I definitely understand the need to add a mental fitness routine to our daily lives. It helps prepare our minds for everything and anything, but also helps us be the best version of ourselves. To know that there’s a better version of me that can be worked on with a mental fitness routine is definitely worth adding that to one’s regular routine. Thank you!
Till this day, I always saw stress as negative part of life but after watching this informative video by Dr. Thomas, stress is actually very beneficial to life and can be considered positive. Dealing with stress in life can prepare a person to perform better in life because through stress we build strength. I love that Dr. Thomas mentioned that we all have different ways of dealing with stress and I truly agree with that.
Professor Thomas, This is Rubbiya Azhar from your GCH-325-DL2 class at George Mason University. I really liked your TeDTalk as you go into how stress is a necessity in our lives and will eventually teach us to grow through difficulties. The more stress and obstacles that we can go through, the more we are growing our mindset and building a stronger mentality. The brain is a muscle and manging our stress and learning to adapt with it makes that muscle stronger. We must learn to hustle our stress in order to successfully approach everything else.
Dr. Thomas, What an amazing take on stress! My parents also encouraged me to train my mental fitness as a child. I remember my dad saying in kindergarten that nobody would remember the girl who got all As if I didn't do it again the next year. I have carried this mentality with me throughout my entire academic career and believe it allowed me to push myself to conquer my own "walls" each year. I totally see myself as one of the yellow chicks because I always try to use the stress that undoubtedly comes with every semester to motivate me to study hard and stay afloat. This way, I never feel unprepared walking into an exam/presentation or experience an exaggerated stress response.
Dr Thomas, I greatly enjoyed your blog and talk. Your discussion on theta state was very eye opening. The mental fitness training opens doors to a happier life. I find myself reaching theta state when I am running. As a high schooler, I ran 6 miles a day and would get lost in the beauty of the world. I would love to get back into it, to reach growth in my physical body and my working working memory capacity.
This Ted Talk overall was eye opening and made me realized how stress can be “good" for you at times. When Dr. Thomas mentioned “A bulletproof mind is just as important as a physical armor” I realized stress can help you learn challenges and become more mentally tough as it helps you focus on the issue at hand and improve your performance on mental task just like the example with yellow chicks swimming in the bucket of water. "Its not about managing stress but to learn to harness it and use it as a building block to our own mental fitness training program.” was another important point made by Dr. Thomas that helped me reflect on how I tend to react to stress and how I overcome it. Thank you for the Ted Talk!
Hi Dr. Thomas, This Ted Talk is excellent for a couple of reasons. A statement you made saying, “A bulletproof mind is just as important as a physical armor,” and it made me feel the importance of mental health. Just because a person has a strong physical exterior, doesn’t mean they should neglect what’s happening inside their mind. Also, the chicks study represents what any person goes through in life. Some fall under the pressure of too much stress, some might not even understand how to cope with it because they never experienced it. However, some learned how to harness their stress and are able to make it on the other side. The frontal cortex houses working memory, and when grows, it changes the way we react to stress. The way I grow my working memory or be in my theta, is listening to calming music. Music like rain and soothing waterfalls. On top of the music, I like to color in any coloring book. I haven’t done that in a while, and since you mentioned that it only takes 3 minutes to be in your theta, I plan to do it more often. Thank you for the Ted Talk !
Dr. Thomas- This ted talk was not only inspiring, but eye opening. The baby chick experiment is something that I will think about often when I am in state of stress. Stress is something that often times has a negative connotation, but if we use stress to strengthen our mental ability it can increase our productivity.
The beginning of this TED talk had me SHOOK! Never in my 23 years of living have I ever thought that stress could be beneficial to us as humans. However, I did like that Kate talked about how to get into theta state, whether that be meditating or even floating in a giant pool of salt. I usually meditate every other week, and i've seen that it definitely helps me with my mental health in the aspect of making myself feel more motivated throughout the week.
This is a very good way of looking at stress that many people do not consider. Its like my mom always said anything in excess is a bad thing but in moderation it is good. This concept not only applies to chocolate cake but also to stress. Having a completely stress free existence is not beneficial, it leaves a person unprepared to overcome challenges that separate them from their goals.
I appreciated your comment on how strict your parents were when you were young. You mentioned that they helped you see that reaching excellence on your first try would to lead to a failure to prepare. This reminded me of the classic saying "if you fail to plan you are planning to fail." Sometimes we think of failure as something that can discourage us but thinking about the illustration of the baby chicks, similar to stress, failure can prove beneficial at times, harnessing growth.
Dr. Thomas, I thoroughly enjoyed this TED talk. I have to admit, I didn't love hearing about the test with the ducks. However, I think the lesson that experiment taught is insightful and important. Many people see stress as a simple and shallow concept-- "stress is bad and needs to be always avoided." Stress is not always a bad thing, and the fact that the yellow group of chicks that were faced with some stress were able to handle it better later is something that more people should take into consideration. I've actually seen a real-life example of this. I know a family where the parents constantly tried to keep their young daughter completely shielded from any unpleasant or stressful life experience. They were doing this out of love, but they didn't realize what they were actually doing was setting her up for a tough time in the future when she inevitably faces stress and realizes she never learned how to deal with it. They'd been doing this since she was a child. She's now a grown, successful, and intelligent woman who, sadly, in times of stress, just turns hopeless and helpless.
I like the chicks study because it really conveys that we can be our strongest self when we experience a healthy amount of stress (opposed to too much stress or too little). It means it's good for us to be stressed at times, but equally as important for us to handle the stressors, and relax in order to grow our working memory capacity. I'm surprised that we would only need a few minutes a day to grow our working memory capacity, but that is really good to know. Our society tends to function around weeks of stressful days, and maybe one self-care day, when in reality self-care should be part of everyone's daily routines.
This talk has really broaden my perception of stress. I think oftentimes societal concepts of managing stress misguides us into thinking we need to eliminate stress, but rather we should learn how to harness it and use stress as the "building blocks of our own mental fitness training program." I now have a better understanding of how DHEAand how our bodies respond to stress. The explanation of the function of DHEA and the different states of our brain has taught me the utilization of DHEA and its potential to improve stress response. This was an enlightening TED talk!
I found this to be very helpful to me since stress is something I deal with on a daily basis. Learning how stress affects the body makes me understand my stress on a whole new level and find it so interesting! Hearing that stress can be beneficial to us gives me hope that one day I can find a way to deal with my stress in a healthy way so it can help me rather than be a factor that hurts me.
Dr. Thomas, Going into my last semester in college, I've already started feeling like the red chicks in the study. In order for me to deter from that uncontrolled stress that can lead to failure, the first thing I try to is to manage my time. This helps me create a plan of what to do and I feel less stress going into whatever that needs to be done. This talk reminded me that I need to be able to harness that stress now more than even into my working memory as I begin into my career. Finding theta state is something I've never heard of but I will now be using this to better myself. I only need 3 minutes, twice a day! I find that walking in nature and floating in any body of water to be soothing however it is too cold right now, so I need to work on finding more ways that are easy to add to my daily routine.
Dr. Thomas, I enjoy every bit of your talk, your lesson, and points mentioned in the video is very fascinating. How you put real-life stories to explain your points makes it even much easy to understand the video. I like how you used the story of the chick to explain about the different types of stress and how to use it to your own advantage. As a college student, I am very excited that you mentioned stress in a whole new way and how it doesn't have to always be negative but used to our advantage. I like how you mentioned that what works for someone , may not work for you. It makes me expand more on the things that may work for me and not someone else. I hope I would be able to 'teach my self to swim"
At first, I thought the anecdote that Dr.Thomas shared about her own life was too harsh. I didn't understand how what her parents did when she was a child could be helpful but as soon as she shared the story about the chicks I understood. Stress can be beneficial in helping you face different challenges in life. Calling stress mental fitness is definitely an accurate statement as stress in someway does make you stronger, it teaches you, it helps you learn. Stress helps you adapt and adjust based on past experiences. This was a great ted talk and I really enjoyed listening.
Stress adaptation is a new concept for me and gives great insight to how stress can be used in a positive way to build working memory capacity and mental fitness. I did not know about DHEA and I will utilize this new knowledge to appreciate a few minutes of time to try to find my 'Theta State' more often. I had recognized how my own life's challenges and adversity had built strength within, but it's so helpful to begin to understand that there is a science and mental health study that is associated with how adversity can result in a positive outcome. Mental health fitness training is a very intriguing subject and I will aspire to learn and research more about this subject.
Dr. Thomas, I've really enjoyed your talk as you gave many helpful important takeaways I can use in my personal life. As a senior in college, I am experiencing stress due to exams, homework, etc. Instead of seeing stress as a negative connotation it is important to use it as a motivating tool to get through stressful times. I enjoyed the baby chicks example because I expected that the red chicks, being constantly stressed, would have an advantage and not drown in the water, versus, the green chicks that never experienced stress would struggle. I can see that the yellow chicks being being happy and stressed to an extent, can be a perfect middle ground for motivation. In addition, I like how you mention the importance of mental fitness because many times mental health is overlooked or unaddressed. Mental should be considered just as important as physical fitness because, like you said, it can benefit your brain and emotional health. Thank you! Eric Kim
Dr. Thomas The story about the baby chicks was really interesting to me and I agree with the way stress is represented in this video. When I first transferred from a community college to a University, my stress levels were very high because I didn't know what to do and expect, but I asked around and made friends that helped me out. I like how levels of stress can help one grow because there always has to be a balance in order for growth to take place. This video did a great job of explaining how the right amount of stress can help the brain grow and become stronger. I also learned about DHEA and how it helps with the growth of our brain. I agree with the fact that everyone needs to have something that helps them relax and reach the theta state and I do this by going out to walks and in nature and it really relaxes my mind, which I do once or twice a week on weekends to just get myself to be ready for the weekdays. Practice does make perfect and this video states that in many ways, practicing to have a healthy mental health is as important as having a healthy physical health.
Dr. Thomas, I really liked the example you gave of yellow-painted chicks who were exposed to adequate amount of stress, due to which they could survive the longest. Also, when you explained about the impact of DHEA hormone, it made me aware of the science behind the advantage of relaxation. To have a regular practice of mindfulness/self-care is certainly important; I try to do my morning and evening meditation consistently everyday and it helps me a lot. I can feel the difference in my attitude and my energy throughout the day, if I miss my morning meditation.
Dr. Thomas, I liked how you opened up your speech with the phrase, "a bulletproof mind is just as important as physical armor." As a veteran, I am sure that you know all too well the importance of having both physical and mental strength. Your story on the baby chicks was quite interesting, yet it did not surprise me. As humans, we learn to adapt to stressors and are constantly under daily stresses in our modern world. We are similar to the yellow chicks, who had free time to roam in the pen, but occasionally faced a stressful challenge (such as being picked up by the lab technicians) but then being placed back down. It makes sense that when given obstacles and hardships in doses, it allows for the body to prepare for future stressors and be more resilient to similar circumstances both mentally and physically. I thought what you said about working memory capacity to be very fascinating. I am a psychology major, and find the functioning and anatomy of the prefrontal cortex to be very interesting. After watching this, I looked up ways to enter theta state! Thank you for the new information!
Dr Thomas, This TED talk was very interesting. A quote that really caught my attention was “A bullet proof mind is just as important as physical armor”. I don’t think I took this into consideration until I started my own journey into self-consciousness and self-awareness. Once I started this journey, I realized how incredibly important it is to have a strong and even-tempered mind. I also really enjoyed the analogy you used with the chicks that showed how managing and adapting to stress will not only help you function the best, but it was also help you respond and react better in everyday situations. Lastly, learning about DHEA and its job in assisting and helping your brain with stress response and working memory capacity was very informative. I have found that going on runs, working out, going in the sauna, and meditating are the activities I set aside time for because there is a “shift” and that “shift” puts my mind back on track and relieves stress. Thank you, Brianna Nascimento
Dr. Thomas, I enjoyed this TedTalk very much and immediately shared it with my family. I was extremely fascinated by the brain waves and the positive function DHEA has on someones mental fitness and development. I immediatley was able to remember and recognize times that I have been in Theta stage through both meditation and sound therapy. I love that I now know how to build up my mental fitness and and do activities to prolong my working memory. I feel as though many individuals think that just "sleeping it off" is beneficial, but in actuality it is so much more than that. I am very pleased with the knowledge I gained from this talk and I will certainly be sharing it with many close friends and family. -Monika Lategano
Dr. Thomas, Thank you for your service. I liked your military references as I come from a military family so when you said "a bullet proof mind is just as important as physical armor" it definitely resonated. I agree that learning training and preparation by not succeeding on the first try is essential for growth and learning to prepare for stressors. Your idea of not learning to manage stress, but rather learning to harness it is an interesting perspective. I do agree with it though, I think it is important that you use stress a fuel to grow stronger as opposed to suffering from it. You mentioned that a mental fitness program is helpful in doing so, and I too do yoga as a means of self help.
The introduction captured my attention, especially how your parents were trying to teach you a lesson that it is important to train and to prepare to reach excellency. This lesson also made me remember when my dad said, “practice makes perfect.” I now understand what DHEA and theta state is, and how it’s related to stress. I agree that people have different ways to achieve theta state. For me, I achieve theta state when I’m floating in a pool or sightseeing. It’s amazing how we only need 3 minutes twice a day to grow working memory capacity. I thought it would take at least an hour. It’s my first time hearing of a mental fitness training program, so I will definitely do more research about that because I want to be mentally strong and healthy. Overall, this was a great TED Talk and I learned that the right amount of stress is good for people.
The introduction was amazing, and opened my eyes towards the idea of stress being beneficial. The idea that different levels of stress can benefit us greatly is incredible, and I hope to learn more on how I can utilize stress as a tool in my everyday life. Seeing the different brain wavelengths, the structure of each one can also represent our physical body state! For example, the Beta wave is tight, just like your body is tightly wounded when going through a stressful event. Overall, I've learned that stress is not always a harmful state of mind, and once I learn how to reach my theta state, my mental health will improve greatly.
Dr. Thomas I too grew up with my mom who was also very strict! My mother never assigned me homework or assignments in the summer, but I did always go to summer school to in her words “stay ahead of the curb”. I think that the chick experiment was excellent because it was such a great metaphor for how stress can at times be over whelming but with out stress we would not really learn how to react because we would be too “protected” and when something goes wrong we could shut down (drown in the chicks case). Therefore, I appreciate how my mother did push me and at times and cause me to have stress, but she never smothered me to the point where I would shut down. To me it seems like in order to handle stress you must find the appropriate amount of stress in order to have balanced outcomes. I have never heard of DHEA, but I think it is incredible how our bodies can produce this and help us adapt to future stresses. After finishing watching this video my new challenge is how to reach my own Theta state in order to grow my working memory, to become smarter, and well prepared. Thanks for the amazing Tedtalk!
Dr,. Thomas, a person who exercises stress management tends to have lower levels of anxiety when going into new projects. I relate to this ted talk because I personally suffer from stress and learning how to manage stress allows a person to be more productive and achieve more especially in school. An interesting point was brought up when you stated that "It's not really about managing stress it's about learning how to harness it." people tend to think of stress as a problem that they need to avoid when in actuality managing stress is more effective than avoiding it and I learned this by accepting stressful moments and managing it through something I like doing like singing or yoga. taking care of yourself can definitely change the way you think and feel.
The idea of building one's mental fitness was a concept that never really occurred to me until you brought up the baby chick experiment. Although stress is mostly seen as a negative side effect, being able to learn and adapt through stressful situations can actually improve our mental health and allow us to complete our tasks compared to being overwhelmed with stress or being completely relieved of it. Learning about the theta state has also shown me how to improve upon my mental fitness training in order to grasp and understand my mental wellbeing. Hopefully, I'll be able to find my own methods to reach this state of mind thanks to this course.
Building mental fitness is something I strive to do for myself, and with those I work with. As a Crisis Counselor, I can be with people at their lowest of moments. After having a chance to vent and get whatever they need to off their chest, I lead into asking them what makes them feel good: something that puts them in a flow state and gives them relief (Theta Waves). As you said, this is bioindividual, and often times I give a list of 99 coping activities that can help them achieve this, and I ask them to look for something that can help them. I also appreciate & agree with your mentioning of Fmr. Secretary Mattis. It is absolutely true that the brain is equally, if not more, important to being equipped to handle the struggles of life.
Dr. Thomas, I really enjoyed your TED Talk. The study you shared about the chicks, exposing them to stress stimuli, and how their response to a stressful situation was very interesting. I’ve never thought about stress adaptation and that stress can train us for dealing with stressful situations. I was feeling very stressed out last week, so this week I decided to start exercising in the morning which I feel has really helped me. I’ve never heard of being in Theta state, but I hope to find an activity that helps me achieve it, so I can regularly add it to my routine .
Hi Dr. Thomas, I really enjoyed watching this video because I felt like you gave a unique take on stress. My favorite part of the video was the fact that each person needs their own way to handle stress. Just like each person studies differently, each person needs to be able to take care of themselves differently. In particular, the idea of making this wellbeing act a routine is super important. By turning wellbeing into something similar to brushing your teeth or showering, you are prioritizing long-term health. I loved the idea of building “armor” for the Battle of Stress. Another topic I liked from the video was the fact that you discussed how important stress is. In my personal life I have noticed that stress is so unavoidable and it is so important to be able to handle it. When I see people who cannot handle stress I genuinely feel like it is just unrealistic because stress is a huge part of life. I think education like your video is a great way to understand how to handle stress and take care of yourself.
Dr. Thomas, First of all, thank you for service. I really enjoyed watching this video because I think that stress is often referred to as a negative feeling but if it's harnessed like you mentioned, it can bring rewarding results. Another important message I found useful in this video is your mentioning of "bio-individuality." I agree that it's important that people find and commit to doing that one activity that helps them find that "ahhh" feeling.
Dr. Thomas, I very much enjoyed your talk, it brought up so many interesting points. The study with the chicks being introduced to different stress levels and seeing how each group reacted was very interesting, I did not expect that outcome. I related to this talk a lot because as a college student I face stress almost everyday. Whether it is paper, exam, even just time management, I am almost always stressed. It intrigued me that being able to harness that stress grows into my working memory with growing my mental fitness which could give me that ability to focus when in those situations even in everyday life. Thank you!
I really enjoyed the TED talk, not only was it interesting listening to it but a lot of knowledge has been acquired from this talk. I work for a customer service agency so stress is something I experience daily. I have always seen stress as a bad thing, this video enlightened me on how to respond to stress in a good way. Also I just learnt a new information on how you only need 3 minutes of theta state twice a day and you are good to go. Stress happens unknowingly Our working memory capacity indeed changes the way we respond to stress and help us react much better to it. First time hearing the word DHEA If I am right, DHEA is entire job is to grow our brain to better respond to stress. This is a good talk and thanks for sharing.
This is a great video about how our body responds to stress. We can learn from Dr. Thomas’s example of her summer assignment that if we think we reach excellence in the first try, we don’t understand what it is to train. It was amazing how she was able to incorporate her childhood learning to her marine corps training. The chick experiment also gives us a very important lesson. Stress can teach us to swim. It tells us not to avoid or manage but to learn to harness the stress and use challenge and adversity as the building blocks of our mental fitness. Understanding how we are wired can help us change the way respond to stress. As we grow our working memory - we grow our mental fitness. We don’t always know what’s happening and how our body is responding to stress stimuli. The function of DHEA [ Dehydroepiandrosterone ] and how it works the state of our brain waves and how DHEA increases our ability to respond to stress. Mental fitness makes every aspect of our day-to-day life better. Mental fitness is equally if not more important as physical fitness.
The examples on both the summer assignment and the chick experiment really brought the experience of stress into a new perspective for me. Rather than viewing it as a completely negative thing that we should avoid, I have come to realize that it can indeed be very useful in teaching us how to overcome obstacles and in turn become more resilient overall; like the yellow chicks when put into that bucket of water. It is all about achieving balance between both stress and relaxation; whereby experiencing some stressors throughout our lives can help us to better respond to it in the future with the help of DHEA, and being able to mindfully engage with self-care so that we can both improve our working memory capacity and give our bodies an opportunity to recover. Overall, it is important to keep in mind that just like with physical health, we must also train and care for our brain as it is one of the most important components in our overall wellbeing.
I found this to be a very interesting discussion regarding having a healthy amount of stress in everyday life. The experiment with the chicks was also a highlight explaining the effects of too little and too much adversity. Often times, people view any stressful situation as negative, however I have learned that there should be a balance between too much and too little stress.
It was very interesting to see how stress can be beneficial in different ways. I think people always associate stress with negative concepts, but based on this TED Talk, I can see that there are a few good things like the things our body can learn from stress. I really enjoyed the example of the school cafeteria because I think that is something we have all gone through, and I learned that our body learns from that to better prepare ourselves for next time.
Dr. Thomas, I found your use of the baby chicks story very helpful to understand how the mind and body work under stress. Bringing in a real life example, allows visualization and comparison in my everyday life. It made me reflect on what I consider to be my "stressors" which may make me stronger mentally. I thought back to situations at work, where previously I felt very stressed under and now after a couple months feel more comfortable with. I previously had never heard of the hormone DHEA and it's use in mental fitness. I found myself struggling to determine what I consider to be my theta stage although. There is times where I will zone out and listen to music or when I work out I feel as though I may hit theta, but I am uncertain when I truly reach theta. This is something I feel as though I could reflect more on and work into my daily routine. Great talk! Taylor Dauer
Dr. Thomas, I found this talk very interesting. It is very intriguing how the yellow chicks were the ones to float. I feel like a red chick sometimes with things being piled up with school, a job, and having a baby. Sometimes, when I am struggling with something I cry and feel overwhelmed. I need to harness stress in a way where I can start growing my memory. Just how physical fitness is needed to be healthy, I truly believe that mental fitness is much needed as well. I did not know that DHEA helped with brain growth. Taking walks at the park with my baby helps me with stress.
Dr. Thomas I'd never heard that being in Theta helps grow your working memory until I watched your ted talk. I have heard that meditation is helpful for every day life bit it is interesting to know the specifics of how it works and why it works. I think that using meditation can be especially helpful as a full time student, where I am constantly asked to think outside the box or to apply different theories to everyday life. I am not always very consistent with my meditation but maybe this can give me the motivation to really incorporate it into my everyday life.
Brutal test! But the point is well-taken. Stress is stimuli, and a certain amount of stimuli is necessary for growth. The trick is to know how to harness stress through deliberate, measured challenges. It surprises me that entering that theta state for three minutes twice a day is all it takes for growth! I'm interested to explore what ritualistic activity might work for me.
Dr: Thomas I want to first thank you for doing this Ted talk, it was very useful. Also I would like to thank you for your service. My fiancé served ten years in the marines, I know for sure that you need physical and mental health to be able to survive a war. I found useful your reference of the chicks. I was very surprised about the results I didn't expect the green chicks to die first. It makes sense on how been over stressed can make you lose hope, and that's what I think happened to the chicks. I totally agree with your statement that everyone should find time too don a mental fitness, I will try to do one myself.
I really found it interesting on how every part related and relevant to each other. The first part that interested me was the example of the baby chicks, because at first thought you would believe that the group that lived life comfortably would perform the strongest, but in the end it was the chicks that dealt with some adversity and stress that performed the best. It further proved your point of the importance of having some stress in your life to gain the hormone DHEA to help you build strength towards stressors in the future. Finally, I really found theta state as the most interesting part of the presentation and I definitely want to try and explore to find what is my theta state to grow in dealing with stress.
Hi Dr. Thomas, Great ted talk! It was interesting to listen to how the brain grows after experiencing stress. The experiment with the baby chicks was something I hadn’t heard of and it is interesting to look at the results. Too much stress can overwhelm and too little stress makes us unprepared for life. Finding that middle ground is difficult but is important for our mental health overall. For me, the activity that relieves me of stress would be painting. Once I’m in a state of flow, I don’t have to think about where to put colors or how to create the image I want, I just paint. It isn’t difficult for me to get in that zone either. But i do think its necessary to have that activity that helps us take a step back and just breathe.
Dr. Thomas, This was a very interesting TedTalk to watch. It was eye opening to see how the different levels of stress affected the chicks. It is interesting to think about how this would apply to our society. There are a lot of stressors in our modern society for young adults like myself, such as work, school, and bills. however, it was nice to learn that there are ways to overcome stressors and if I take a little time, I can defeat such stressors.
We all do need some stress in our lives to be able to train ourselves to deal with stress and challenging situations. DHEA was a very fascinating mention you made; I definitely want to learn more about it. Theta state sounds amazing and I can’t wait to learn more about this and learning memory capacity. Overall, very interesting video that has sparked my interests even more, thank you!
After watching the TED talk by Dr. Thomas, I feel more confident in my knowledge of stress management and harnessing stress for growth. I enjoyed listening and reflecting on training, the difference in brain waves, and the chick study. I was interested to learn about the different sections of the brain, including the frontal cortex, and how they work together. I enjoyed the illustration on brain waves: beta, alpha, theta, and delta. Prior to watching this video, I had no knowledge of DHEA. I learned DHEA is a hormone released into the blood stream after an individual has experienced stress to better prepare for that stressor in the future. I was interested in the chicken study and the theory of stress adaptation. It was a given that the red chickens would be the first to decease because of their overwhelming exposure to stress. However, I was intrigued to learn that the second group to decease was the green chickens. Because this select group of chicks had not been exposed to stressors, I was determined that they would be the last chicks alive. Quotes that stuck with me from the TED talk are “stress can teach us to swim” and “a bulletproof mind is just as important as physical armor.”
Hi Dr. Thomas, I really enjoyed this TED talk and learned a lot of new interesting things that I didn't previously know. I really enjoyed the different perspectives and examples that were given throughout the video but they all tied to the same topic, mental fitness. The chick study that you mentioned really interested me. I didn't think that the green painted chicks were going to be the second to drown. However, I have heard several people say a little stress is actually good. I really enjoyed the part about you saying it is not about managing stress, it is about using it as building blocks for mental fitness. I had never heard of DHEA until this TED talk. I think this part of the video was the most interesting to me. I want to try and increase my mental fitness and trying to find something that puts me in the theta state is something I would like to focus on. I think I may give meditation or yoga a try.
Dr. Thomas - your talk was enlightening on several fronts. First, the baby chick experiment reinforced a personal belief that having some stress or challenge is useful in prepping the mind (and body) for future stressful encounters. Perhaps it could be analogous to building muscle where exposing ourselves to incremental "damage" builds the resilience needed to face some of life's tougher adversities. It's also interesting to perhaps compare the green chicks to the public stereotype of millennials as not being wired for tough experiences, a likely result of the "snowplow parents" who have attempted to remove any and all obstacles for their children. I think it was Brene Brown who also talked about the need for the introduction of some adversity into our lives. It's about resilience, right? The second area that was personally interesting to me was the discussion of the importance of various brain waves from beta to delta, and the role of theta waves in the mental training aspect of our lives. Having always been a big fan of the "flow state", I mistakenly thought that this is where resilience is built (alpha waves, right?), but hearing from you that theta is the key reaffirmed the power of yoga, meditation and mindfulness in general. Maybe it's time to revisit Calm and the local yoga studio for more than just an opportunity to chill out. Thanks for this. - Michal G.
Dr. Thomas, I thought this was a very interesting perspective on stress, and I strongly agree with it. Stress is something that seems to be unavoidable in life no matter what kind, so if you don't learn how to harness it for growth then your whole life could be in a state similar to that of the red chicks that you mentioned. We all need to learn how to catch a break and figure out how to reach theta state for ourselves. I too am a fan of yoga and I have been able to reach theta state usually during the last pose (corpse pose/Savasana). It was new information to me that as little as 3 minutes of theta state twice a day can increase working memory capacity and I found it exciting because that is a very small amount of time to commit to yourself each day with long term benefits. Something I also thought about while listening to your talk was how stress is essential when it comes to muscle growth in regard to weight lifting. If you don't put enough stress on your body/muscles you will never see any growth. In another sense it also is a perfect example of how quickly the body is capable of adapting to stress. One week ten pound dumbbells are heavy and two weeks later they are too light and you move up to 15 pounds. I think its a good analogy to your talk! -Natalie Kiesel
Most people perceive stress as a negative aspect of life. However, you contradict that belief by stating that instead of managing stress, one should learn to harness it to build one’s mental fitness, which I think is a motivational viewpoint that more should consider. Additionally, the example you provided regarding the chicks displays that stress and how we overcome it make us resilient.
I was very shocked that the yellow chicks were the ones to survive the longest but it makes sense since if you never face adversity, when you come across a problem, you won't know how to respond. This just shows that a little stress is necessary to fully adapt to one's environment. I have never heard of DHEA until this presentation, but I am looking forward to doing more research about it. If DHEA is only released in theta state but also after stress, I assume this would mean that coping mechanisms are very important in order to reach the theta state to have DHEA released.
Dr. Kate Hendricks Thomas I watched your great TEDx Talk and you talked about a "baby chicks" [painted one of three colors - green, yellow & red] study about stress as evidence of a statement by General Mattis as being "backed by science" I have searched and have yet been able to find this study. Can you please point me to the study? Thanks!
'Imagine you walk into your school cafeteria and you don't know if any of your friends will be there." I was the quiet kid at school. I didn't have any friends in elementary, middle or high school.
I definitely understand the need to add a mental fitness routine to our daily lives. It helps prepare our minds for everything and anything, but also helps us be the best version of ourselves. To know that there’s a better version of me that can be worked on with a mental fitness routine is definitely worth adding that to one’s regular routine. Thank you!
Till this day, I always saw stress as negative part of life but after watching this informative video by Dr. Thomas, stress is actually very beneficial to life and can be considered positive. Dealing with stress in life can prepare a person to perform better in life because through stress we build strength. I love that Dr. Thomas mentioned that we all have different ways of dealing with stress and I truly agree with that.
Professor Thomas,
This is Rubbiya Azhar from your GCH-325-DL2 class at George Mason University. I really liked your TeDTalk as you go into how stress is a necessity in our lives and will eventually teach us to grow through difficulties.
The more stress and obstacles that we can go through, the more we are growing our mindset and building a stronger mentality. The brain is a muscle and manging our stress and learning to adapt with it makes that muscle stronger. We must learn to hustle our stress in order to successfully approach everything else.
Dr. Thomas,
What an amazing take on stress! My parents also encouraged me to train my mental fitness as a child. I remember my dad saying in kindergarten that nobody would remember the girl who got all As if I didn't do it again the next year. I have carried this mentality with me throughout my entire academic career and believe it allowed me to push myself to conquer my own "walls" each year. I totally see myself as one of the yellow chicks because I always try to use the stress that undoubtedly comes with every semester to motivate me to study hard and stay afloat. This way, I never feel unprepared walking into an exam/presentation or experience an exaggerated stress response.
Dr Thomas,
I greatly enjoyed your blog and talk. Your discussion on theta state was very eye opening. The mental fitness training opens doors to a happier life. I find myself reaching theta state when I am running. As a high schooler, I ran 6 miles a day and would get lost in the beauty of the world. I would love to get back into it, to reach growth in my physical body and my working working memory capacity.
This Ted Talk overall was eye opening and made me realized how stress can be “good" for you at times. When Dr. Thomas mentioned “A bulletproof mind is just as important as a physical armor” I realized stress can help you learn challenges and become more mentally tough as it helps you focus on the issue at hand and improve your performance on mental task just like the example with yellow chicks swimming in the bucket of water. "Its not about managing stress but to learn to harness it and use it as a building block to our own mental fitness training program.” was another important point made by Dr. Thomas that helped me reflect on how I tend to react to stress and how I overcome it.
Thank you for the Ted Talk!
Hi Dr. Thomas,
This Ted Talk is excellent for a couple of reasons. A statement you made saying, “A bulletproof mind is just as important as a physical armor,” and it made me feel the importance of mental health. Just because a person has a strong physical exterior, doesn’t mean they should neglect what’s happening inside their mind. Also, the chicks study represents what any person goes through in life. Some fall under the pressure of too much stress, some might not even understand how to cope with it because they never experienced it. However, some learned how to harness their stress and are able to make it on the other side. The frontal cortex houses working memory, and when grows, it changes the way we react to stress. The way I grow my working memory or be in my theta, is listening to calming music. Music like rain and soothing waterfalls. On top of the music, I like to color in any coloring book. I haven’t done that in a while, and since you mentioned that it only takes 3 minutes to be in your theta, I plan to do it more often.
Thank you for the Ted Talk !
Dr. Thomas- This ted talk was not only inspiring, but eye opening. The baby chick experiment is something that I will think about often when I am in state of stress. Stress is something that often times has a negative connotation, but if we use stress to strengthen our mental ability it can increase our productivity.
The beginning of this TED talk had me SHOOK! Never in my 23 years of living have I ever thought that stress could be beneficial to us as humans. However, I did like that Kate talked about how to get into theta state, whether that be meditating or even floating in a giant pool of salt. I usually meditate every other week, and i've seen that it definitely helps me with my mental health in the aspect of making myself feel more motivated throughout the week.
This is a very good way of looking at stress that many people do not consider. Its like my mom always said anything in excess is a bad thing but in moderation it is good. This concept not only applies to chocolate cake but also to stress. Having a completely stress free existence is not beneficial, it leaves a person unprepared to overcome challenges that separate them from their goals.
I appreciated your comment on how strict your parents were when you were young. You mentioned that they helped you see that reaching excellence on your first try would to lead to a failure to prepare. This reminded me of the classic saying "if you fail to plan you are planning to fail." Sometimes we think of failure as something that can discourage us but thinking about the illustration of the baby chicks, similar to stress, failure can prove beneficial at times, harnessing growth.
Dr. Thomas,
I thoroughly enjoyed this TED talk. I have to admit, I didn't love hearing about the test with the ducks. However, I think the lesson that experiment taught is insightful and important. Many people see stress as a simple and shallow concept-- "stress is bad and needs to be always avoided." Stress is not always a bad thing, and the fact that the yellow group of chicks that were faced with some stress were able to handle it better later is something that more people should take into consideration. I've actually seen a real-life example of this. I know a family where the parents constantly tried to keep their young daughter completely shielded from any unpleasant or stressful life experience. They were doing this out of love, but they didn't realize what they were actually doing was setting her up for a tough time in the future when she inevitably faces stress and realizes she never learned how to deal with it. They'd been doing this since she was a child. She's now a grown, successful, and intelligent woman who, sadly, in times of stress, just turns hopeless and helpless.
I like the chicks study because it really conveys that we can be our strongest self when we experience a healthy amount of stress (opposed to too much stress or too little). It means it's good for us to be stressed at times, but equally as important for us to handle the stressors, and relax in order to grow our working memory capacity. I'm surprised that we would only need a few minutes a day to grow our working memory capacity, but that is really good to know. Our society tends to function around weeks of stressful days, and maybe one self-care day, when in reality self-care should be part of everyone's daily routines.
This talk has really broaden my perception of stress. I think oftentimes societal concepts of managing stress misguides us into thinking we need to eliminate stress, but rather we should learn how to harness it and use stress as the "building blocks of our own mental fitness training program." I now have a better understanding of how DHEAand how our bodies respond to stress. The explanation of the function of DHEA and the different states of our brain has taught me the utilization of DHEA and its potential to improve stress response. This was an enlightening TED talk!
I found this to be very helpful to me since stress is something I deal with on a daily basis. Learning how stress affects the body makes me understand my stress on a whole new level and find it so interesting! Hearing that stress can be beneficial to us gives me hope that one day I can find a way to deal with my stress in a healthy way so it can help me rather than be a factor that hurts me.
Dr. Thomas,
Going into my last semester in college, I've already started feeling like the red chicks in the study. In order for me to deter from that uncontrolled stress that can lead to failure, the first thing I try to is to manage my time. This helps me create a plan of what to do and I feel less stress going into whatever that needs to be done. This talk reminded me that I need to be able to harness that stress now more than even into my working memory as I begin into my career. Finding theta state is something I've never heard of but I will now be using this to better myself. I only need 3 minutes, twice a day! I find that walking in nature and floating in any body of water to be soothing however it is too cold right now, so I need to work on finding more ways that are easy to add to my daily routine.
Dr. Thomas,
I enjoy every bit of your talk, your lesson, and points mentioned in the video is very fascinating. How you put real-life stories to explain your points makes it even much easy to understand the video. I like how you used the story of the chick to explain about the different types of stress and how to use it to your own advantage. As a college student, I am very excited that you mentioned stress in a whole new way and how it doesn't have to always be negative but used to our advantage. I like how you mentioned that what works for someone , may not work for you. It makes me expand more on the things that may work for me and not someone else. I hope I would be able to 'teach my self to swim"
At first, I thought the anecdote that Dr.Thomas shared about her own life was too harsh. I didn't understand how what her parents did when she was a child could be helpful but as soon as she shared the story about the chicks I understood. Stress can be beneficial in helping you face different challenges in life. Calling stress mental fitness is definitely an accurate statement as stress in someway does make you stronger, it teaches you, it helps you learn. Stress helps you adapt and adjust based on past experiences. This was a great ted talk and I really enjoyed listening.
Stress adaptation is a new concept for me and gives great insight to how stress can be used in a positive way to build working memory capacity and mental fitness. I did not know about DHEA and I will utilize this new knowledge to appreciate a few minutes of time to try to find my 'Theta State' more often. I had recognized how my own life's challenges and adversity had built strength within, but it's so helpful to begin to understand that there is a science and mental health study that is associated with how adversity can result in a positive outcome. Mental health fitness training is a very intriguing subject and I will aspire to learn and research more about this subject.
Dr. Thomas,
I've really enjoyed your talk as you gave many helpful important takeaways I can use in my personal life. As a senior in college, I am experiencing stress due to exams, homework, etc. Instead of seeing stress as a negative connotation it is important to use it as a motivating tool to get through stressful times. I enjoyed the baby chicks example because I expected that the red chicks, being constantly stressed, would have an advantage and not drown in the water, versus, the green chicks that never experienced stress would struggle. I can see that the yellow chicks being being happy and stressed to an extent, can be a perfect middle ground for motivation. In addition, I like how you mention the importance of mental fitness because many times mental health is overlooked or unaddressed. Mental should be considered just as important as physical fitness because, like you said, it can benefit your brain and emotional health.
Thank you!
Eric Kim
Dr. Thomas
The story about the baby chicks was really interesting to me and I agree with the way stress is represented in this video. When I first transferred from a community college to a University, my stress levels were very high because I didn't know what to do and expect, but I asked around and made friends that helped me out. I like how levels of stress can help one grow because there always has to be a balance in order for growth to take place. This video did a great job of explaining how the right amount of stress can help the brain grow and become stronger. I also learned about DHEA and how it helps with the growth of our brain. I agree with the fact that everyone needs to have something that helps them relax and reach the theta state and I do this by going out to walks and in nature and it really relaxes my mind, which I do once or twice a week on weekends to just get myself to be ready for the weekdays. Practice does make perfect and this video states that in many ways, practicing to have a healthy mental health is as important as having a healthy physical health.
Dr. Thomas,
I really liked the example you gave of yellow-painted chicks who were exposed to adequate amount of stress, due to which they could survive the longest. Also, when you explained about the impact of DHEA hormone, it made me aware of the science behind the advantage of relaxation. To have a regular practice of mindfulness/self-care is certainly important; I try to do my morning and evening meditation consistently everyday and it helps me a lot. I can feel the difference in my attitude and my energy throughout the day, if I miss my morning meditation.
Dr. Thomas,
I liked how you opened up your speech with the phrase, "a bulletproof mind is just as important as physical armor." As a veteran, I am sure that you know all too well the importance of having both physical and mental strength. Your story on the baby chicks was quite interesting, yet it did not surprise me. As humans, we learn to adapt to stressors and are constantly under daily stresses in our modern world. We are similar to the yellow chicks, who had free time to roam in the pen, but occasionally faced a stressful challenge (such as being picked up by the lab technicians) but then being placed back down. It makes sense that when given obstacles and hardships in doses, it allows for the body to prepare for future stressors and be more resilient to similar circumstances both mentally and physically. I thought what you said about working memory capacity to be very fascinating. I am a psychology major, and find the functioning and anatomy of the prefrontal cortex to be very interesting. After watching this, I looked up ways to enter theta state! Thank you for the new information!
Dr Thomas,
This TED talk was very interesting. A quote that really caught my attention was “A bullet proof mind is just as important as physical armor”. I don’t think I took this into consideration until I started my own journey into self-consciousness and self-awareness. Once I started this journey, I realized how incredibly important it is to have a strong and even-tempered mind. I also really enjoyed the analogy you used with the chicks that showed how managing and adapting to stress will not only help you function the best, but it was also help you respond and react better in everyday situations. Lastly, learning about DHEA and its job in assisting and helping your brain with stress response and working memory capacity was very informative. I have found that going on runs, working out, going in the sauna, and meditating are the activities I set aside time for because there is a “shift” and that “shift” puts my mind back on track and relieves stress.
Thank you,
Brianna Nascimento
Dr. Thomas,
I enjoyed this TedTalk very much and immediately shared it with my family. I was extremely fascinated by the brain waves and the positive function DHEA has on someones mental fitness and development. I immediatley was able to remember and recognize times that I have been in Theta stage through both meditation and sound therapy. I love that I now know how to build up my mental fitness and and do activities to prolong my working memory. I feel as though many individuals think that just "sleeping it off" is beneficial, but in actuality it is so much more than that. I am very pleased with the knowledge I gained from this talk and I will certainly be sharing it with many close friends and family.
-Monika Lategano
Dr. Thomas,
Thank you for your service. I liked your military references as I come from a military family so when you said "a bullet proof mind is just as important as physical armor" it definitely resonated. I agree that learning training and preparation by not succeeding on the first try is essential for growth and learning to prepare for stressors. Your idea of not learning to manage stress, but rather learning to harness it is an interesting perspective. I do agree with it though, I think it is important that you use stress a fuel to grow stronger as opposed to suffering from it. You mentioned that a mental fitness program is helpful in doing so, and I too do yoga as a means of self help.
The introduction captured my attention, especially how your parents were trying to teach you a lesson that it is important to train and to prepare to reach excellency. This lesson also made me remember when my dad said, “practice makes perfect.” I now understand what DHEA and theta state is, and how it’s related to stress. I agree that people have different ways to achieve theta state. For me, I achieve theta state when I’m floating in a pool or sightseeing. It’s amazing how we only need 3 minutes twice a day to grow working memory capacity. I thought it would take at least an hour. It’s my first time hearing of a mental fitness training program, so I will definitely do more research about that because I want to be mentally strong and healthy. Overall, this was a great TED Talk and I learned that the right amount of stress is good for people.
The introduction was amazing, and opened my eyes towards the idea of stress being beneficial. The idea that different levels of stress can benefit us greatly is incredible, and I hope to learn more on how I can utilize stress as a tool in my everyday life. Seeing the different brain wavelengths, the structure of each one can also represent our physical body state! For example, the Beta wave is tight, just like your body is tightly wounded when going through a stressful event. Overall, I've learned that stress is not always a harmful state of mind, and once I learn how to reach my theta state, my mental health will improve greatly.
Dr. Thomas
I too grew up with my mom who was also very strict! My mother never assigned me homework or assignments in the summer, but I did always go to summer school to in her words “stay ahead of the curb”. I think that the chick experiment was excellent because it was such a great metaphor for how stress can at times be over whelming but with out stress we would not really learn how to react because we would be too “protected” and when something goes wrong we could shut down (drown in the chicks case). Therefore, I appreciate how my mother did push me and at times and cause me to have stress, but she never smothered me to the point where I would shut down. To me it seems like in order to handle stress you must find the appropriate amount of stress in order to have balanced outcomes. I have never heard of DHEA, but I think it is incredible how our bodies can produce this and help us adapt to future stresses. After finishing watching this video my new challenge is how to reach my own Theta state in order to grow my working memory, to become smarter, and well prepared. Thanks for the amazing Tedtalk!
Dr,. Thomas,
a person who exercises stress management tends to have lower levels of anxiety when going into new projects. I relate to this ted talk because I personally suffer from stress and learning how to manage stress allows a person to be more productive and achieve more especially in school.
An interesting point was brought up when you stated that "It's not really about managing stress it's about learning how to harness it."
people tend to think of stress as a problem that they need to avoid when in actuality managing stress is more effective than avoiding it and I learned this by accepting stressful moments and managing it through something I like doing like singing or yoga. taking care of yourself can definitely change the way you think and feel.
The idea of building one's mental fitness was a concept that never really occurred to me until you brought up the baby chick experiment. Although stress is mostly seen as a negative side effect, being able to learn and adapt through stressful situations can actually improve our mental health and allow us to complete our tasks compared to being overwhelmed with stress or being completely relieved of it.
Learning about the theta state has also shown me how to improve upon my mental fitness training in order to grasp and understand my mental wellbeing. Hopefully, I'll be able to find my own methods to reach this state of mind thanks to this course.
Building mental fitness is something I strive to do for myself, and with those I work with. As a Crisis Counselor, I can be with people at their lowest of moments. After having a chance to vent and get whatever they need to off their chest, I lead into asking them what makes them feel good: something that puts them in a flow state and gives them relief (Theta Waves). As you said, this is bioindividual, and often times I give a list of 99 coping activities that can help them achieve this, and I ask them to look for something that can help them. I also appreciate & agree with your mentioning of Fmr. Secretary Mattis. It is absolutely true that the brain is equally, if not more, important to being equipped to handle the struggles of life.
Dr. Thomas,
I really enjoyed your TED Talk. The study you shared about the chicks, exposing them to stress stimuli, and how their response to a stressful situation was very interesting. I’ve never thought about stress adaptation and that stress can train us for dealing with stressful situations. I was feeling very stressed out last week, so this week I decided to start exercising in the morning which I feel has really helped me. I’ve never heard of being in Theta state, but I hope to find an activity that helps me achieve it, so I can regularly add it to my routine
.
Hi Dr. Thomas, I really enjoyed watching this video because I felt like you gave a unique take on stress. My favorite part of the video was the fact that each person needs their own way to handle stress. Just like each person studies differently, each person needs to be able to take care of themselves differently. In particular, the idea of making this wellbeing act a routine is super important. By turning wellbeing into something similar to brushing your teeth or showering, you are prioritizing long-term health. I loved the idea of building “armor” for the Battle of Stress. Another topic I liked from the video was the fact that you discussed how important stress is. In my personal life I have noticed that stress is so unavoidable and it is so important to be able to handle it. When I see people who cannot handle stress I genuinely feel like it is just unrealistic because stress is a huge part of life. I think education like your video is a great way to understand how to handle stress and take care of yourself.
Dr. Thomas,
First of all, thank you for service. I really enjoyed watching this video because I think that stress is often referred to as a negative feeling but if it's harnessed like you mentioned, it can bring rewarding results. Another important message I found useful in this video is your mentioning of "bio-individuality." I agree that it's important that people find and commit to doing that one activity that helps them find that "ahhh" feeling.
Dr. Thomas,
I very much enjoyed your talk, it brought up so many interesting points. The study with the chicks being introduced to different stress levels and seeing how each group reacted was very interesting, I did not expect that outcome. I related to this talk a lot because as a college student I face stress almost everyday. Whether it is paper, exam, even just time management, I am almost always stressed. It intrigued me that being able to harness that stress grows into my working memory with growing my mental fitness which could give me that ability to focus when in those situations even in everyday life. Thank you!
I really enjoyed the TED talk, not only was it interesting listening to it but a lot of knowledge has been acquired from this talk. I work for a customer service agency so stress is something I experience daily. I have always seen stress as a bad thing, this video enlightened me on how to respond to stress in a good way. Also I just learnt a new information on how you only need 3 minutes of theta state twice a day and you are good to go.
Stress happens unknowingly Our working memory capacity indeed changes the way we respond to stress and help us react much better to it. First time hearing the word DHEA If I am right, DHEA is entire job is to grow our brain to better respond to stress. This is a good talk and thanks for sharing.
This is a great video about how our body responds to stress. We can learn from Dr. Thomas’s example of her summer assignment that if we think we reach excellence in the first try, we don’t understand what it is to train. It was amazing how she was able to incorporate her childhood learning to her marine corps training.
The chick experiment also gives us a very important lesson. Stress can teach us to swim. It tells us not to avoid or manage but to learn to harness the stress and use challenge and adversity as the building blocks of our mental fitness. Understanding how we are wired can help us change the way respond to stress. As we grow our working memory - we grow our mental fitness.
We don’t always know what’s happening and how our body is responding to stress stimuli.
The function of DHEA [ Dehydroepiandrosterone ] and how it works the state of our brain waves and how DHEA increases our ability to respond to stress. Mental fitness makes every aspect of our day-to-day life better.
Mental fitness is equally if not more important as physical fitness.
The examples on both the summer assignment and the chick experiment really brought the experience of stress into a new perspective for me. Rather than viewing it as a completely negative thing that we should avoid, I have come to realize that it can indeed be very useful in teaching us how to overcome obstacles and in turn become more resilient overall; like the yellow chicks when put into that bucket of water. It is all about achieving balance between both stress and relaxation; whereby experiencing some stressors throughout our lives can help us to better respond to it in the future with the help of DHEA, and being able to mindfully engage with self-care so that we can both improve our working memory capacity and give our bodies an opportunity to recover. Overall, it is important to keep in mind that just like with physical health, we must also train and care for our brain as it is one of the most important components in our overall wellbeing.
I found this to be a very interesting discussion regarding having a healthy amount of stress in everyday life. The experiment with the chicks was also a highlight explaining the effects of too little and too much adversity. Often times, people view any stressful situation as negative, however I have learned that there should be a balance between too much and too little stress.
Kate Hendricks you are awesome! Great talk and delivered excellence!
It was very interesting to see how stress can be beneficial in different ways. I think people always associate stress with negative concepts, but based on this TED Talk, I can see that there are a few good things like the things our body can learn from stress. I really enjoyed the example of the school cafeteria because I think that is something we have all gone through, and I learned that our body learns from that to better prepare ourselves for next time.
Dr. Thomas,
I found your use of the baby chicks story very helpful to understand how the mind and body work under stress. Bringing in a real life example, allows visualization and comparison in my everyday life. It made me reflect on what I consider to be my "stressors" which may make me stronger mentally. I thought back to situations at work, where previously I felt very stressed under and now after a couple months feel more comfortable with. I previously had never heard of the hormone DHEA and it's use in mental fitness. I found myself struggling to determine what I consider to be my theta stage although. There is times where I will zone out and listen to music or when I work out I feel as though I may hit theta, but I am uncertain when I truly reach theta. This is something I feel as though I could reflect more on and work into my daily routine.
Great talk!
Taylor Dauer
Dr. Thomas,
I found this talk very interesting. It is very intriguing how the yellow chicks were the ones to float. I feel like a red chick sometimes with things being piled up with school, a job, and having a baby. Sometimes, when I am struggling with something I cry and feel overwhelmed. I need to harness stress in a way where I can start growing my memory. Just how physical fitness is needed to be healthy, I truly believe that mental fitness is much needed as well. I did not know that DHEA helped with brain growth. Taking walks at the park with my baby helps me with stress.
Dr. Thomas
I'd never heard that being in Theta helps grow your working memory until I watched your ted talk. I have heard that meditation is helpful for every day life bit it is interesting to know the specifics of how it works and why it works. I think that using meditation can be especially helpful as a full time student, where I am constantly asked to think outside the box or to apply different theories to everyday life. I am not always very consistent with my meditation but maybe this can give me the motivation to really incorporate it into my everyday life.
Brutal test! But the point is well-taken. Stress is stimuli, and a certain amount of stimuli is necessary for growth. The trick is to know how to harness stress through deliberate, measured challenges. It surprises me that entering that theta state for three minutes twice a day is all it takes for growth! I'm interested to explore what ritualistic activity might work for me.
Dr: Thomas
I want to first thank you for doing this Ted talk, it was very useful. Also I would like to thank you for your service. My fiancé served ten years in the marines, I know for sure that you need physical and mental health to be able to survive a war. I found useful your reference of the chicks. I was very surprised about the results I didn't expect the green chicks to die first. It makes sense on how been over stressed can make you lose hope, and that's what I think happened to the chicks. I totally agree with your statement that everyone should find time too don a mental fitness, I will try to do one myself.
I really found it interesting on how every part related and relevant to each other. The first part that interested me was the example of the baby chicks, because at first thought you would believe that the group that lived life comfortably would perform the strongest, but in the end it was the chicks that dealt with some adversity and stress that performed the best. It further proved your point of the importance of having some stress in your life to gain the hormone DHEA to help you build strength towards stressors in the future. Finally, I really found theta state as the most interesting part of the presentation and I definitely want to try and explore to find what is my theta state to grow in dealing with stress.
Hi Dr. Thomas,
Great ted talk! It was interesting to listen to how the brain grows after experiencing stress. The experiment with the baby chicks was something I hadn’t heard of and it is interesting to look at the results. Too much stress can overwhelm and too little stress makes us unprepared for life. Finding that middle ground is difficult but is important for our mental health overall. For me, the activity that relieves me of stress would be painting. Once I’m in a state of flow, I don’t have to think about where to put colors or how to create the image I want, I just paint. It isn’t difficult for me to get in that zone either. But i do think its necessary to have that activity that helps us take a step back and just breathe.
Dr. Thomas,
This was a very interesting TedTalk to watch. It was eye opening to see how the different levels of stress affected the chicks. It is interesting to think about how this would apply to our society. There are a lot of stressors in our modern society for young adults like myself, such as work, school, and bills. however, it was nice to learn that there are ways to overcome stressors and if I take a little time, I can defeat such stressors.
We all do need some stress in our lives to be able to train ourselves to deal with stress and challenging situations. DHEA was a very fascinating mention you made; I definitely want to learn more about it. Theta state sounds amazing and I can’t wait to learn more about this and learning memory capacity. Overall, very interesting video that has sparked my interests even more, thank you!
After watching the TED talk by Dr. Thomas, I feel more confident in my knowledge of stress management and harnessing stress for growth. I enjoyed listening and reflecting on training, the difference in brain waves, and the chick study. I was interested to learn about the different sections of the brain, including the frontal cortex, and how they work together. I enjoyed the illustration on brain waves: beta, alpha, theta, and delta. Prior to watching this video, I had no knowledge of DHEA. I learned DHEA is a hormone released into the blood stream after an individual has experienced stress to better prepare for that stressor in the future. I was interested in the chicken study and the theory of stress adaptation. It was a given that the red chickens would be the first to decease because of their overwhelming exposure to stress. However, I was intrigued to learn that the second group to decease was the green chickens. Because this select group of chicks had not been exposed to stressors, I was determined that they would be the last chicks alive. Quotes that stuck with me from the TED talk are “stress can teach us to swim” and “a bulletproof mind is just as important as physical armor.”
Hi Dr. Thomas,
I really enjoyed this TED talk and learned a lot of new interesting things that I didn't previously know. I really enjoyed the different perspectives and examples that were given throughout the video but they all tied to the same topic, mental fitness. The chick study that you mentioned really interested me. I didn't think that the green painted chicks were going to be the second to drown. However, I have heard several people say a little stress is actually good. I really enjoyed the part about you saying it is not about managing stress, it is about using it as building blocks for mental fitness. I had never heard of DHEA until this TED talk. I think this part of the video was the most interesting to me. I want to try and increase my mental fitness and trying to find something that puts me in the theta state is something I would like to focus on. I think I may give meditation or yoga a try.
Dr. Thomas - your talk was enlightening on several fronts. First, the baby chick experiment reinforced a personal belief that having some stress or challenge is useful in prepping the mind (and body) for future stressful encounters. Perhaps it could be analogous to building muscle where exposing ourselves to incremental "damage" builds the resilience needed to face some of life's tougher adversities. It's also interesting to perhaps compare the green chicks to the public stereotype of millennials as not being wired for tough experiences, a likely result of the "snowplow parents" who have attempted to remove any and all obstacles for their children. I think it was Brene Brown who also talked about the need for the introduction of some adversity into our lives. It's about resilience, right?
The second area that was personally interesting to me was the discussion of the importance of various brain waves from beta to delta, and the role of theta waves in the mental training aspect of our lives. Having always been a big fan of the "flow state", I mistakenly thought that this is where resilience is built (alpha waves, right?), but hearing from you that theta is the key reaffirmed the power of yoga, meditation and mindfulness in general. Maybe it's time to revisit Calm and the local yoga studio for more than just an opportunity to chill out. Thanks for this. - Michal G.
Dr. Thomas,
I thought this was a very interesting perspective on stress, and I strongly agree with it. Stress is something that seems to be unavoidable in life no matter what kind, so if you don't learn how to harness it for growth then your whole life could be in a state similar to that of the red chicks that you mentioned. We all need to learn how to catch a break and figure out how to reach theta state for ourselves. I too am a fan of yoga and I have been able to reach theta state usually during the last pose (corpse pose/Savasana). It was new information to me that as little as 3 minutes of theta state twice a day can increase working memory capacity and I found it exciting because that is a very small amount of time to commit to yourself each day with long term benefits.
Something I also thought about while listening to your talk was how stress is essential when it comes to muscle growth in regard to weight lifting. If you don't put enough stress on your body/muscles you will never see any growth. In another sense it also is a perfect example of how quickly the body is capable of adapting to stress. One week ten pound dumbbells are heavy and two weeks later they are too light and you move up to 15 pounds. I think its a good analogy to your talk!
-Natalie Kiesel
Most people perceive stress as a negative aspect of life. However, you contradict that belief by stating that instead of managing stress, one should learn to harness it to build one’s mental fitness, which I think is a motivational viewpoint that more should consider. Additionally, the example you provided regarding the chicks displays that stress and how we overcome it make us resilient.
I was very shocked that the yellow chicks were the ones to survive the longest but it makes sense since if you never face adversity, when you come across a problem, you won't know how to respond. This just shows that a little stress is necessary to fully adapt to one's environment. I have never heard of DHEA until this presentation, but I am looking forward to doing more research about it. If DHEA is only released in theta state but also after stress, I assume this would mean that coping mechanisms are very important in order to reach the theta state to have DHEA released.
This is super helpful and I will use it in all my work with vets and civilians with stress issues!
Dr. Kate Hendricks Thomas I watched your great TEDx Talk and you talked about a "baby chicks" [painted one of three colors - green, yellow & red] study about stress as evidence of a statement by General Mattis as being "backed by science" I have searched and have yet been able to find this study. Can you please point me to the study? Thanks!
'Imagine you walk into your school cafeteria and you don't know if any of your friends will be there."
I was the quiet kid at school. I didn't have any friends in elementary, middle or high school.
What's up with the audio?