ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Kelly McGonigal - Health psychologist
Kelly McGonigal translates academic research into practical strategies for health, happiness and personal success.

Why you should listen

Stanford University psychologist Kelly McGonigal is a leader in the growing field of “science-help.” Through books, articles, courses and workshops, McGonigal works to help us understand and implement the latest scientific findings in psychology, neuroscience and medicine.

Straddling the worlds of research and practice, McGonigal holds positions in both the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the School of Medicine. Her most recent book, The Willpower Instinct, explores the latest research on motivation, temptation and procrastination, as well as what it takes to transform habits, persevere at challenges and make a successful change.

She is now researching a new book about the "upside of stress," which will look at both why stress is good for us, and what makes us good at stress. In her words: "The old understanding of stress as a unhelpful relic of our animal instincts is being replaced by the understanding that stress actually makes us socially smart -- it's what allows us to be fully human."

More profile about the speaker
Kelly McGonigal | Speaker | TED.com
TEDGlobal 2013

Kelly McGonigal: How to make stress your friend

Kelly McGonigal: Como facer do estrés un amigo

Filmed:
22,520,850 views

Estrés. Fai que o corazón che palpite, a respiración se che acelere e que che súe a fronte. Con todo, aínda que se fixo do estrés un inimigo público da saúde, investigacións recentes suxiren que unicamente é malo para nós se cremos que realmente o é. A psicóloga Kelly McGonigal anímanos a ver o estrés de xeito positivo e preséntanos un mecanismo pouco coñecido para reducir o estrés: achegarse aos demais.
- Health psychologist
Kelly McGonigal translates academic research into practical strategies for health, happiness and personal success. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12
I have a confession to make,
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Teño que confesar algo.
00:16
but first, I want you
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Pero primeiro, quero que vostedes
me fagan unha pequena confesión.
00:19
to make a little confession to me.
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00:23
In the past year, I want you to just raise your hand
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Durante o ano pasado,
quero que levanten a man
00:26
if you've experienced relatively little stress.
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se experimentaron
relativamente pouco estrés.
Hai alguén?
00:29
Anyone?
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E un estrés moderado?
00:32
How about a moderate amount of stress?
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00:35
Who has experienced a lot of stress?
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Quen experimentou moito estrés?
Si. Eu tamén.
00:38
Yeah. Me too.
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00:40
But that is not my confession.
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Pero esa non é a miña confesión.
00:43
My confession is this: I am a health psychologist,
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A miña confesión é esta:
son psicóloga de saúde,
e a miña misión é axudarlle á xente
a ser máis feliz e saudable.
00:46
and my mission is to help people be happier and healthier.
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00:51
But I fear that something I've been teaching
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Pero creo que algo do que andei a ensinar
durante os últimos 10 anos
está facendo máis mal ca ben,
00:54
for the last 10 years is doing more harm than good,
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00:59
and it has to do with stress.
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e ten que ver co estrés.
01:01
For years I've been telling people, stress makes you sick.
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Durante anos díxenlle á xente,
que o estrés nos fai enfermar.
Aumenta o risco de todo,
desde un simple arrefriado
01:04
It increases the risk of everything from the common cold
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01:07
to cardiovascular disease.
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a enfermidades cardiovasculares.
01:09
Basically, I've turned stress into the enemy.
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Basicamente, fixen do estrés un inimigo.
Pero mudei a miña opinión sobre o estrés,
01:14
But I have changed my mind about stress,
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e hoxe, quero cambiar a súa.
01:17
and today, I want to change yours.
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Vou comezar co estudo
que me fixo reconsiderar
01:21
Let me start with the study that made me rethink
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a miña forma de abordar o estrés.
01:23
my whole approach to stress.
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01:25
This study tracked 30,000 adults in the United States
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Este estudo analizou 30.000 adultos
nos Estados Unidos durante 8 anos,
01:29
for eight years, and they started by asking people,
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e empezou preguntándolle á xente:
01:33
"How much stress have you experienced in the last year?"
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"Canto estrés experimentou no último ano?"
01:36
They also asked, "Do you believe
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Tamén preguntaron:
"Cre que o estrés
é prexudicial para a saúde?"
01:40
that stress is harmful for your health?"
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01:44
And then they used public death records
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E despois usaron
os rexistros públicos de defuncións
01:46
to find out who died.
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para descubrir quen morrera.
(Risas)
01:48
(Laughter)
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01:49
Okay. Some bad news first.
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De acordo. As malas noticias primeiro.
A xente que experimentara
moito estrés o ano anterior
01:53
People who experienced a lot of stress in the previous year
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01:56
had a 43 percent increased risk of dying.
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tiña un 43% máis de risco de morrer.
02:00
But that was only true for the people
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Pero isto só foi certo para a xente
02:04
who also believed that stress is harmful for your health.
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que tamén cría que o estrés
prexudica a saúde.
(Risas)
02:08
(Laughter)
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02:10
People who experienced a lot of stress
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As persoas que sufriron moito estrés
pero non o vían como algo danoso
02:13
but did not view stress as harmful
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non eran máis propensas a morrer.
02:15
were no more likely to die.
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02:16
In fact, they had the lowest risk of dying
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De feito, tiñan o menor risco de morte
de todos os participantes,
02:20
of anyone in the study, including people
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incluíndo os que tiñan
relativamente pouco estrés.
02:22
who had relatively little stress.
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Agora os investigadores estiman
que nos 8 anos
02:24
Now the researchers estimated that over the eight years
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02:27
they were tracking deaths,
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que estiveron rastrexando as mortes,
02:28
182,000 Americans died prematurely,
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morreron prematuramente
182.000 estadounidenses,
02:32
not from stress, but from the belief
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non de estrés,
senón por crer que o estrés
é malo para a saúde. (Risas)
02:34
that stress is bad for you. (Laughter)
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02:38
That is over 20,000 deaths a year.
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Iso son máis de 20.000 mortes por ano.
02:41
Now, if that estimate is correct,
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Entón, se os cálculos son correctos,
02:44
that would make believing stress is bad for you
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crer que o estrés é malo para a saúde
02:46
the 15th largest cause of death
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sería a décimo quinta causa de morte
nos Estados Unidos o ano pasado,
02:49
in the United States last year,
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e causaría máis mortes ca o cancro de pel,
02:51
killing more people than skin cancer,
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02:52
HIV/AIDS and homicide.
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o VIH/SIDA e os homicidios.
02:56
(Laughter)
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(Risas)
02:59
You can see why this study freaked me out.
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Xa ven por que este estudo
me asustou tanto.
Gastei moita enerxía dicíndolle á xente
03:02
Here I've been spending so much energy telling people
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03:05
stress is bad for your health.
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que o estrés é malo para a saúde.
03:08
So this study got me wondering:
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Así que isto fíxome preguntarme:
cambiar a mentalidade sobre o estrés
03:10
Can changing how you think about stress
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pode facernos máis sans?
E aquí a ciencia di que si.
03:13
make you healthier? And here the science says yes.
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03:16
When you change your mind about stress,
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Ao cambiar de opinión sobre o estrés,
pódese cambiar
a resposta do corpo ao estrés.
03:18
you can change your body's response to stress.
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03:22
Now to explain how this works,
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Para explicar como funciona isto,
quero que todos finxan que participan
03:24
I want you all to pretend that you are participants
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nun estudo deseñado para estresalos.
03:27
in a study designed to stress you out.
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03:29
It's called the social stress test.
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Chámase proba de estrés social.
Entran no laboratorio,
03:32
You come into the laboratory,
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e dinlles que teñen que improvisar
un discurso de 5 minutos
03:34
and you're told you have to give a five-minute
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03:37
impromptu speech on your personal weaknesses
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sobre as súas debilidades persoais
ante un grupo de avaliadores expertos
sentado en fronte,
03:41
to a panel of expert evaluators sitting right in front of you,
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e para asegurarse de que sintan a presión,
03:44
and to make sure you feel the pressure,
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03:46
there are bright lights and a camera in your face,
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hai luces brillantes
e unha cámara apuntándoos,
03:49
kind of like this.
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coma esta.
E os avaliadores foron adestrados
03:52
And the evaluators have been trained
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para darlles unha resposta
non verbal desmotivadora,
03:55
to give you discouraging, non-verbal feedback like this.
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coma esta.
04:05
(Laughter)
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(Bufa)
(Risas)
04:08
Now that you're sufficiently demoralized,
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Agora que están desmoralizados dabondo,
é o momento da segunda parte:
unha proba de matemáticas.
04:11
time for part two: a math test.
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04:14
And unbeknownst to you,
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E vostedes non o saben,
pero o avaliador está adestrado
para acosalos durante o exame.
04:16
the experimenter has been trained to harass you during it.
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04:20
Now we're going to all do this together.
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Agora imos facelo todos xuntos.
Vai ser divertido.
04:22
It's going to be fun.
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04:24
For me.
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Para min.
04:25
Okay. I want you all to count backwards
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De acordo. Quero que todos conten
cara a atrás desde 996
04:30
from 996 in increments of seven.
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de 7 en 7.
Van facer isto en voz alta,
04:33
You're going to do this out loud
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tan rápido como poidan, empezando con 996.
04:34
as fast as you can, starting with 996.
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04:38
Go!
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Vamos!
04:39
Audience: (Counting)
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Audiencia: (Conta)
04:41
Go faster. Faster please.
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Máis rápido. Máis rápido, por favor.
04:43
You're going too slow.
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Van demasiado lento.
Audiencia: (Conta)
04:45
Stop. Stop, stop, stop.
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Paren. Paren, paren, paren.
Ese rapaz equivocouse.
04:48
That guy made a mistake.
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Imos ter que empezar de novo.
(Risas)
04:49
We are going to have to start all over again. (Laughter)
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04:52
You're not very good at this, are you?
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Non son moi bos nisto, verdade?
04:54
Okay, so you get the idea.
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Ben, xa entenden a idea.
Se estivesen realmente no experimento,
04:56
Now, if you were actually in this study,
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04:58
you'd probably be a little stressed out.
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seguro que se sentirían algo estresados.
05:00
Your heart might be pounding,
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O corazón latexaríalles rápido,
05:01
you might be breathing faster, maybe breaking out into a sweat.
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respirarían máis rápido,
se cadra comezarían a suar.
E normalmente, interpretamos
estes cambios físicos como ansiedade
05:05
And normally, we interpret these physical changes
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05:08
as anxiety
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ou sinais de que non manexamos
moi ben a presión.
05:09
or signs that we aren't coping very well with the pressure.
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05:12
But what if you viewed them instead
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Pero que pasaría se, en cambio, os visen
05:14
as signs that your body was energized,
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como sinais de que o corpo se activa,
se prepara para afrontar este desafío?
05:17
was preparing you to meet this challenge?
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05:20
Now that is exactly what participants were told
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Iso é exactamente
o que se lles dixo aos participantes
dun estudo realizado
na Universidade de Harvard.
05:23
in a study conducted at Harvard University.
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Antes de que tivesen
a proba de estrés social,
05:26
Before they went through the social stress test,
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ensináronlles a considerar
a súa resposta ao estrés como útil.
05:29
they were taught to rethink their stress response as helpful.
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Que ao latexar rápido, o corazón
prepárase para a acción.
05:32
That pounding heart is preparing you for action.
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Que respirar máis rápido,
non é un problema.
05:36
If you're breathing faster, it's no problem.
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05:38
It's getting more oxygen to your brain.
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senón que chega máis oxíxeno ao cerebro.
05:41
And participants who learned to view the stress response
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E os participantes
que aprenderon a ver isto
como unha axuda para o seu rendemento,
05:44
as helpful for their performance,
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estiveron menos estresados,
menos ansiosos, máis seguros,
05:46
well, they were less stressed out,
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05:48
less anxious, more confident,
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05:50
but the most fascinating finding to me
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pero o máis fascinante para min
05:52
was how their physical stress response changed.
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foi como cambiou
a súa resposta física ao estrés.
Nunha resposta típica,
05:55
Now, in a typical stress response,
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aumenta o ritmo cardíaco,
05:57
your heart rate goes up,
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e os vasos sanguíneos contráense así.
05:59
and your blood vessels constrict like this.
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06:03
And this is one of the reasons that chronic stress
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E esta é unha das razóns
polas que o estrés crónico
06:06
is sometimes associated with cardiovascular disease.
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ás veces se asocia
a enfermidades cardiovasculares.
Non é moi saudable estar
neste estado todo o tempo.
06:09
It's not really healthy to be in this state all the time.
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Pero no estudo, cando
os participantes viron
06:13
But in the study, when participants viewed
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a súa resposta ao estrés como algo útil,
06:15
their stress response as helpful,
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os seus vasos sanguíneos
permaneceron relaxados, coma este.
06:17
their blood vessels stayed relaxed like this.
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O corazón aínda lles latexaba con forza,
06:21
Their heart was still pounding,
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06:22
but this is a much healthier cardiovascular profile.
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pero este é un perfil cardiovascular
moito máis saudable.
06:25
It actually looks a lot like what happens
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Parécese moito ao que sucede
en momentos de alegría e valentía.
06:28
in moments of joy and courage.
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06:33
Over a lifetime of stressful experiences,
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No transcurso dunha vida
de experiencias estresantes,
06:35
this one biological change
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este único cambio biolóxico
podería ser a diferenza
06:39
could be the difference
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entre ter un ataque ao corazón
provocado por estrés aos 50 anos
06:40
between a stress-induced heart attack at age 50
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e vivir ben ata os 90 anos.
06:43
and living well into your 90s.
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06:46
And this is really what the new science of stress reveals,
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E isto é o que revela
a nova ciencia do estrés,
que a nosa visión sobre el é importante.
06:49
that how you think about stress matters.
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Así que o meu obxectivo
como psicóloga cambiou.
06:52
So my goal as a health psychologist has changed.
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Xa non quero desfacerme do estrés.
06:56
I no longer want to get rid of your stress.
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06:58
I want to make you better at stress.
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Quero preparalos mellor para el.
07:01
And we just did a little intervention.
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E acabamos de facer
unha pequena intervención.
07:03
If you raised your hand and said
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Se levantaron a man e dixeron
07:05
you'd had a lot of stress in the last year,
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que padeceron moito estrés no último ano,
07:07
we could have saved your life,
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igual lles salvamos a vida,
07:09
because hopefully the next time
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porque espero que a próxima vez
que o corazón lles latexe de estrés
07:10
your heart is pounding from stress,
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07:12
you're going to remember this talk
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recorden esta charla
07:14
and you're going to think to yourself,
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e se digan a si mesmos,
07:16
this is my body helping me rise to this challenge.
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"Este é o meu corpo axudándome
a enfrontar este reto".
07:22
And when you view stress in that way,
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E cando vexan o estrés desa maneira,
o corpo vainos crer,
07:24
your body believes you,
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e a resposta ao estrés
vaise volver máis saudable.
07:26
and your stress response becomes healthier.
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07:30
Now I said I have over a decade of demonizing stress
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Díxenlles que me teño
que redimir por demonizar o estrés
07:34
to redeem myself from,
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durante máis dunha década,
así que imos facer unha intervención máis.
07:36
so we are going to do one more intervention.
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07:38
I want to tell you about one of the most
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Quero falarlles dun dos aspectos
07:40
under-appreciated aspects of the stress response,
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máis infravalorados da resposta ao estrés,
07:43
and the idea is this:
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e a idea é esta:
o estrés fainos sociables.
07:46
Stress makes you social.
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07:49
To understand this side of stress,
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Para entender este aspecto do estrés,
07:50
we need to talk about a hormone, oxytocin,
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cómpre falar dunha hormona, a oxitocina,
e sei que a oxitocina
xa recibiu toda a atención
07:53
and I know oxytocin has already gotten
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que pode obter unha hormona.
07:56
as much hype as a hormone can get.
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07:58
It even has its own cute nickname, the cuddle hormone,
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Mesmo ten alcume propio:
a hormona dos abrazos,
08:02
because it's released when you hug someone.
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porque se libera cando abrazamos alguén.
08:04
But this is a very small part of what oxytocin is involved in.
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Pero isto é unha pequenísima parte
do que implica a oxitocina.
A oxitocina é unha neurohormona.
08:09
Oxytocin is a neuro-hormone.
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Afina os instintos sociais
do noso cerebro.
08:11
It fine-tunes your brain's social instincts.
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08:15
It primes you to do things
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Prepáranos para facer cousas
08:17
that strengthen close relationships.
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que fortalecen as relacións próximas.
08:21
Oxytocin makes you crave physical contact
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A oxitocina fai arelar o contacto físico
cos amigos e familiares.
08:24
with your friends and family.
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Mellora a empatía.
08:26
It enhances your empathy.
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08:27
It even makes you more willing to help and support
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Ata mellora a nosa disposición
a axudar e apoiar
08:30
the people you care about.
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á xente que nos importa.
08:33
Some people have even suggested
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Algunhas persoas mesmo suxeriron
08:35
we should snort oxytocin
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que deberiamos inhalar oxitocina...
08:38
to become more compassionate and caring.
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para ser máis compasivos e agarimosos.
Pero velaí o que moita xente
non entende da oxitocina.
08:43
But here's what most people don't understand
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08:45
about oxytocin.
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É unha hormona do estrés.
08:48
It's a stress hormone.
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08:51
Your pituitary gland pumps this stuff out
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A glándula pituitaria libéraa
como parte da resposta ao estrés.
08:54
as part of the stress response.
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08:55
It's as much a part of your stress response
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Forma parte da resposta ao estrés
08:58
as the adrenaline that makes your heart pound.
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tanto coma a adrenalina
que fai palpitar o corazón.
E a liberación de oxitocina
na resposta ao estrés,
09:02
And when oxytocin is released in the stress response,
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motívanos para buscar axuda.
09:04
it is motivating you to seek support.
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09:08
Your biological stress response
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A resposta biolóxica ao estrés
impúlsanos a dicirlle a alguén
como nos sentimos,
09:10
is nudging you to tell someone how you feel
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09:13
instead of bottling it up.
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en lugar de gardalo.
09:16
Your stress response wants to make sure you notice
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A resposta ao estrés asegúrase
de que notemos
cando alguén da nosa vida está en apuros
09:19
when someone else in your life is struggling
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09:21
so that you can support each other.
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de xeito que nos apoiemos mutuamente.
09:24
When life is difficult, your stress response wants you
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Cando a vida é difícil,
a resposta ao estrés quere
que nos rodeemos de xente
que se preocupa por nós.
09:28
to be surrounded by people who care about you.
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09:33
Okay, so how is knowing this side of stress
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De acordo, e como influirá
coñecer este aspecto do estrés
09:35
going to make you healthier?
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en facernos máis saudables?
09:37
Well, oxytocin doesn't only act on your brain.
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Pois, a oxitocina non actúa só no cerebro.
Tamén actúa no corpo,
09:40
It also acts on your body,
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e un dos seus papeis principais no corpo
09:42
and one of its main roles in your body
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09:44
is to protect your cardiovascular system
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é protexer o sistema cardiovascular
dos efectos do estrés.
09:47
from the effects of stress.
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09:49
It's a natural anti-inflammatory.
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É un antiinflamatorio natural.
09:52
It also helps your blood vessels stay relaxed during stress.
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3445
Tamén axuda os vasos sanguíneos
a estar relaxados durante o estrés.
09:55
But my favorite effect on the body is actually on the heart.
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3397
Pero o meu efecto favorito sobre o corpo
en realidade está no corazón.
09:59
Your heart has receptors for this hormone,
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O corazón ten receptores
para esta hormona,
10:03
and oxytocin helps heart cells regenerate
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3774
e a oxitocina axúdalles
ás células cardíacas a rexenerarse
10:06
and heal from any stress-induced damage.
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3773
e recuperarse de calquera dano
provocado polo estrés.
10:10
This stress hormone strengthens your heart,
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4581
Esta hormona do estrés
fortalece o corazón.
10:15
and the cool thing is that all of these physical benefits
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3697
O bo é que todos estes beneficios físicos
da oxitocina se intensifican
co contacto social e o apoio social.
10:18
of oxytocin are enhanced by social contact
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10:22
and social support,
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10:23
so when you reach out to others under stress,
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Así que cando --estresados--
nos achegamos a outras persoas,
10:26
either to seek support or to help someone else,
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sexa para buscar apoio
ou para axudar a alguén máis,
10:30
you release more of this hormone,
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2008
libérase máis cantidade desta hormona,
10:32
your stress response becomes healthier,
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620107
2262
a resposta ao estrés vólvese
máis saudable,
10:34
and you actually recover faster from stress.
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3098
e en realidade recuperámonos
máis rápido do estrés.
10:37
I find this amazing,
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2334
Isto paréceme incrible,
10:39
that your stress response has a built-in mechanism
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que a resposta ao estrés teña
un mecanismo incorporado
10:43
for stress resilience,
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2717
para resistir o estrés,
10:46
and that mechanism is human connection.
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e que ese mecanismo sexa
o contacto humano.
10:50
I want to finish by telling you about one more study.
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Quero rematar comentando un estudo máis.
Escoiten, porque este estudo
tamén pode salvar unha vida.
10:54
And listen up, because this study could also save a life.
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10:58
This study tracked about 1,000 adults in the United States,
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3456
Este estudo fixo un seguimento
duns 1.000 adultos nos EEUU,
11:01
and they ranged in age from 34 to 93,
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4163
entre os 34 e os 93 anos de idade,
e o estudo comezaba preguntando:
11:06
and they started the study by asking,
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2269
11:08
"How much stress have you experienced in the last year?"
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"Canto estrés experimentou no último ano?"
11:12
They also asked, "How much time have you spent
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Tamén preguntaron:
"Canto tempo pasou
axudando a amigos, veciños,
11:16
helping out friends, neighbors,
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3217
persoas da súa comunidade?"
11:19
people in your community?"
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11:22
And then they used public records for the next five years
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E logo usaron os rexistros públicos
dos seguintes 5 anos
11:24
to find out who died.
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para descubrir quen morrera.
De acordo, as malas noticias primeiro:
11:27
Okay, so the bad news first:
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2681
11:30
For every major stressful life experience,
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2959
Por cada experiencia sumamente estresante,
como dificultades financeiras
ou unha crise familiar,
11:33
like financial difficulties or family crisis,
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3049
11:36
that increased the risk of dying by 30 percent.
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3938
o risco de morrer aumenta un 30%.
11:40
But -- and I hope you are expecting a but by now --
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Pero --e espero que xa contasen
cun "pero" agora--
11:44
but that wasn't true for everyone.
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pero iso non é certo para todos.
11:46
People who spent time caring for others
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3662
A xente que pasou tempo
coidando dos demais
11:50
showed absolutely no stress-related increase in dying. Zero.
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6108
non mostrou ningún aumento
do risco de morte por estrés.
Cero.
11:56
Caring created resilience.
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3544
Coidar dos demais crea resiliencia.
12:00
And so we see once again
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E así vemos unha vez máis
12:01
that the harmful effects of stress on your health
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que os efectos nocivos do estrés na saúde
12:04
are not inevitable.
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non son inevitables.
12:06
How you think and how you act
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A nosa maneira de pensar e actuar
12:09
can transform your experience of stress.
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pode transformar a nosa
experiencia ante o estrés.
Cando se elixe ver a resposta
ao estrés como algo útil,
12:12
When you choose to view your stress response
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720835
2524
12:15
as helpful,
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2297
12:17
you create the biology of courage.
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5011
créase a bioloxía da valentía.
E cando –estando con estrés--
eliximos relacionarnos con outras persoas,
12:22
And when you choose to connect with others under stress,
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3321
12:25
you can create resilience.
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podemos crear resiliencia.
12:29
Now I wouldn't necessarily ask
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2675
Agora ben, eu non pediría necesariamente
12:32
for more stressful experiences in my life,
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3104
máis experiencias estresantes
na miña vida,
12:35
but this science has given me
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2305
pero esta ciencia deume
un novo enfoque sobre o estrés.
12:37
a whole new appreciation for stress.
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3772
12:41
Stress gives us access to our hearts.
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4434
O estrés dános acceso aos nosos corazóns.
12:45
The compassionate heart that finds joy and meaning
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3909
O corazón compasivo
que encontra alegría e significado
12:49
in connecting with others,
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1538
no contacto cos demais,
12:51
and yes, your pounding physical heart,
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e si, o noso corazón latexante,
12:54
working so hard to give you strength and energy,
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5265
que traballa tanto para darnos
forza e enerxía.
12:59
and when you choose to view stress in this way,
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3343
E cando decidimos ver o estrés
desta maneira,
13:03
you're not just getting better at stress,
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2512
non só estamos mellorando ante o estrés,
13:05
you're actually making a pretty profound statement.
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en realidade estamos facendo
unha declaración moi fonda.
13:09
You're saying that you can trust yourself
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Estamos dicindo
que confiamos en nós mesmos
13:12
to handle life's challenges,
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3035
para manexar os desafíos da vida.
13:15
and you're remembering that
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2925
E estamos recordando
que non temos que enfrontalos sós.
13:18
you don't have to face them alone.
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2711
13:21
Thank you.
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1382
Grazas.
13:22
(Applause)
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9281
(Aplausos)
13:32
Chris Anderson: This is kind of amazing, what you're telling us.
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2898
Chris Anderson:
É asombroso isto que nos dis.
13:34
It seems amazing to me that a belief about stress
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4105
Paréceme incrible
que a actitude cara ao estrés
poida marcar tanta diferenza
na esperanza de vida dunha persoa.
13:39
can make so much difference to someone's life expectancy.
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4483
13:43
How would that extend to advice,
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Como podemos aplicar iso a un consello,
13:45
like, if someone is making a lifestyle choice
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2085
se alguén está a elixir un estilo de vida
13:47
between, say, a stressful job and a non-stressful job,
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3961
entre, digamos, un traballo estresante
e un traballo sen estrés?
13:51
does it matter which way they go?
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Importa o camiño que se escolle?
13:54
It's equally wise to go for the stressful job
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É igual de sensato
escoller o traballo estresante
mentres ti creas
que podes manexalo dalgún xeito?
13:57
so long as you believe that you can handle it, in some sense?
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2501
Kelly McGonigal:
Si, o que sabemos con certeza
14:00
Kelly McGonigal: Yeah, and one thing we know for certain
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1854
14:01
is that chasing meaning is better for your health
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2730
é que é mellor para a saúde
buscar un significado
14:04
than trying to avoid discomfort.
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1604
que intentar evitar as molestias.
14:06
And so I would say that's really the best way to make decisions,
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E eu diría que realmente
a mellor maneira de tomar decisións,
14:09
is go after what it is that creates meaning in your life
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2747
é ir tras do que dá sentido á túa vida
e despois confiar en ti mesmo
para manexar o estrés que comporta.
14:11
and then trust yourself to handle the stress that follows.
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14:15
CA: Thank you so much, Kelly. It's pretty cool.
KM: Thank you.
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CA: Moitas grazas, Kelly. Moi interesante.
KM: Grazas.
14:17
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
Translated by Susana Brandariz
Reviewed by Servizo de Normalización Lingüística

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Kelly McGonigal - Health psychologist
Kelly McGonigal translates academic research into practical strategies for health, happiness and personal success.

Why you should listen

Stanford University psychologist Kelly McGonigal is a leader in the growing field of “science-help.” Through books, articles, courses and workshops, McGonigal works to help us understand and implement the latest scientific findings in psychology, neuroscience and medicine.

Straddling the worlds of research and practice, McGonigal holds positions in both the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the School of Medicine. Her most recent book, The Willpower Instinct, explores the latest research on motivation, temptation and procrastination, as well as what it takes to transform habits, persevere at challenges and make a successful change.

She is now researching a new book about the "upside of stress," which will look at both why stress is good for us, and what makes us good at stress. In her words: "The old understanding of stress as a unhelpful relic of our animal instincts is being replaced by the understanding that stress actually makes us socially smart -- it's what allows us to be fully human."

More profile about the speaker
Kelly McGonigal | Speaker | TED.com
THE ORIGINAL VIDEO ON TED.COM