When I work with lawyers, there’s a common myth that we all believe — stress is bad, and if we could only be “stress free,” we would all be more productive. It turns out, a moderate amount of stress is actually better for peak performance. The concept, known as Yerkes-Dodson Law, states that our performance can be tracked on a bell curve. As arousal increases, so does performance, but only to a point. Once arousal or stress level goes over the top of the peak of the bell-curve, performance decreases.
As lawyers, stress moderation is crucial. We can’t change or avoid daily stressors, but we can change our reaction to those stress-inducing situations. Additionally, we can limit the physiological impact of chronic stress.
Research indicates we can become better at stress. We can learn to manage the negative impact of stress on the body.
Change How You View Stress
Do you ever find yourself getting stressed about the fact that you are experiencing so much stress? An interesting body of research by a Stanford psychologist and researcher, Kelly McGonigal shows that how we think about stress can make a difference in whether stress is helpful or harmful in our decision making:
“The three most protective beliefs about stress are: 1) to view your body’s stress response as helpful, not debilitating – for example, to view stress as energy you can use; 2) to view yourself as able to handle, and even learn and grow from, the stress in your life; and 3) to view stress as something that everyone deals with, and not something that proves how uniquely screwed up you or your life is.”
So, the next time you’re experiencing stress, see if you can reframe it and view it as your body’s natural response to a difficult situation.
Find Genuine Social Support
It can be difficult for lawyers to find genuine, deep, meaningful friendships, especially at the workplace, where it can be very competitive. However, science is clear, strong social support increases our resilience and our ability to get through stressful or difficult situations.
Firdaus Dhabhar, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford, says, “For stress as well as negative emotions, one of the most powerful buffers is genuine social support.”
If you’re lacking genuine social support, regularly make small efforts to change this. For some people, this may be getting involved with the local church, and for others, it may be finding a local running group. Perhaps you have a friend that you’ve lost touch with that you can reach out to.
Meditate
When you’re in a stressful situation, the last thing that you may want to do is sit down to meditate. However, research study after research study indicates meditation can trigger the relaxation response in the body.
The relaxation response was first described more than 40 years ago by Harvard Medical School Professor Herbert Benson… The physiologic opposite of the well-documented fight-or-flight response, the relaxation response is elicited by practices including meditation, deep breathing, and prayer, and has been shown to be helpful in the treatment of stress-related disorders ranging from anxiety to hypertension.
These are just a few ways of managing the stresses of law practice better. I recommend choosing one and practicing it daily. That’s the most important key for stress management — consistent practice.
What tools have you found to be helpful in managing stress? Share your thoughts over on Twitter @jeena_cho or email [email protected].
This article previously appeared on Above the Law.