"Reframe stress as a performance enhancer Stanford researcher Alia Crum's studies show that the mindset you carry into a stressful situation literally changes your hormonal response. Participants primed to see stress as enhancing released more DHEA — a hormone tied to adaptation and recovery — compared to those told stress was harmful, even though cortisol spiked equally in both groups. The speaker explains that "the mindset that you take into any stressful scenario actually changes your hormonal responses" and that believing "stress builds you up rather than breaks you down predicts whether you're likely to survive SEAL training." Simply thinking about stress as useful immediately before a presentation, competition, or difficult conversation can shift your body's chemistry in your favor. Source: Guest Speaker, Podcast Episode, Future-Proof Your Brain"