“Reframing” is the practice of changing the way you view situations that stress you, which changes how you experience them. If you’re feeling stressed, instead of dwelling on how it negatively affects you, try to look at both the stressful event and your stress response in a positive light. This exercise protects you from the negative health consequences stress can have. 

For example, let’s look at a common stressful event – being stuck in traffic. You can view this negatively by thinking about how you’re going to be late for something or how much you hate sitting in your car. Or you can view it positively, by thinking about how you have some time to yourself to listen to music or an audiobook. 

Let’s look at another example that involves the stress response. When you are interviewing for a job you really want, you may feel a great deal of pressure. You may begin to feel the “fight or flight” stress response such as a pounding heart, feeling antsy, or sweating. You can view this negatively by thinking this response means you can’t handle the pressure. Or you can view it positively, by thinking about how that increase in heart rate and nervous energy means your body is priming itself for action and focus, and channel that energy into your interview. 

In both examples, nothing has changed about the stressors, but they become positive experiences instead of negative ones by reframing.