In the 18 enriching, inspiring lectures of How to Make Stress Work for You, discover how to finally manage and minimize the stress in your life. Packed with scientifically-backed behavior modifications and cognitive exercises, Popular Great Courses instructor Dr. Kimberlee Bethany Bonura's course helps you build a personal stress management toolkit so you can better manage your stress response-and your busy life.
How to Make Stress Work for You
Join a fitness consultant and popular instructor for a fascinating look at how to finally control your stress.
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Anoush from
It is great course.
I like all classes from dr. Kimberlee. I really enjoy her courses. Thanks
Date published: 2022-10-19
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Geezer from
Very informative
I found this course very informative. I've used some of the methods and found they actually work.
Date published: 2022-07-24
Rated 1 out of
5
by
dario from
Stopped 6 minutes into the 1st lecture
The professor claims that the opposite of stress is not being aroused - which I thought was an interesting take on stress. She then proceeded to say that, in other words, stress is the opposite of apathy/depression.
My good friend was diagnosed with both depression and anxiety. He was both relatively apathetic and easily stressed out. How am I supposed to continue this course if her main thesis conflicts so drastically with my personal experience?
Date published: 2020-11-15
Rated 5 out of
5
by
GCEllis from
Well worth the time and money
This course gave me valuable direction and insight into experiencing life's daily challenges without letting them wear on my soul.
Date published: 2020-11-14
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Blueskygal from
Simple tips to get rid of your stress
So I recently decided I had to face the "elephant in the living room" which is my constant and chronic stress. I am living with cancer, and I know that stress is bad for the body over the long term and feels awful in the short term. This wonderful course is an introduction to simple techniques that can get your resolving stress instead of constantly recycling it. I am a problem solver by nature and feel the simple tips given are a good start to killing this Goliath in my life. These techniques have been scientifically proven which is important to me. I knew I needed more "balance" in my life but was clueless how to achieve this. This course is a good start in the right direction. The instructor is smart and caring. This is my 2nd course from her and I like it so much I bought the audio from this and another course of hers on how to get more energy. Highly recommend.
Date published: 2020-10-20
Rated 5 out of
5
by
reina99 from
Enlightening!
This course helped me see that I can use stress to my advantage. I have learned that I should expect stress to be experienced and not run from it. Kimberly Bonura is so well organized and an excellent speaker.
Date published: 2020-09-10
Rated 5 out of
5
by
KENNYH from
Grand daughter says it's excellent
This was a gift for a nurse who is working with Covid and is really stressed. She says it's good and I hope it helps her. She's mostly worried about bringing it home to her daughter.
Date published: 2020-07-10
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Fastfreddy from
appropriately named
This course makes it less stressful to learn about stress. The instructor is clear, using many different sources.
Date published: 2020-05-25
Overview
About
Dr. Kimberlee Bethany Bonura is a fitness and wellness consultant with decades of experience teaching the benefits of physical and mental health to elite athletes, higher education institutions, nonprofit community organizations, and corporations. She earned her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology, with a research emphasis in sport and exercise psychology, from Florida State University. Her doctoral dissertation won national awards from the American Psychological Association (Division 47) and the Association for Applied Sport Psychology. Dr. Bonura is a triple-certified yoga instructor, registered with the Yoga Alliance and a member of the International Association of Yoga Therapists. She also holds certifications as a personal trainer, group fitness instructor, kickboxing instructor, tai chi and qigong instructor, senior fitness specialist, weight management instructor, and prenatal and youth fitness specialist-all issued by the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America and the International Fitness Professionals Association. She has developed specialized programs in seated/chair yoga for older adults; yoga for empowerment to encourage self-esteem; partner yoga for family and marital enhancement; and more. Featured widely in national and international publications, Dr. Bonura is a peer reviewer for journals including the Journal of Aging and Physical Activity, and the Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology.
Trailer
01: A New Mindset about Stress
Start the course with a reversal of common perspective: that stress is actually correlated with having a sense of meaning in your life. Along the way, learn a more holistic definition of stress, explore the idea of a stress continuum, and learn the difference between major traumas and everyday irritants.
32 min
02: Happiness: A Fickle Queen
We place so much emphasis on pursuing happiness that it often makes us less likely to be happy. Here, examine the relationship between happiness and play, why gratitude lists make you more resilient to stress, and how to train your mind to pay attention to the right kind of happiness.
34 min
03: Anger: A Tyrannical King
Expressing anger is the best way to overcome it, right? Wrong. Learn how the cognitive neoassociation theory explains why acting out on anger actually makes you angrier and that there is no proof for the common myth of anger management via catharsis. Then, learn how to let go of anger through helpful counting exercises and detachment.
35 min
04: Swimming in an Ocean of Sorrow
Suffering, pain, grief-how do we recover and rebuild in the wake of major trauma? Find out in this lecture on sorrow-related stress that explores our ever-shifting perceptions of trauma, the ways we make meaning out of trauma, and why simply acknowledging your vulnerability can be a vital aid.
32 min
05: Why You Stress: Arousal and Value Judgment
Arousal plus your value judgment equals your stress level. And what you respond to in life isn't the raw stimuli you experience (like a traffic jam) but your perceptions of these stimuli. Explore this idea in a lecture that recasts the stress continuum as a positive-negative curve instead of a line.
32 min
06: Choose Your Adventure: Choose Your Stress
Choice and stress are fundamentally intertwined. What does learned helplessness tell us about our sense of control? Is too much choice more stressful than fewer choices? Is someone obsessed with making the best possible choice happier than someone who's not? How can you make better decisions under stress?
29 min
07: Heaven and Hell Can Be Other People
For many people, social situations are stressful. But our social relationships can also promote physical and psychological health. Here, learn what role social media plays in how we view relationships, understand the idea of universal irrationality, and appreciate the healing power of experiencing awe and the importance of physical touch.
32 min
08: Our Overstressed, Overscheduled Kids
It's not just adults who are overstressed. A hectic modern lifestyle can create a negatively stressful impact on a child's psychological well-being as well. Learn strategies for helping kids overcome stress, including scheduling down time, appreciating the importance of hugs, and cultivating authentic relationships.
35 min
09: Change Your Mind to Change Your Stress
Changing your perception of stressful situations isn't easy. Dr. Bonura teaches you the nuances of cognitive restructuring, including how to reframe your thoughts of self-punishment (and avoid self-punishing behaviors) and how to productively face and manage your fears (including setting aside a specific time each day to worry).
31 min
10: Emergency Stress Management
Get a powerful toolkit for dealing with the stress of life-and-death situations while you're still cultivating a long-term approach to stress management. Exercises you'll learn including breathing strategies to stay centered, staying happy in order to regain a sense of self-control, and avoiding the dangerous cognitive distortion of catastrophizing.
31 min
11: Good Stress Helps You Handle All Stress
Can stress be good for you? How does stress help us become healthier, happier, and more resilient? Why should we seek out mild discomfort? How does one researcher's "toughness model" explain how good stress works? Learn to use stress to strengthen your resilience.
31 min
12: The Stress of Learning and Mastery
Over half of Americans are stressed about their performance at work. Here, learn the importance of deliberate practice: perhaps the most effective strategy for cultivating competence at work. Then, ponder the idea of the "imposter syndrome," learn how to receive feedback, dispel the myth of "magical transformation," and more.
32 min
13: Alternative Approaches to Stress
Dr. Bonura introduces you to a range of alternative care strategies that have proven benefits for stress management. These include spending time outside in nature, the mind-body technique of self-hypnosis, a fatigue-combatting diet, acupuncture, and massage.
32 min
14: Mindfulness: Heart Healing to Manage Stress
There's a lot of misunderstanding about meditation out there. Learn how to leverage mindfulness as a tool and a practice. From mindful breathing to mindful eating to loving-kindness meditation, find out why being mindful can help you build a more positive relationship with stress.
34 min
15: Channeling Stress for a Competitive Edge
Performance stress can help you perform at a higher level-if you know how to control it. First, learn how to repurpose this kind of stress as excitement. Then, discover what research says about how posture and "flow" (immersion in the moment) can help you perform better in stressful situations.
29 min
16: Emerging Stress Management Technology
Explore emerging techniques for stress management based upon up-to-date scientific understanding of how stress works. These include biofeedback to better understand and control your physiological response to stress), art therapy (for emotional healing), visualization of desired outcomes, and eye movement desensitization (to work through trauma).
34 min
17: Rest, Restore, Recover Your Resilience
Relaxing is a mindset you carry with you. First, consider the physical and mental health benefits of taking a vacation. Then, better appreciate the smaller stress-reduction strategies of hot showers, and occasionally sleeping in. Finally, explore the idea of work sabbaticals and unstructured time.
31 min
18: Learning from Your Stress
Dr. Bonura leaves you with skills to learn from the stress in your life. Discover why it's important to feel a sense of purpose; how the frequency of positive experiences you have is more important than their intensity; and why it truly is important to appreciate the small things.
34 min
