When you ask most lawyers how they feel about stress, they will often say it’s draining, overwhelming, and something to be reduced or, better yet, eliminated. In fact, our society generally reinforces the idea that stress is inherently harmful. Headlines warn of stress-related illnesses, and wellness programs often promise “stress reduction” as the ultimate goal.

But what if the problem isn’t stress itself, but the way we think about stress? Psychologist Alia Crum and her colleagues have demonstrated that the way we frame stress can profoundly affect our health, performance, and even longevity. Her research identifies two broad mindsets:

1. Stress-is-debilitating mindset: Stress is seen as toxic, something that damages health, diminishes productivity, and should be avoided at all costs.
2. Stress-is-enhancing mindset: Stress is viewed as a natural, even useful response that can sharpen focus, boost resilience, and fuel growth if we approach it constructively.

 In her landmark studies, participants who were exposed to messages about the benefits of stress, such as sharper focus, increased energy, and greater resilience, showed very different outcomes than those who received messages highlighting the dangers of stress.

In one experiment, Crum found that simply watching a short video that framed stress as enhancing (versus debilitating) changed participants’ physiological responses to stress. Those with the “stress-is-enhancing” mindset showed healthier hormone profiles, including lower levels of cortisol (the body’s primary stress hormone) and higher levels of DHEA, a hormone associated with resilience and growth.

Crum’s findings show that when people adopt a stress-is-enhancing mindset, they report better health, higher productivity, and greater satisfaction, even when the actual stressors in their lives don’t change. In other words, it’s not just the amount of stress you face that matters; it’s how you think about it.

Your mindset about stress can also affect your longevity. A University of Wisconsin study tracked thousands of adults and found that those who experienced high stress but believed stress was not harmful had significantly lower mortality rates than those who experienced high stress and saw it as dangerous. In fact, their life expectancy was comparable to people who reported relatively low stress.

The good news is that mindsets are not fixed. Through the principle of neuroplasticity, we know that we can rewire our brains by changing our thoughts and actions. By consciously adopting new perspectives on stress and reinforcing them through practice, we can change the neural pathways in our brains to adopt a stress-is-enhancing mindset.

When I suggest this to people, they point out that stressful situations make them feel physically uncomfortable. They have been taught that an increased heart rate, shorter breaths, and perspiration are something bad. I explain that this is simply their body doing exactly what it is supposed to do. This is just their sympathetic nervous system being triggered to help them survive.

Rome was not built in a day. You have years of conditioning that has told you that stress is bad. Don’t be discouraged that your mindset is not changing overnight. It might take a while. Do not judge yourself for falling back to a negative mindset. Simply notice it and remind yourself that your stress response is normal. 

I should caution here that too much stress can be a bad thing. All systems are designed to withstand a certain amount of stress but will break at a certain point. Bending will build resilience. Just be careful not to bend too far. And be careful not to get caught in a stress loop. Our central nervous system is designed to deal with stress and then release that stress. When the stressor or threat is removed, make sure that you let it go and move on. 

The practice of law is stressful. Instead of fighting an unwinnable war against stress itself, lawyers can gain an edge by shifting how they relate to it. A positive stress mindset doesn’t ignore the challenges of practice. It reframes them as opportunities to sharpen skills, deepen resilience, and even extend longevity.