instead of against them.
The book can get a bit repetitive at times, thus the 4 stars, but I still feel that it is definitely worth the read and adds a lot of information (specifically more studies/research, interesting info about the stress response, and practical application) that isn't covered in the TED talk and that is worth the time.
leafthroughmypages's review
5.0
I suffer from generalized anxiety and panic attacks. I was pretty darn skeptical about the conclusions in this book, but after completing it and seeing the journey to those ideas, I've come to my own seemingly unlikely conclusion: this book has the potential to change so many minds and lives for the better. To me, it is obviously in poor taste to suggest to someone suffering that they should just "use that pain," but if one is able to come to this book with an open mind and heart, I think it can have a really positive effect as it did with me. I hope more people are able to find peace and strength from this book as I have.