In the conversation with Susan Murphy about her work on tracking stress levels in research subjects, I became interested in the real world implications of the potential findings. At this point in her research, she seems focused on finding ways to predict what kinds of things increase stress levels. The factors she looks at are wide ranging and she seems willing to admit that many of them are difficult to understand. For example, why would someone walking down a particular street have increased stress levels associated with that act? I think this is an interesting question to ask just to learn more about human stress levels. However, I also want to know if the conclusions of her studies might actually help alleviate stress in patients. Does knowing more about the things that stress you out actually help you live a happier and healthier life? Is there any evidence that knowing more about your own stress can allow you to decrease it?
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Dear Will,
This is a really great response, and one that I think is really intriguing. Speaking specifically towards your second question ("Does knowing more about the things that stress you out actually help you live a happier and healthier life?"), I wonder how accurate this question is. For example, I know that school is my biggest factor of stress in my life, but solely knowing that does not help me live a happier life. I think that, in order to truly lead a happier life, one must work towards mitigating their factors of stress, rather than just solely understanding what their stress factors are.