HBR Guide to Managing Stress at Work (HBR Guide Series)

Chapter 1

Are You Working Too Hard?

A Conversation with Herbert Benson, MD

by Bronwyn Fryer

A summary of the full-length HBR interview with Herbert Benson, MD, highlighting key ideas.

THE IDEA IN BRIEF

The key to overcoming negative stressors is the breakout principle, or relaxing at the height of your struggle. There are four steps:

1. Take on a thorny problem, and really work hard at it until you feel you have reached the limits of your performance.
2. Walk away. Do something entirely different, such as breathing deeply while focusing on a calm phrase or taking a nap or hot shower.
3. Let go. This is the actual breakout, where you experience a flow of creative ideas and solutions.
4. Return to the “new-normal” sense of self-confidence.

Do the breakout ...