Drawing from groundbreaking research, psychologist and award-winning teacher Kelly McGonigal, PhD, offers a surprising new view of stress—one that reveals the upside of stress, and shows us exactly how to capitalize on its benefits.

You hear it all the time: stress causes heart disease; stress causes insomnia; stress is bad for you! But what if changing how you think about stress could make you happier, healthier, and better able to reach your goals? Combining exciting new research on resilience and mindset, Kelly McGonigal, PhD, proves that undergoing stress is not bad for you; it is undergoing stresswhile believing that stress is bad for youthat makes it harmful. In fact, stress has many benefits, from giving us greater focus and energy, to strengthening our personal relationships.

McGonigal shows readers how to cultivate a mindset that embraces stress, and activate the brain's natural ability to learn from challenging experiences. Both practical and life-changing,The Upside of Stressis not a guide to getting rid of stress, but a toolkit for gettingbetterat it—by understanding, accepting, and leveraging it to your advantage.