How to stay calm when you know you'll be stressed | Daniel Levitin | TED

Visit TED.com to get our entire library of TED Talks, transcripts, translations, personalized talk recommendations and more.
You're not at your best when you're stressed. In fact, your brain has evolved over millennia to release cortisol in stressful situations, inhibiting rational, logical thinking but potentially helping you survive, say, being attacked by a lion. Neuroscientist Daniel Levitin thinks there's a way to avoid making critical mistakes in stressful situations, when your thinking becomes clouded - the pre-mortem. "We all are going to fail now and then," he says. "The idea is to think ahead to what those failures might be."
The TED Talks channel features the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less). Look for talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design -- plus science, business, global issues, the arts and more. You're welcome to link to or embed these videos, forward them to others and share these ideas with people you know.
Follow TED on Twitter: / tedtalks
Like TED on Facebook: / ted
Subscribe to our channel: / ted
TED's videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (or the CC BY - NC - ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy (www.ted.com/ab.... For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request at media-requests...

[@paulchambers8135]

Came to learn about how to cope with stress; went away stressed about the state of modern medical science.

[@simrahazher4578]

G g

[@oliviacadena2036]

😆😆🤗

[@Rick-the-Swift]

I still can't believe I've spent an hour of my time watching this video and reading through 3 year old comments. Wow, I really need to get out more.

[@Simplement724]

Exactly wtf

[@annegachanja3468]

Hahaha

[@GamingTaylor]

The title of this video is misleading... It should be "How to avoid stressful situations" this video does not do anything to help you stay calm while you are stressed.

[@revatiHappyGoLucky]

He talked about organization only at the end and for less than a minute. Not a fitting title, I agree

[@3232James]

No the title should be how to prepare for a stressful situations. You can't avoid stressful situations, they are part of life...by being prepared you minimize how stressed you get. Its like preparing for a big exam. One student studied, prepared, and came into the exam confident, while the other student, unprepared, studied last minute, comes into the exam worried and stressed. Obviously the one who is prepared might get jitters at first, but because you are prepared for the situation, once you start and realize you have all the tools and answers the test becomes a lot easier. Life in itself is a test, those that are prepared and plan ahead are often the ones on top.

[@deroadrunnachanderbhan.8111]

3232James Right you are!

[@SalimShaikh-jm3yt]

I agree, seems like the TED or professional equivalent of a click-bait title. You get a flavour of him wanting to wow with the statistical formulas when in reality not a lot of substance was provided to meet the claims of the title. The very people interested in this video are likely those who already know 'luck favours the prepared' and 'plan now, saves time later'.

[@katem5520]

GamingTaylor also maybe humble brag talks about..

[@pentiagocity2140]

Lol, i don't care about what people say, i'm here to learn english

[@herientijuana]

He has great language skills, you will get a lot from him.

[@virendrachauhan3208]

😂😂😂

[@ThaoVanLeDuong]

also me, i’m here to practice my listening skill. Unluckily, i can’t hear nothing 😭

[@КсенияДенина-п9ь]

Me too)

[@ductrog_1605]

@@ThaoVanLeDuong Me too and we can study together bro. I'm also Vietnamese

[@jayj5535]

It's a great technique, I have been doing it all my life. it's called Paranoia

[@sallydogood6169]

Right? Just had a similar thought. When I practice this "pre-mortem" technique, its called pessimism.

[@malgretout563]

😂😂

[@marjan_t]

Right 😂😂😂

[@lisaaragon]

exactly! when he got on, i was like, "oh! that's my anxiety!"

[@math80311]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[@Crypto_Ghost1]

Thinking ahead helped me become more stressed. Thanks.

[@austinrowell6519]

He meant think ahead of the event that's stressing you out

[@haifengzhang4662]

Haha, I agree on that a lot. It's kind of human nature and personality for us.

[@yongchunhan8482]

hhh

[@agentorangecb1]

Ermmm... That's good but personally i already think ahead and i don't forget things. I am stressed when situations are beyond my control and can't be planned for

[@RajendraSingh-wh4pn]

Lol

[@JohnSmith190377]

It’s kind of comforting to know that even a neuroscience brain expert can get stressed.

[@sandrapatriciaoriguarios4589]

He is human too. 🙂

[@eliezimring8706]

Especially them

[@jonathanperry8331]

Honestly I think being a neuroscientist would be even more stressful because you're always wondering what's going on in your brain chemistry. Do you know any car mechanics? One little weird noise that they hear from their car they will spend all evening and even into the night trying to figure out what's causing it. I've seen him stay outside at 2:00 in the morning with basically no light tinkering with something that wasn't even really a problem. One thing though with him is he hasn't learned a lesson of if it ain't broke don't fix it.

[@dragondeeznuts3409]

i love existential nihilism

[@dub9334]

Its human nature, doesn’t matter who it is we humans will always experience stress, some mild some extreme

[@bored_potato]

And so because of the comments, I stopped watching this. Edited: I forgot that I made this comment what the heck happened to the replies XD

[@gallettiguitartones]

Still it's an interesting video

[@leopardz6588]

That's is the reason why you should not read comments before watching videos. Because the thought is, why you should listen to the opinion of the individuals who even did not undergo a research. The fact is no one is more knowledgeable who commented here compared to the speaker. 🙄

[@desmondapui]

SAME!!

[@SteveOGlo]

m.kzbin.info/www/bejne/fXKaq52Yed-kfLc

[@isaiasvaldes7587]

Lol same

[@elenavitkovska1434]

the whole speech has very strange structure. I didn't get the point. and the title is absolutely wrong

[@Flowery_berry]

i think so

[@MrNickT95]

Yeah the speaker wanders between too many topics and doesn't make a cohesive point.

[@semelatifofalism5833]

MrNickT95 ye true, getting of topic everytime

[@stomiball889]

💯💯💯

[@Kutsushita_yukino]

Hearing his ted talk makes me want to live for a billion years or is it just me

[@Neebina-l1r]

anyone in 2024 ?

[@LucassCruz-cy8tm]

Sure

[@AntonySimkin]

His thinking was clouded and he forgot the main title of the monologue.

[@MsYulia2702]

:D

[@oliviacadena2036]

😆😆😆😆😍

[@floreaadrian2648]

We need to train ourselfs to think ahead!

[@samuel9294]

Kinda true, the subject was a little off

[@AntonySimkin]

Holy cow! 783 likes and i didn't even know about that... I always though my comments were lost lol

[@kilianlindberg]

"I didn't know my thinking was cloudy because my thinking was cloudy" :)

[@gomagoma313]

A similar expression sprung in my mind, which says something like, "You can't make out your time is delayed because your brain also get slowed."(Richard Feynman on the effect of the relativistic time dilation.)

[@taif1143]

استطعنا بس مااستطعنا.

[@jchristie6632]

DIY's WITH EVA no terrorist atracks today thank you

[@hectorpalacios5527]

The Dunning-Kruger effect states that people fail to recognize their lack of skills, because they would need to be skilled to realize.

[@bubblegum377]

K Lindberg I

[@DYKWINNING]

"If you fail to plan ahead, you plan to fail" -Under stress you think poorly. While calm think about things that might go wrong and plan to mitigate them. -Keep objects in the same spot so your brain wont be stressed looking for them. -Drugs can statistically have a higher chance of hurting than helping. Under stress you will only see the benefits and block out the risks.

[@ItsMeAsena]

What I understood is: *"Think before you act"* . Go through all the possible outcomes and scenarios of the problem. *"Prevention is better than cure"* . Going through and picking the best scenarios will result in a better outcome of the unknown future.

[@shutup21]

Yes that's what he was trying to make people understand

[@Yarblocosifilitico]

the last one being key for a certain bug most have forgotten by now... The media everyday putting fear in people's heads...

[@Sarathamae]

as a Swiftie reading your comment feel like singing a lyric in Mastermind (Midnights)

[@brendamartinez6955]

👏👏💯

[@jasonvoorhees3522]

that point is : We need to train ourselves to think ahead to these kinds of situations, the important point here is recognizing that all of us are flawed. We all are going to fail now and then, The idea is to think ahead to what those failures might be, to put systems in place that will help minimize the damage, or to prevent the bad things from happening in the first place. maybe you should recognizing these before the damage will go

[@Rick-the-Swift]

Wholly crap, you almost made your entire point elegantly. Just curious, what distracted you?

[@hanssags9505]

Prevention is better than cure right?

[@charu2059]

Thanks.

[@jasonvoorhees3522]

@@Rick-the-Swift Messy chores

[@jasonvoorhees3522]

@@charu2059 No thanks

[@Lescouflair]

I believe the title should be rewritten to "What your doctor doesn't want you to know about prescription drugs." or something similar to that.

[@kristiewong8703]

Right on point.

[@Lysaer]

I think he chose that point to illustrate how necessary information can be gathered before we need to react to a potential side effect. If you ask these questions, and practice reasoning through the possible or probable outcomes of each choice, you then can make a more informed decision. The more you practice this, the less often you'll be distressed bc you made a mistake or forgot to ask/say/do something, and therefore be less stressed in general.

[@SharathJakkani]

first of all, I felt that Montreal story is no where related to the NTT, and no body feel stressed for elevated levels of cholesterol but for the surgery indeed. i think title should have been like "patient's right to have an access to the safety information or something else. Otherwise, he pointed out the grey area of the clinical research.

[@Hetalgala21]

Lescouflair h

[@danialelwi6240]

you are right

[@stevenpaul4394]

I came to KZbin to learn how to trade after listening to a guy on radio talk about the importance of investing and how he made $460,000 in 4 months from $160k. Somehow this video has helped shed light on some things, but I'm confused, I'm a newbie and I'm open to ideas.

[@adamnathan6744]

Investing in stocks is a good idea, a good trading system would puts you through many days of success.

[@joshuakenneth9332]

It is also possible to produce superior performance provided you do something different from the majority. However, most of us tend to pay more attention to the shiniest position in the market than to the cost of proper diversification

[@johnmark8996]

Having monitored my portfolio performance which has made a jaw dropping from $360k just the past two quarters alone, I have learned why experienced traders makes enormous returns from the seemingly unknown market.

[@patience431]

Interesting. I have a lump sum of cash doing absolutely nothing at all in my bank account, I wanna get something started with it. You seem to be doing excellent for yourself, how did you achieve this?

[@andrewedward1127]

Exactly, the trick is to diversify your investment, don't panic when everyone else do and invest consistently

[@KrittinKalra]

I found this talk rather more informative about medicines and their effects than how to deal with stressful situations. Anyway, this was a really well compiled talk and I loved it ☺️

[@lionesss06]

True, I was still waiting on how to deal with stress!

[@saadcheddad7997]

@@lionesss06 basically what he is saying is that it comes down to anticipating possible problems and having systems in place that will allow you to come out with the least damage possible or even avoid the problem in the first place, and ultimately control your stress.

[@monday9596]

1

[@ranajawad4577]

Absolutely right

[@ranajawad4577]

@@lionesss06 same situation

[@JulieArmstrongReidt]

*>>> Stocks are falling and bond yields are rising, but markets still don’t seem convinced the Federal Reserve will pursue plans to keep increasing interest rates until inflation is under control. I'm still at a crossroads deciding if to liquidate my $117k stocck portfolio, what’s the best way to take advantage of this bear market?*

[@vera3315]

That's impressive! I could really use the expertise of this advisor, my portfolio has been stagnant.... Who’s the person guiding you

[@tubegor]

Conclusion: Think the best, but prepare for the worst. ➡️ That's what thinking ahead means.

[@shifashifana936]

Perfect 💯💯💯

[@ranajawad4577]

Always prepared for worst otherwise tough to survive

[@NerakGreen]

Ty. I hadn’t made the connection to “plan for the worst, hope for the best.” Ya put it so tidy in comparison. Thanks for that

[@priyagera7]

How to stay calm when you have wasted your 12 minutes !

[@trigger3319]

Breathe.

[@beantmander]

true 😂 i dont know what he said , talked like - ronaldo scored a goal and suddenly changing the topic.

[@outdoorsnaturengod9276]

And taking everything to far...... ahhhh.....! ... Calm down ....lol

[@nanoliha8766]

Just uploaded 3 strategies to be calm. check it out. Im new to youtube and would really appreciate your time. Thanks

[@Pig.e]

The remaining 20 seconds: 😢

[@thomasdrummond6939]

It does not tell us how to not get stressed. It tells us not to. Not quite the same thing.

[@abouttime837]

+Thomas Drummond It tells you how to stay calm UNDER stress. as in you might think you can figure something out easily now (like where your keys and passport are) but when you're stressed it'd be almost impossible. so create systmes when you're not under stress to help yourself depend on them when you ARE stressed

[@thomasdrummond6939]

Amer Turkistani If you remain calm you are not under stress, by definition. So, thanks for the techniques, I'll find my keys now, but the problem remains.

[@abouttime837]

Thomas Drummond that's one way to look at it but I always saw calmness as the opposite of panicking. and the people under the most stress can be the calmest. I'm used to seeing people remaining calm even under stress and even though their thinking is cloudy they still don't panic. I don't think being calm by definition means you aren't under stress but you are more likely to panic if you're under stress

[@thomasdrummond6939]

Amer Turkistani Maybe, but I think those people fake calmness. Mind you, the impression you give in those circumstances is what matters, really.

[@ixussa]

+Thomas Drummond SUMMARY : If you're going to be put into a PTSD situation, a situation causing anxiety or panic attacks and you buckle, then you're screwed. Plan ahead and take precautions to avoid the fight or flight kicking in, because the frontal cortex will be deactivated and you won't be able to think rationally (or at all) ^^ is this about right?

[@jhunt6666]

Did he seriously spend 12 minutes just to say think ahead? Maybe I should do a Ted Talk about which end of the knife to cut bread with

[@counterguardian6145]

This is like he had a shower thought and decided to talk about it... interesting but not really useful

[@sallydogood6169]

Exactly

[@kyleeronico4929]

40th like.

[@makeyourstory3572]

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE BY KC (HINDI) | UNDERSTAND & SUCCEED. kzbin.info/www/bejne/narHgWehg6qdp6s

[@marcirwilcox1160]

Not a good speaker

[@Rick-the-Swift]

It is TED Talks after all- its audience will gobble up just about anything, including this guy's buttquackery. He probably preaches there once or twice a month if I had to guess and collects healthy donations after his sermons.

[@benpang1utube]

Disorganised and misleading talk. It had nothing to do with the title.

[@ginger8655]

Thanks for saving my time.

[@Rick-the-Swift]

I usually read comments before watching the video. I wish this had been one of those times. Wow, just. Pure digression.

[@malgretout563]

But we would miss the opportunity to know about his Nobel prize friend

[@Trophonix]

@@malgretout563 yeah I chuckled at that bit. This wasn't a very helpful talk, although the bit about NNT is interesting.

[@ilyasefdolphin3291]

it does if you just pay attention

[@jamesvaughn7389]

I think it takes a lot of courage to stand in front of a group of judgemental strangers and talk about your personal failures. So, this guy gets my vote. It's not easy. Thank you.

[@ergu7811]

Well... I think he was very narcissistic with his powerful friends and deeds they had done which completely shadowing those trivial errors he mentioned. I take the presentation as someone that mostly love to brag in front of people. If one turn the stake around for example; one has to be an expert on all different scenarios to follow his template. What could people take form this on the other hand that is kind of tangible - find a spot for the car keys...

[@MsJoyce31202]

😊

[@ChristinaPh]

this stressed me more to be honest.

[@raam7836]

lol hahahaha

[@nanoliha8766]

just uploaded 3 strategies to be calm. check it out. Im new to youtube and would really appreciate your time. Thanks

[@zedooncadhz]

Hmm some interesting pharmacist stuff but the idea is to think ahead to times when you'll be stressed to avoid trying to think through a cloud of cortisol? Well everyone does that for interviews and exams etc but the times you will be caught out are the times you can't plan for. The title of this video is misleading and the focus of the talk was a bit meandering

[@shriyanshpandey112]

So basically be batman and prepare for everything.

[@FreeHempNow]

What you worry about today...you'll laugh about tomorrow.

[@yaya1582]

+SightSetOnSilver SO TRUE! hahaha.

[@IvanAtli]

+Ali Can Metan Take a deep breath and take 5 min to relax good sir

[@IvanAtli]

+Ali Can Metan Good man. It'll work out, whatever you're going through

[@Ben-gp2fi]

+SightSetOnSilver Best said. Nice quote.

[@firthlaist218]

Cancer diagnosis Mother going through dementia Breaking your back Losing a child Losing your sight Being raped Failing the one thing you've worked so hard for, for all of your Schooling life ...the list to why that saying does not always work, is almost endless. Trolling because I'm SOOOOO god damn bored of feeling ill, and being stuck in bed today - but my comment is sound, nonetheless. P.S. ....I've just realised ...I REALLY dislike my ceiling!!

[@Plusimurfriend]

i thought this was common sense... but then again :/ i have social anxiety and to make each social interaction less painful, i have to plan ahead and guess what might go wrong.

[@MelanieAnneAhern]

Same here. I have social anxiety as well and for nearly very social situation, whether going to a party or simply buying milk at the grocery store, I think of everything that can go wrong. I try to think of very situation that could occur so I'll know how to react to it 😐

[@YVRSURF]

+Plusy You should read the book The power of now , anxiety is living in the future thinking what can go wrong just what you are doing , If you live in the now, right now is not everything just fine?

[@Aworology333]

+Melanie Anne Ahern You have social anxiety but you go to parties, you don't sound too bad. Just saying.

[@MelanieAnneAhern]

+3 33 Lol, maybe not in the way you're thinking. I only go to "party" parties once in a blue moon. For example, over the weekend I went to my uncle's wedding. I was around a lot of people I didn't know very well, and stuff like that gives me anxiety. It's that kind of stuff I was talking about.

[@Aworology333]

Ahhhh. Family parties, I see what you're saying. Yes sometimes we don't have a choice, otherwise we look bad. Surely you'll grow out of this as we naturally do.

[@novadwipramesti9561]

I got the points from this video: 1. Think ahead to what those failures might be, to put systems in place that will help minimize the damage, or to prevent the bad things from happening in the first place. 2. Sometimes drugs can be damage to our body when we are stressed, because we only see the benefits of drugs. 3. When we are under stress, we're not thinking clearly. So think about how we're going to work through this ahead of time. 4. We need to train ourselves to think ahead to these kind of situation.

[@medzeghmen]

it's interesting but i don't get it.

[@frankdrebin7949]

Remember to plan ahead so you can avoid sitting in a horrible situation because you aren't thinking straight under stress. You will become stressful but you can help yourself in that situation by putting everything you need for that moment in front of you the day before. That way you wont forget something that makes you have to run back and become late for whatever you were planning. Forgetting something is one of the biggest plan destroyers there are.

[@amitsengupta01]

what he is saying is, have back plans ready so that if at all you fail you can have some safety net around you that prevents you from hitting hard. His last example of safety lock sums up clearly what he means.

[@medzeghmen]

Thank u guys

[@PsoriasisChannel]

Nice video, great information.

[@hagalathekido]

imagine "what if" situations and what is likely to happen.

[@arboludo]

Thinking about everything that could go wrong wouldn't it increase stress to our lives?

[@mikel.6256]

+Andres Arboleda depends on how you're thinking about it. are you coming up with solutions? or are you just ruminating?; to think deeply about an event. again, again, and again. with no solution in sight. because this will increase your stress by a lot.

[@arboludo]

+Mike L. You're right! Thank you very much for your response!

[@carsonhunt4642]

Yea I didn't think this speech was "Ted" quality at all. Perhaps it's just how he worded it, but based on his words, he says that 300 people had to take the drug before it prevented a heart attack etc... That's PREVENT an actual heart attack. What about all the people who took it and saw Benefits but still never were "going" to have a heart attack, but took it as a preliminary safety.. Etc. idk could have just been bad word choice on his part. Perhaps he meant that the drug only works on 1 in 300 people at lowering cholesterol or whatever it does. Also I agree, thinking about everything that could go wrong (to me) would just be very very very stressful. I'd rather live in the moment than to always worry. (Hard to do when you're not ignorant tho). Being prepared (is what he seems to be talking about), but that's common sense. That's like telling people they should have common sense (which actually is probably needed lol).

[@arboludo]

+Carson Hunt like +Mike L. Said I think we have to think of solutions to some stuff but not everything and in real life, everything can happen! So just let things happen and and let's practice to have enough mental peace to let our intelligence handle it.

[@YVRSURF]

+Andres Arboleda Yes its a terrible idea , read the book The power of now , teaches the opposite, dont dwel in the future or the past live in the Now

[@jasonmurray442]

I’ve taught my children to consider the long-term impact of the decisions they make. Similar to this talk, it makes them consciously consider their future based on the current situation and actions. Getting in the habit of doing this regularly allows you to be more thoughtful.

[@qiwejofmsd]

How do you stay motivated in the midst of everything that's going on?

[@mikel.6256]

+ciao wutang focus on what made you start the journey? if that is school/work/project, focus on finishing the goals you set for yourself. There is some satisfaction in knowing you've completed what you set out to do.

[@stickkey]

+Mike L. I'm a poor student and that's how I felt and what I believed until I had to start paying 40% income taxes.

[@gssaggu1]

+ciao wutang TGIM/Disclosure Intro :D

[@mikel.6256]

+bms 40%?? man, leave that state/country :/

[@stickkey]

Mike L. I wish, but I want to finish school first metalhead2508 yeah

from broken window to heart attack.. well - that escalated quickly

[@MatheusSaar]

Miķelis Baltruks yeah, right?!

[@Joellarainbow]

Lol

[@davidvega9996]

Miķelis Baltrw

[@karelalvarez9544]

Miķelis Baltruks a burglar breaks in to your place through a broken window, you see him and suffer a heart attack.. well - these two events were really close connected.

[@felipegirardi3546]

lol quite true.

[@BMoll87]

“How to avoid decision making in stressful situations: plan ahead”

[@macarenaruger6251]

Really I don t understand why the topic have no relation with the title of his talk......

[@sanjask]

My though exactly

[@diazlinggaputra6258]

it does, but you just need to dig it deeper

[@phamvietlong5409]

+Macarena R simple example from the video itself: You leave your keys laying around inside the house. You are late and you don't remember where your key is. Then you get seriously stressed. If it only happens once, then you might be fine. But what if it happens EVERYDAY in your life. Can you handle it? So you PLAN AHEAD, train yourself to put your keys in a specific place (my family uses a small hook on the right side, right after you enter the house, and everyone puts their keys right there. So next time, when you're leaving the house, the keys are always there), thereby you AVOID the stressful situation in the first place. Morale from the story: PLAN AHEAD of the situation, prevent a disease instead of curring it.

[@itsjustme4026]

maca Ruz 😕

[@gene978]

WHAT did we learn here? The Title says HOW TO STAY CALM. I heard someones story and Pill Statistics

[@kasi2901]

You should first watch a video about "how to listen"...

[@MsJoyce31202]

You have to remember you need the passport not just remember where you put it.

[@bodnotbod]

I'm not sure it would be wise to upload pictures of your vital identity documents to the cloud because they may fall into the wrong hands.

[@ThomasNimmesgern]

You might zip them and use a password, and / or you may use steganography.

[@jakep1979]

+Bod Notbod I agree so its best to photocopy it on a piece of paper instead, yes I know its a little outdated but as long as you have a place for important paper documents folders in your home you should be good. Can't rely too much on technology these days, someone can hack into computer through the internet connection and steal everything.

[@Suraj4m1n]

I agree but then you might want to think how many people(who upload documents) would it take for one person's documents to get hacked ;)

[@Red_Proton]

I draw copies of all of my important documents. I even add shading so it looks real. lol

[@The3nlightened0ne]

+Bod Notbod Even before cloud and the internet, there was a chance it would fall in the wrong hands

[@mrdylpickle]

I've found that I always perform better when I don't think about it too much and just do what I feel is right

[@alyahuwaida2935]

I feel very lucky to have found this video. To be honest, I am a person who is very easily stressed and panicked when in a stressful situation. I agree with what Mr. Daniel said, that an unclear mind will lead to a bigger disaster. However, it's a shame that most of us focus more on what will go well than on preventing something bad from happening. Because of this video I wanted to learn more about what a pre mortem is, and how to prevent bad things from happening without overthinking it.

[@muntahasarfraz155]

It is true our mind leads to good things. It is obvious bad experience and elements stop us from risks and new experiences. These strictly stick in the minds.

[@abcdef-dc7qg]

👍🏻👍🏻

[@GenericInternetter]

“Pre-mortem”? I’ve been doing this for years. Trouble is, I still get stressed but the stress is in advance of the event. People tell me I worry too much.

[@riddhishkathar8525]

Thats called overthinking buddy

[@tiggertube867]

This was borderline incoherent.

[@Womanfromearth]

Tigger Tube 😃

[@streif411]

WTF? Incoherent?

[@merjerinebeduya307]

I am fascinated by the fact that neuroscientist can also make errors just like ordinary people..😅 However, I find this video rather more about information regarding how certain medicines affect us rather than how to deal with stressful situations. Also, I find it fascinating how transparent he is regarding his failures. I mean it takes a lot of courage for someone to open up and be vulnerable specially in front of a huge crowd..

[@rohaborude]

Sorry to say But I don't get itI was looking for how to make decision when you are stressed

[@georgizagorchev4270]

Basically, his idea is to make the decision before the stress comes.

[@hnmsolutions1]

Get some buzzwords, use an editor, make sentences and voila you have a speech that - no one has heard.

[@kellyshelley1427]

This...made me feel more stressed. I’m one of those people who spends far too much time thinking about what could go wrong.

[@freshdelicecookingtutorial6585]

🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@diogomartins5714]

modelo of

[@businessisboomin7252]

That's me ....

[@WAA-uj3ow]

Exactly!

[@ananya.a04]

You're not alone

[@shyaaammeneen63]

Nice video. Be careful what you feed your mind. To feel better reduce negative thoughts and overthinking. Avoid comparing, reduce negative social media and avoid constipation as it affects the mind. Your breathing is closely related to the brain [mind] and gives relief from stress-anxiety. To relax sit on a chair or lie down, neck straight, eyes closed, avoid moving too much and observe the sensations of your incoming--outgoing breath at the entrance of the nostrils for 5-10-15 minutes or more. Never meditate with expectations but with awareness. Don’t fight your thoughts. With daily practice the mind will relax. No deep breathing needed. Observe your breath sensations before sleep, when reading, in the kitchen, when taking a walk etc -----anytime-anywhere. Like me, make this a lifetime daily habit to have a better life. Best wishes--Counsellor.

[@neil12011]

This is better than the damn Ted talk.☝️

[@donsandrano1429]

Thank you 🙏🏽❤️

[@CarolineVesper]

thank you for the advice and the thinking on drugs but now i'm really stressed

[@dink0011]

Think of everything that could go wrong and form a plan beforehand. Sounds like my OCD. I don't recommend doing this

[@nikitawest4163]

old down nothing po dely

[@Fartuess]

But if you go to far with it you become paranoid and spending too much effort on preventing all those what ifs. This is especially stupid when it involves what ifs about other people.

[@dosgood9560]

I do this professionally as a Risk Manager. We look at the critical aspects of our work and any first-time work. 1. We start with "what could go wrong?" Write this as an "if...then" statement.2. Identify (a) the likelihood of occurrence and (b) the consequence. We base the consequence rating on technical, schedule, cost, and safety impacts. (Our ratings are data driven as much as we can manage, but we did not keep much data in the past.) We plot these on a Risk Cube (Google it).3. For the high (and mid) impact risks, choose how you will address each: mitigate, transfer, accept, avoid (Google it).4. Once you have enough information to make an informed plan, decide how to proceed then do so.Example: Only Chuck knows how to use that machine, so if Chuck is not here, then we can't use that machine.Chuck is off from work, say, 12% of the year (likelihood = 2) and he expects to retire in 3 years. We are under schedule pressure and have to use that machine about half of the year. He is typically gone for only 1 or 2 days, but takes a week in summer and at Christmas. Everybody is gone at Christmas - we plan for absenteeism then, so that is not an issue. But during the summer, that could delay schedule a week (consequence = B). No technical issues, no safety issues. He may have to work overtime, so cost is at most 1 man-week at time and a half.Options: get a new machine (maybe expensive), train a backup or two, schedule his time off and the project schedule to avoid conflict, contract the work out to another organization, cut the machine out of the process if this work is not even necessary to getting the project done, procrastinate thinking about it until it's a problem, etc.BTW, it is not always easy, but we can quantify or at least estimate the probability of someone else's actions. It is not stupid at all. We implemented risk management in my division 3 years ago. We have reduced project durations from 20 months (on average) to 11 months. A fair amount of this improvement would have happened anyway, but Risk Management and Process Improvement guided the thought processes to make these improvements quickly. Note that we did not visibly see the results for the first year. We saw major advances over the past year and a half.

[@onepurpleflower8910]

Fartuess Well I agree in part and disagree in part. My sister is organized and I give her credit for that but she also has catastrophic thinking when it comes to home safety and illness. And she drives her kids and her sister’s nuts but I guess that is more of a psychological issue.

[@onepurpleflower8910]

Darrell Osgood Well that is good professional skills and needed.

[@punkseth1]

Yes you just have to be a little smart about it and think about things that are realistically likely going to occur to you like losing your keys etc. Or instead of something very specific like being diagnosed with a specific disease or ailment maybe just thinking about what you'd do If you were diagnosed with any disease or ailment

[@miurpo]

Darrell Osgood That is super interesting! Thank you for writing that comment, I’m going to google everything you mention. Your job seems fascinating!

[@curiousgeorge555]

I'm not quite sure what I just heard? I don't recall learning much of anything. Don't mean to be negative...just speaking truth.

[@Ben-gp2fi]

+curiousgeorge555 yes and the way he speaks creates stress. Don't now why, but he didn't sound relaxed. Also it seams that he think he is the best. The way he says, that this was the same friend who got the nobel price, says me, that he got at least some narcissistic traits.

[@chadw4638]

+curiousgeorge555 thats an opinion, not a truth. start on more simply ideas rather than ted talks.

[@TheTurbinator]

+curiousgeorge555 He doesn't actually say anything. He's just happy that someone paid him a ton of money for him to be on stage, talking about his favourite subject; himself.

[@PabSwan]

+curiousgeorge555 No you're right. The only piece of interesting/useful information was the bit about Statins being terrible.

[@curiousgeorge555]

+Chad W What "I don't recall learning much of anything." That is not an opinion.

[@gaspareevilla6941]

Wow. Great fact based speech, but no practical advice. I think I'll make a speech on breathing.

[@llamingo]

talk was good. Title was a bit off

[@shm8000]

The Gaming Channel shut up your mouth..no every thing was wonderful even title

[@lovellovel2415]

True !

[@onepurpleflower8910]

The Gaming Channel I notice that with this channel a lot!

[@mattpinap]

The title correlates to pe-mortem

[@aureosp1600]

oh yeah yeah

[@mohamedyusuf5236]

This is a simplified version of the age-old stoic practice called Negative Visualisation. Negative contemplation is a practice whereby an individual visualises future events and circumstances in a negative light (in the case of material goods, the individual can also visualise losing and being deprived of all the things he values in this world). This pragmatic practice is a way of emotionally fortifying oneself from adversity, and it is both an exercise in gratitude and detachment. Negative Visualisation is something that shouldn’t be confused with worrying! There’s a big difference between the two; contemplation of the negative is the essence of internal symmetry, worrying about the negative is the core of neuroticism.

[@chuckwright8694]

Correct

[@robertjohnston8690]

In engineering development what can go wrong will go wrong, it's one of the tenants of sods law and was quoted a lot by Murphy in the 50's as he tested and developed rockets. Another one is; If everything is well and you have no problems, go back and check again, you must have missed something...lol

[@felipegirardi3546]

well put. I thought of that.

[@alunashepard9031]

Thank you, I actually found this to be more helpful than the video. I’ll do some more looking into this

[@MikePhoenix007]

@@alunashepard9031 Exactly. This simple comment is more helpful and informative than the actual 12 minute video. TED has seriously gone downhill.

[@MP-eq8fx]

The best way to destress is to read YT comments. 😊 😊 😊

[@jackdawcaw4514]

Meh unimpressed to be honest. This is all quite obvious, and often the biggest challenges can't be planned for anyway. It's rather unrealistic to try to plan for every adverse event that might occur.

[@daffodilZephyr]

+jackdawcaw You obviously can't plan for every bad thing that might happen, but taking into consideration bad things might happen and actually having a system in place is extremely smart. It's the reason people have life insurance, car insurance, home insurance, savings ... ect. Most people actually don't think about these things.

[@imsorrybut]

yup the advice was very general and vague.

[@robertoneto6984]

agreed

[@KieronMiddleton]

+jackdawcaw I agree with your statement. Sometimes you don't know what you don't know.

[@Red_Proton]

+Kieron Middleton I think that'd be a great TEDtalk video... certainly better than this one. lol

[@Vertabraker101]

lol.."prospective hindsight" a buzz word to replace "plan ahead" ; )

[@amjadsulieman1148]

Great talk but I didn't feel like he was completely calm during his talk ..

[@jacekr2655]

At 5:27 he suggests mailing yourself a picture of your credit cards and drivers license. Putting it in the cloud. Is that really a good idea? By putting it out there like that aren't you taking the risk of having someone else (a hacker)come in contact with that very important info?

[@LaPimpernelle]

I found his example to be a bit of a non sequitur. Discussing cholesterol is a serious discussion, but nothing that would put many people into fight or flight. Most informed people would know to ask about side effects and the effectiveness of the drug (maybe not using the NNT). This is video is just about a disorganized neuroscientist who wants to advise us about discussing drugs with our doctors.

[@Belboz99]

+Pimpernel Lastname Many people feel more nervous or stressed when around doctors... There's the "white coat syndrome" which is a known cause of high blood pressure, for example.

[@andrewadigunahalim9144]

+Pimpernel Lastname yeah it's weird using solely NNT to determine the efficacy of a treatment... he gave example on preventing heart attack as the cut off for saying that person is helped / treated by statin... what about other things? clogged peripheral blood vessels, stroke, etc. Besides, if the value of the cholesterol is just above the line... many doctors wouldn't recommend drug as the first line treatment, I presume it should be exercise and a more balanced diet hahaha. Aside from that... that tactic of reducing stress might or might not work, but nice to know.

[@HerrKielbasa]

+Pimpernel Lastname If he called his presentation like "don't take medicines because they more often harm than help" he wouldn't be allowed to do so. He just found a clever way to warn people about big pharma - and most people really need this warning.

[@ltodag71]

Exactly what was on my mind

[@blasphemerous]

+Pimpernel Lastname I gotta say that's not my impression. Sure, the non-pharma thing showed through, but it's (haranguing physicians) a product of the general proclivity to avoid unwanted results from anything through foresight. The crux of the message was contiguous with his pre-amble: don't neglect negative possibilities in any situation, don't let emotion cloud judgement (Anakin Skywalker), and don't fold into risky situations before assessing the odds- the notion of "sleep on it" seems apt.

[@sssttt2211]

In other words you are saying don't waste your money to doctors or medicine. Use natural remedies to reduce stress, negative emotions that cause medical issues.

[@blinked025]

Never expected TED to have these click-bait title videos.

[@Ertaixma87]

So your advice is to overthink everything. No, thanks.

[@blackandgold676]

"Keep your keys on a hook near the door, your checkbook in your desk, all travel documents in your 'go bag'." There, I saved you 12+ minutes of your life. You're welcome.

[@agammishra3545]

The cooldest temperature in montreal ever recorded is -36°C(-29°F)

[@CalebUlrich]

Maybe he was exaggerating?

[@joejankoski8471]

Doesn't mean his front porch (non calibrated) thermometer didn't read -40°.

[@Kumachanchan]

that was a TOTAL waste time and had NOTHING to do with stress reduction

[@rudrapratap17]

From this first time i get to know how the medicines work.

[@strategysprints]

One of the guests in our show also said that three actions help to energize him on a hard day: breathing deeply, thinking about good experiences and concentrating on the immediate steps that lie ahead.

[@onelovemon1784]

I do all three. You make good points

[@phanthithanhhien2208]

that sounds great and helpful. I will try this method to balance my life.

[@caddy272]

who doesnt attach their house key to their car key? he drove home without his keys...

[@TheTslat]

+caddy272 People who don't like gigantic keychains on their carkeys

[@caddy272]

+TheTslat It just seemed unusual to me is all. But thats just me

[@simplyme922]

well of course carrying 2 gigantic keys around is draining for some...

[@FeelingsAintFacts]

Just like your name says : it's none of your business

[@ああ-y7q7v]

RenoiDuResqua I am Japanese

[@walkinguphill5178]

Not that there ever would be a poll to re-title a video. . .

[@dunthphu]

tl;dw You have to think ahead so you prevent stressful situations. Then he's telling us some stories about drugs and brain so we think how smart he is but have nearly nothing to do with the topic.

[@Pooshmaster47]

Dun thphu yeah this wasn't a very insightful video... thinking ahead about a potential situation you'll find yourself in shouldn't be that foreign of a strategy to people. It's been proven that the mind has a hard time distinguishing from a visualized experience, and a real-life experience. It's a trick that athletes have used for many years, and it honestly works, preparing the mind for whats to come.

[@seiiiiiirrrrrrr]

lol deciding between a short pain free life amd a long painful life is too stressful

[@cynicalnutcase4937]

Yeah, and the title was about staying calm. Ridiculous.

[@dontthinkso6873]

The worst TED Talk there is, and that says a lot.

[@ThangNguyen-lk3gt]

To stay calm when you know you'll stressed, you need to prepare for the stressful situations which can happen in the future. That's his point.

[@ava4905]

@BJB me too🤗

[@SteveOGlo]

m.kzbin.info/www/bejne/fXKaq52Yed-kfLc

[@nanoliha8766]

just uploaded 3 strategies to be calm. check it out. Im new to youtube and would really appreciate your time. Thanks

[@truongtruong817]

How you can maintain your stress,calm when you argument with anyone?

[@TheSupramentalLevel]

absolutely misleading advice. This is how modern psychology has been harming more and more people around the world.

[@ElvisPrestly]

“I’m not completely organised, but organising is a gradual process. And I’m getting there”

[@riddhishkathar8525]

Congratulations budd

[@nctram]

"Had to sit on a non-reclining seat for 8 hours" - first world problems!

[@yiskash]

9 hours a day

[@politereminder6284]

Nagu Chikati totally!

[@kulturfreund6631]

Been the last in the row to get served Champagne. No good for my cortisol levels. Sued the airline for that : (

[@colleeng7059]

True but also Arthritic people problems ☹

[@jessielemon2477]

i'm not completely following this coping strategy. Prospective hindsight to me sounds very much like be prepared so you don't put yourself into this cortisol-shooting cloudy thinking state. The real question is, what to do on the spot? Say, you know being stressed and can't sleep will not help with your meeting tomorrow, and you certainly can't do anything productive not sleeping, how to really drop the anxiety state and sleep?

[@dollysalvatore8017]

I thought i was overthinking and always ended up having negative thoughts but it’s just pre-mortem i guess 😂

[@CodeDarkBlue]

Easy, just become so anxious and overwhelmed that you accidentally dissociate

[@oliviacadena2036]

😆😆😆😆

[@angeliv2139]

I started to associate dark b lo ur with 8 and I always think of him when I see that color

[@amaljosephmathew2949]

ted should stop click bait titles

[@bernadetteeisenhower6449]

Exactly What’s needed for Putin at this time

[@_AmanAalam]

I somehow devised exactly the same method of pre-mortem intuitively to keep away from getting stressed, years before seeing this talk. Glad to hear this talk as well!

[@superpooper1945]

I feel like it was all very interesting but had nothing or little to do with the title

[@mohamedjellazi7424]

He keeps saying that the brain releases cortisol under stress, that's not true, the adrenal glands secrete cortisol in stressful situations.

[@happylady87]

There is nothing here about how to stay calm when you are stressed

[@ulma6215]

300 people - THIS IS WHERE WE HOLD THEM! THIS IS WHERE WE FIGHT! THIS IS WHERE THEY DIE!

[@MightyThorLebowski]

ON THESE SHIELDS BOYS!

[@nandansubramanian5889]

earn these shields boys!

[@klinh3383]

A few years ago, I broke into my own house. I had just driven home, it was around midnight in the dead of Montreal winter, I had been visiting my friend, Jeff, across town, and the thermometer on the front porch read minus 40 degrees -- and don't bother asking if that's Celsius or Fahrenheit, minus 40 is where the two scales meet -- it was very cold. And as I stood on the front porch fumbling in my pockets, I found I didn't have my keys. In fact, I could see them through the window, lying on the dining room table where I had left them. So I quickly ran around and tried all the other doors and windows, and they were locked tight. I thought about calling a locksmith -- at least I had my cellphone, but at midnight, it could take a while for a locksmith to show up, and it was cold. I couldn't go back to my friend Jeff's house for the night because I had an early flight to Europe the next morning, and I needed to get my passport and my suitcase. 00:56 So, desperate and freezing cold, I found a large rock and I broke through the basement window, cleared out the shards of glass, I crawled through, I found a piece of cardboard and taped it up over the opening, figuring that in the morning, on the way to the airport, I could call my contractor and ask him to fix it. This was going to be expensive, but probably no more expensive than a middle-of-the-night locksmith, so I figured, under the circumstances, I was coming out even. 01:24 Now, I'm a neuroscientist by training and I know a little bit about how the brain performs under stress. It releases cortisol that raises your heart rate, it modulates adrenaline levels and it clouds your thinking. So the next morning, when I woke up on too little sleep, worrying about the hole in the window, and a mental note that I had to call my contractor, and the freezing temperatures, and the meetings I had upcoming in Europe, and, you know, with all the cortisol in my brain, my thinking was cloudy, but I didn't know it was cloudy because my thinking was cloudy. 02:01 (Laughter) 02:03 And it wasn't until I got to the airport check-in counter, that I realized I didn't have my passport. 02:08 (Laughter) 02:10 So I raced home in the snow and ice, 40 minutes, got my passport, raced back to the airport, I made it just in time, but they had given away my seat to someone else, so I got stuck in the back of the plane, next to the bathrooms, in a seat that wouldn't recline, on an eight-hour flight. Well, I had a lot of time to think during those eight hours and no sleep.

[@sususeasky4057]

How to stay calm when you know you’ll be more stressed after watching this video

[@frenchlearner19]

No idea what some of these comments are all about -- I thought it was an EXCELLENT talk! Thank you Dr. Levitin!

[@pendragon7600]

they're pointing out the fact that he literally spent zero time talking about staying calm under stress, which is what it was supposed to be about according to the title of the video. his "advice" is essentially to be paranoid about the future which only increases anxiety and stress

[@surendrajat7301]

Title is x ,conversation Starts from y and end it to z.

[@elixanova]

Love the general philosophy, I do NOT recommend anyone take pictures of their cards or passport and store it in the cloud

[@Nostalgiaforinfi]

His example with potential medical conditions is exhausting. How can anyone plan for every potential medical emergency you MIGHT face?

[@anonymoususer6334]

+Nostalgiaforinfi his talk was somewhat off title and was far less about dealing with stress as it was about preparations you can make for when stressful situations occur. This is what time management systems are designed for also though usually different needs are emphasized. For instance, Think of any important and meaningful appointment youve had that you absolutley had to be on time for, now only hold on to those that on time meant early and then just those that put you outside your comfort zones. With me so far? Ok, so everything prior to the event is going well and your timeline is good and your going through your mental or written checklist and your just about to leave to go there, youre golden you think nothing can go wrong. You've thought of everything: car's gassed up, fluids checked, tires aired, even charged the battery and picked your music playlist so you wont be distracted while driving. Clothes-check, Hygene-check, Wallet Keys Documents Gifts etc.-check. Golden. As you step outside you check your time on your phone, just like you did when you set the alarm clock last night-check, as you drift off to sleep thinking how fitting tomorrow is the first day of spring!!!! As set above, the unnamed appointment is very significant and unusual importantance to your life at that moment and that you are going to feel stressed by the environment of it. Time management is learned behaviors that can be considered and managed to reduce possibility of potential events that could inhibit or delay your keeping that appointment. Stress management is learning teqniqes that help you to think clearly and objectivly about the moment and identify options to recover from or avoid the panic attack when realizing you didnt set your alarm clock forward an hour and so you started your day off an hour behind. Youre not Golden, youre late. He's talking about time management which does in fact reduce overall stress when effective executed. Even when things do go wrong your still less likely to have as deep levels of stress because the steps taken have you better prepared and less likely to have compounding problems due to bad reactions. It helps me to think about non routine or unfamiliar situations like this: My doctor has the results from my medical tests back and we are meeting to discuss what the results indicate about my health now, and they may indicate clues about my future health. Ask him to decribe each test I took as we go through them. Ask him what the purpose of that test is, what it is intendeded to identify, what are my results compared to (Ideal? Normal? Problem?), does it need to be treated, what can be done to correct it, to protect it, or maintain it? What if nothing is done, what can it lead to, are non-medical options are available? Do I have a complete copy of the report he is going over so I can follow and look it over too? I want it!!!!! If he uses words or terms I am not sure of the meaning or context-ask for clarification until I understand it!!!!!! If his tone or gesture or manners change -- stop everything -- Ask him what is it!!!!! Under no circumstance do I relinquesh my right to know what the test results indicate about my life and my need to understand the hows and whys and whats that come to mind as we talk. This meeting is not done till I have no more questions to ask!!!!!! You'll find that this gets easier with practice that you can apply the intent of the process across multiple situations like a template. So if an unexpected situation does occur, much like muscle memory in sport, your mind shifts into this mode instead of panic mode and because so much is a matter of asking questions (of yourself or others) and the questions become templates in memory you manage the stresses they don't manage you. If your wondering what did I do to deserve this (punishment? or gift?)? I don't know either I blame it on Kharma. Peace

[@daffodilZephyr]

+Nostalgiaforinfi have health insurance, or put some thought into the idea you could be in the hospital at some point in your life. Health care costs money- not just surgeries, but the after care, and accommodation, and decreased income from not working- better to be safe than sorry.

[@unheardsoul6249]

If he was in India they neighbours would surely come to help him stay in their house.

[@amrita9759]

Feels 'human' to know that even a neuroscientist can make errors. The difference being a new pathway to research and development emerges. Thanks for sharing on this platform and to help us learn.

[@elftails]

Now this video has 11 million views which means a whole lot of people were hoping to learn new coping skills in how to stay calm under a stressful situation but went away feeling only disappointment since this video was improperly titled :(

[@fatinaisyahbasarudin3122]

remember Allah and do the zikr. thats it .😌

[@cameroneddy8271]

2:43 When you finally get the joke