Feeling anxious? Try smiling or doing a good deed to snap out of it
Enlarge this image Photo Illustration by Becky Harlan/NPR Photo Illustration by Becky Harlan/NPR
This story was originally published on Jan. 15, 2024, and has been updated.
When Jenny Taitz returned to work after giving birth to her second child, she started a bad habit. Out of anxiety, she chewed on her fingernail to the point that it got infected. And she needed emergency surgery to treat it.
If she had only paused for an emotional "reset," or taken a moment to respond to her stress, she might have saved herself hours in the ER, says Taitz, a clinical psychologist. "Stress resets are quick ways to improve how you feel in minutes. They allow you to do things that will help you solve problems rather than make things so much worse for yourself."
Enlarge this image toggle caption Photograph by Dawn Bowery; Workman Publishing Company Photograph by Dawn Bowery; Workman Publishing Company
That's the focus of
Continue Reading on NPR
This preview shows approximately 15% of the article. Read the full story on the publisher's website to support quality journalism.