The Upside of Stress

The Upside of Stress
By Kelly McGonigal
2015
Avery
ISBN: 978-1-58333-561-1

ARC from LibraryThing.com
Sent to my mother for now, but likely keeping in the long run

The LibraryThing Early Reviewers program sent me a copy of The Upside of Stress many months ago. I actually picked up the book last week for two main reasons. (1) I am trying to get through all the books that I ever said I was going to review, both because I hate the feeling of having things like that hanging over my head and because I want to be in good shape with the fine people at LibraryThing so that next time they have something I really want I am more likely to get it. (2) SO MUCH STRESS.

I just came back to Cinci for my last 3 months of medical school, during which I will also (finally!) defend my dissertation. In June I will officially be a "double doctor" and done with school FOREVER. The moving back to Cincinnati was stressful (also the leaving of husband and kitties in Boston). When I picked up this book I was still waiting for board scores (released today, all happiness!). I am 43 days, 16 hours, and 57 minutes from finding out where I will spend the next stage of my training, and if I will get to spend 4-6 months of next year in pediatrics (joy!) or if I will have to do adult medicine (something other than joy!). There's a lot going on right now.

This book was just right for me right now. I will admit, it was occasionally repetitive, over-simplistic, and perhaps occasionally a little to "upsidey" for me, but overall it was a very helpful check in. I recommend it to anyone that's feeling overwhelmed.

McGonigal's central thesis is that stress is not inherently bad, and that what matters more than the amount of stress in your life is your attitude towards the things that you find stressful. She points out (compellingly) that stress is actually the result of having meaning in your life, and that focusing on that meaning, having a growth mindset, and aligning your thoughts about the stresses in your life with your values and your sense of general humanity can turn "stress" from a pro-inflammatory health disaster into a positive force for your health.

There was not terribly much in here that someone in psychology will not be at least peripherally aware of, but McGonigal's clear writing, examples, and short simple exercises are a powerful synthesis of the information into a "mindset intervention" that likely all of us could benefit from. This is a quick read, and one I think is well worth the time.