Overwhelmed by stress Think like a SCUBA diver.

[Music]

why haven’t you

done it yet you know what i’m talking

about

why haven’t you done the thing that you

said you would do

this month this year

this lifetime what’s holding you back

besides fear here’s the question i

really want you to think about

how would you live if your every move

was a matter of life or death

once in a job interview i was asked that

dreaded

question how do you perform under

pressure

i did some panicked soul searching and

at the end of my search

i made a discovery that’s actually

pretty cool

i have this hobby it’s one that can be a

matter of life

or death i am a self-contained

underwater breathing

apparatus scuba

i was one of the first kids to be

certified as young as 12 years old

and man diving was my first

love and like every first

love it is so awkward

imagine strapping on hoses and forward

equipment

and regretting that third slice of pizza

while you cram your leg into a wetsuit

getting dressed alone can outdo any

workout you’ve ever had

it’s also pretty stressful i had my

first panic attack

underwater see my certification

instructor took me to a sunken fire

truck about

40 feet below and gestured for me to get

inside the large metal death contraption

but you know i thought i’m young i’m

skinny

i’m fearless let’s do it

and it probably goes without saying that

i instantly regretted it

talk about claustrophobia as the walls

closed in on me

i backed the heck out of there and

backed right into another group of

divers

i adjusted and hit my head on a sharp

rock

it was so embarrassing but at least i

can say i have literally been trapped

between a rock and a hard place

diving is awkward and scary

how divers respond to tough situations

determines if they live

another five minutes see my hobby of

scuba diving has given me an up close

look at exactly what happened to me that

day

acute stress response also known as

fight or flight the reality is we all

face it

but we all react very differently

you know humorist dave berry once said

there’s nothing wrong with just

looking at the surface of the ocean

except

when you see what goes on underneath the

water

you’ll find you’ve been missing the

whole point of the ocean

i’ve resolved if life has greater depth

to offer

i’m going to take a deeper dive today my

goal is to give you three simple ways to

drown your stress

before it drowns you when you think

acute stress response i want you to

think

assess strategize react

assess don’t stress

have you ever been so afraid

that you held your breath and you didn’t

even realize you were doing it

in moments like these you give fear

permission to invade your rational

thought process

hence the golden rule of scuba is never

hold your breath

so speaking of breath think of something

that a diver wears

does a tank come to mind see to a diver

a tank is a time limit

it determines how deep a diver can go

and how long

they can stay under like all great

leaders

divers plan for the best but prepare

for the worst you want to know something

funny about scuba diving

underwater there’s no choice between

fight

or flight there’s just fight there’s

just

deal with the circumstances at hand if a

diver is

hurt blinded gasping for air

she cannot afford to run in a life or

death scenario

her first instinct is get out of there

get back to the top where you’re safe

and comfortable but let me let you in on

a little secret

if she shoots to the surface like a cork

out of a champagne bottle

her insides become the explosion of

champagne

she dies or she experiences injury that

could end her diving days for life

panic is not an option but it shouldn’t

be for you

either you know stress response is often

referred to as the amygdala hijack

which is a fancy way of saying that the

frontal lobes of the brain go

dark without those frontal lobes you

can’t think clearly

and you can’t control your outcomes this

is why psychologist daniel goldman

recommends practice of remaining calm

when your emotions overwhelm you in

both scuba and life the first step to

managing stress response is this

assess your circumstances for what they

really

are not the nightmare you perceive them

to be

strategize the move the second rule of

scuba diving is

stick to the buddy system kind of tricky

right because you can’t exactly

talk to your dive buddy underwater try

and you just sound like darth vader

after a run

you know

it’s true decision making is largely an

individual sport

but while decisions require independence

survival requires support

for divers buddying up is saying hey

i’ve got your back in pre-dive

situations

divers will cross-check each other’s

equipment not just their own

they make a game plan and they go down a

list of safety measures

if the game plan goes wrong they have

the ability to

save each other this was just proven

true in june

when an iowa teenager calvin grosvenor

went out for his first

solo dive he asked to partner up with a

veteran diver

jesse fletchel who by the way was one

dive away from becoming a certified

dive master jesse planned on going out

alone that day

he made the same mistake you and i are

often guilty of

he thought i’ve done this by myself a

thousand times before

what’s stopping me but jesse didn’t have

all the information he needed that day

see just minutes into their trip he

started drowning because he was

suffering an embolism

but lucky calvin was there calvin was

able to drag him to the surface

recruit help and ultimately save his

life

you think the two understand the buddy

system now

you know when jesse talks of calvin he

says i’m so glad i met him

he’s no longer just my dive buddy

he’s my best friend for life

this is so powerful there’s a study in

the american journal of bioethics that

reflects what this

teaches us a major key to cracking down

on psychological stress

social support surrounding yourself with

friends and family you trust

create within you an inherent sense of

safety

the second step of managing stress

response is strategy

once you’ve assessed your circumstances

strategize the best course of action

yes using your discretion but with the

confidence that someone has your back

react don’t retract

like life diving requires balance in my

case this is called

buoyancy see buoyancy is a diver’s

ability to

sink and float at the same time

moms and dads i know what you’re

thinking sounds like parenting on a

daily basis right

you’re so correct you know better than

anyone that

every time you add a new variable to the

family dynamic

adjustments have to be made to restore

proper balance right

the same is true for divers physical

adjustments such as letting air

in and out of our vest and adding weight

to our belt make for a more successful

trek

but did you know there’s a physical

adjustment that helps us manage

life ever heard of a thing called

exercise

exercise manages stress response in two

ways

it affects our mood and behavior

transmitters dopamine and serotonin

but what it really does is it breaks

down stress hormones

and makes use of the energy that our

bodies constantly produce

think about it this way if you’re

stationary

what are you prepared for but if you’ve

just spent time in action

you’ve positioned yourself for ready

reaction

managing acute stress response is as

easy as

asr assess the situation

strategize the best course of action

react

accordingly in the words of dory

just keep swimming you know

over the past year i’ve learned that

everything i ever said i would get to

is no longer guaranteed to me i always

said i would hike the amazon rainforest

and parts of it are dying or caught fire

my dream was to dive the great barrier

reef

and parts of it are dying i always said

i would visit the notre dame cathedral

putting off our goals is really saying i

will do

this when i am no longer afraid of that

before every dive as i looked up to my

father

with young and nervous eyes he would say

to me

nerves are a good thing nerves mean

you’re aware

and awareness is preparedness

stress is a necessary part of life

it helps us overcome challenges and

adapt to change

stress makes us resilient

when i asked you earlier how would you

live if your every move was a matter of

life or death

what was your response you may

never roll off the back of a boat a day

in your life

but you are still walking around with a

tank strapped to your back

and you never know how much time you’re

running on

take measured risk approach them with

confidence

go beyond the surface and experience

a whole new world

you