Talisha Dawes

The Upside of Stress Final Reflection

April 30, 2022
As mentioned in my “preflection,” the basis behind this book reminds me a lot of a class

I took about stress and pain for my undergraduate degree. I thoroughly enjoyed that class and

felt that I benefited greatly, so I was incredibly open to any new information that this book had

to offer. Overall, I actually really enjoyed the message behind the book. I did feel like at times

the book seemed to drag on and became somewhat repetitive with its’ ideas and focal points,

however, I felt like in general it used such a large plethora of reputable information and studies

that it sent across a highly effective message.

Looking back on my discussion posts about the two parts of this book, I realized that the

studies and ideas that resonated with me the most were the ones about connecting

meaningfulness and stressful situations. I really liked the idea of allowing stressful situations to

energize and empower us, and that the things that cause stress in us are the things that are

worthwhile and meaningful. I found it interesting that by simply applying a stress mindfulness

exercise and explaining to the study participants the benefits of stress, they were able to elicit

such positive outcomes in stressful scenarios. I found myself reflecting back on my own

experiences with stress and I realized all the negative feelings I held around it. It makes me

want to go back in time and change how I approached and even viewed a stressful situation.

When it came to tests and exams specifically, I used to think that feeling stressed and anxious

meant that I was unprepared to perform adequately. I wonder how much better I could have
done if I had been able to view that stressful situation as an opportunity for growth; if I had

been able to change my stress reaction from a threat response to a challenge response.

I think that the ideas presented within this book could be extremely beneficial to my

future patients. I think that by helping them to view stress as energizing rather than

debilitating, we can have such a significant impact on their mindset and therefore overall

healing process. We, as clinicians, will come in contact with people who are under enormous

amounts of stress and pain, who are feeling hopeless and at an all-time low. If we can help

them to properly view this stress and guide them into using it as an opportunity to better

themselves and to motivate themselves through treatment, then we can have such a positive

influence on their rehabilitation and mental health. I think that there are many benefits to

viewing stress as your friend, rather than as your enemy. I know that this mindset shift isn’t a

one-and-done scenario – it is something that we will need to focus and work on for the rest of

our lives. Stress management, like everything else, takes a lot of practice!