There are practical steps we can take to neutralize stress and transform it into a source of strength.
5-minute read – 100% written by humans
Several recent studies indicate that we’re facing an epidemic of workplace-related stress and burnout. But is the real problem that we are viewing stress in the wrong way? There’s mounting evidence that reframing our attitude to stress can transform it from something malignant to a source of strength. And there are practical steps that we can all take to do this.
One third of us feel stressed most or all of the time
The statistics are eye-watering. According to the recent Mental Health UK Burnout Report (2025) nine out of ten adults maintain that they have experienced high or extreme stress over the previous twelve months, with approximately one-third feeling stressed most or all of the time. Workers under 45 are taking an increasing amount of time off work due to stress. And all the indications are that the situation has notably deteriorated since the pandemic. Gallup, which has tracked hundreds of thousands of employees over several years, reports that employee wellbeing has declined steadily since 2020. Notably, post Covid-19, significantly fewer employees now maintain that they are in a state of thriving, the number falling by approximately 20%.
Strikingly, several commentators have noted that the idea of burnout has become a cultural identifier, with the public discourse becoming increasingly fluent in the language of stress. In previous articles we have noted the way in which what might be called depletion metaphors have become increasingly common: Social battery; Bandwidth; and the notion of Burnout per se.
Perhaps stress is not the enemy
But perhaps the problem is not stress, but the way in which we are viewing it. At Threshold we have often said that “stress is not the enemy. Seeing stress as the enemy is.” And several recent studies are backing this up.
Now, if you’re currently undergoing a period of high stress as you read this article, we appreciate this may be the last thing you want to hear right now. And we assure you that we are not without sympathy. Life imposes stresses on us that are outside of our control. But please do bear with us. This has proven to be one of the most helpful concepts that we share with senior leaders at our resilience workshops.
A lot of the workplace literature tends to treat stress as a virus or a bacillus to be avoided or protected against. This is a relatively recent way of viewing stress, which arguably misses half of the story. While Nietzsche’s maxim, “What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger,” isn’t strictly true. (If it were, there would be no Post Traumatic Stress Disorder,) like many chestnuts it’s based on a kernel of truth.
Can stress have benefits?
Numerous studies indicate that stress has benefits. This is the idea of hormesis – the biological principle that a low or moderate dose of a stressor strengthens an organism – and there’s increasing evidence that the same principle applies to our psychological system.
Think of a trip to the gym. Exercise creates those micro tears in the muscles which stimulates the body’s repair system to respond, making the muscles stronger than they were previously. What’s more, the process in effect teachers the muscles to strengthen themselves in anticipation of future stressors.
It seems that something similar happens in the brain when we experience psychological stress.
This was the insight of Bruce S. McEwen, researcher and expert on resilience and neuroplasticity.
How the brain learns and adapts
McEwen describes the brain as the central organ of stress and adaptation. Rather than simply being damaged by stress, the brain continually remodels itself in response to experience. Three regions are particularly important: Prefrontal cortex, which decides what you give attention to. The Hippocampus, which decides what threats should be etched into your memory to keep you safe in future and the Amygdala, whose job is to detect potential threats and quickly fire up the whole system to respond. McEwan argues that working together, these three systems don’t simply respond, they learn, adapt and become stronger based on their experience. In other words, they go through a similar process of stress, respond, and learn for the future.
This explains not only why exposure to certain doses of stress makes us stronger and more capable, but also why lack of exposure to stress can cause the psychological system to atrophy and so make us weaker.
Stress acts as a source of strength if we believe it does
Interestingly, while exposure to the right sort of stress in the right doses can strengthen our performance, this doesn’t happen equally for everyone. It seems that stress acts as a source of strength only if we believe it does.
A research team from the University of Rochester led by Jeremy Jamieson sought to examine the reaction to stress under a range of relatively stressful situations, such as public speaking or high-stakes sports. One group was told that the typical anxiety signals, such as racing heart, sweating palms or butterflies were good news, as they indicated that their minds and bodies were preparing for a challenge. Their performance was then observed and monitored and compared to a control group who were given no such prior information. The participants who were persuaded to welcome the stress signifiers as beneficial, not only outperformed the control group, but they also displayed significantly fewer anxiety signals and notably more confident body language.
Reappraisal
The body’s physiological responses to stress are essentially the same as the body’s responses to being excited. The executive function of the brain takes a reading of these responses, then looks around at what’s happening in the outside world, before deciding whether your anxious or excited. So, you can learn to welcome these stress responses. Enjoy the sensation. Remind yourself that that’s just your body gearing up for performance! This is what top performers do. Performance psychologists have a name for this: Reappraisal.
Metacognition
For most of us, when we sense the signs of stress in our mind or body, the negative automatic thought is often to frame it as something damaging or malign. To practice reappraisal, your starting point is to recognise your thoughts are not objective truths. In reality they are opinions or interpretations. When we adopt the practice of taking what clinical psychologists call an observer perspective on our thoughts and feelings, we are infinitely more effective.
This is the process of metacognition: The practice of reflecting without judgement on our patterns of thoughts and feelings. It’s also the principle that underpins mindfulness meditation and may help to explain in part why mindfulness tends to be associated with a reduction in stress and anxiety symptoms. The point is that you are not forcing yourself to believe something. You are simply recognising that the thought is an interpretation and you are free to choose the most helpful interpretation given the circumstances.
Control, challenge and commitment
Dr Suzanne Kobasa Ouelette, a researcher in stress at City College, New York recommends the “Three Cs” as an approach dealing with stress: First identify what in this situation is within your control. Then reframe the situation not as a threat, but as a challenge. And finally commit to the challenge; put all of your resources into it and see it as an opportunity to learn and grow strong stronger.
Making it a habit
Of course, there are cases of stress that are so deep and sustained that they are beyond the scope of these tools and methods. People enduring these deserve our compassion, just as we should be compassionate to ourselves when we find ourselves in similar situations. Nonetheless, the majority of day-to-day work and life stresses, can be turned into opportunities for growth and learning. You’ll be amazed how quickly it becomes a habit.
To find out how we can help leaders in your organisation to be more impactful, influential and persuasive visit www.threshold.co.uk
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