Jon Kabat-Zinn’s 6 Tips for Managing Stress

Jon Kabat-Zinn was raised in Manhattan, New York, by his father, an award-winning molecular immunologist at Columbia Medical School, and his mother, a painter. In 1964, he graduated with a chemistry degree from Haverford College in Pennsylvania before pursuing a PhD in molecular biology at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the lab of Nobel Prize–winning microbiologist Salvador Luria. It was at MIT, in 1965, that Jon heard a talk by the American Zen teacher Philip Kapleau and began meditating.

Fourteen years later, he founded the Stress Reduction Clinic to teach what later became known as the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program. In 1995, Jon founded the University of Massachusetts Medical School’s Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society. Today, he is professor emeritus at the medical school and the author of fourteen books translated into more than forty-five languages and has led MBSR retreats worldwide.

High-stress reactions can affect your mental wellness and physical health and lower your overall quality of life. Here’s what happens in the body when you react to stress:

1. 1. Stress reactions: When your body deals with stressors, it activates your “fight or flight” response. Your hypothalamus, pituitary glands, and adrenal glands create acute hyperarousal, leading to reactions like sweating, a rise in heart rate, and the release of stress hormones, like cortisol. These reactions can occur when you respond to a minor stressor, like stubbing your toe, or a bigger stressor, like a car accident or an argument with a loved one.
2. 2. Internalization: Internalizing chronic stress can cause more serious issues to your nervous system and immune system over time. Inhibition of the stress reaction can lead to dysregulation in the form of chronic hyperarousal, high blood pressure, arrhythmias, sleep disorders, and anxiety.
3. 3. Maladaptive coping: Maladaptive coping is when we turn to harmful mechanisms for stress relief. Forms of maladaptive coping include self-destructive behaviors like overworking, hyperactivity, overeating, and substance dependency.
4. 4. Breakdown: When we cannot lower stress in a practical way, it can bring about an onset of physical exhaustion, depression, genetic predispositions, and illness.

External and internal events can put your body under duress, but responding thoughtfully rather than mindlessly reacting can make all the difference in how you recover. Here’s what happens in the body during a stress response:

1. 1. Internal stress response: Even when you respond thoughtfully to stress, your body still experiences acute hyperarousal. However, coping with these symptoms in a better way can help lessen the effects of stress reactivity.
2. 2. Mindfulness: When you respond to stress mindfully, there is an appraisal of thoughts, feelings, and perceived threats. Taking a moment to observe your current state can bring awareness that no danger is present in this moment and lead to relaxation.
3. 3. Physical sensations: A thoughtful response to stress can also bring awareness of the body and breathing and an understanding of the context of the stress.
4. 4. Recovery: Responding to stress, rather than reacting, can promote quicker healing, encourage the creation of problem-focused strategies, and lead to calmness of mind.

The effects of stress can cause health problems over time. For a few of Jon Kabat-Zinn’s tips on managing your stress levels, see below:

1. 1. Stop and drop. “Dropping in” is a stress management technique that helps center you in the present moment. You can use an object like a tennis ball to focus your attention, then physically drop it from one hand into the other to signify your recognition of a stressful event. Using a small physical activity can help you ground yourself, drawing your focus outside your mind.
2. 2. Focus on your breathing. Another relaxation technique to help de-stress involves paying attention to your breathing. Focusing on your breathing gives you another way to separate your brain from its addled or overwhelmed state. Learn about breathing techniques that help you process stressful moments.
3. 3. Acknowledge your thoughts. Treat whatever thought arises in your mind with the same degree of importance as what you had for breakfast three days ago. This way, however much emotional valence it carries, you can view it as an impersonal event in the field of awareness, rather than getting sucked into the fear or anxiety of the thought.
4. 4. Take responsibility. Blaming everyone and everything else for your stressful state is unproductive and does not help combat your issue’s root cause. Understand that you are responsible for how you react and behave, regardless of the occurring stimuli.
5. 5. Know you can make the change. You can make changes to end habitual stress reactivity. Be mindful of how many times during the day you “lose your mind”—even a little bit. Take note of these moments, but try not to get too deeply rooted in them or take yourself too seriously. Laughing about more stressful moments in your life can help you let them go.
6. 6. Be aware of selfing. “Selfing” refers to the stories we tell ourselves about our experiences, how much we’re hurting, or how stressed or hopeless we feel. When you find yourself caught in the personal pronouns of your emotional pain and physical pain and the stories that generate out of that, remember that the narrative you create about yourself is a tiny part of who you are.

Find something comfortable to sit or lie on, grab a MasterClass Annual Membership, and dial into the present moment with Jon Kabat-Zinn, the father of the Western mindfulness movement. From formal meditation exercises to examinations of the science behind mindfulness, Jon will prepare you for the most important practice of them all: life itself.