We all have problems with stress. In fact, the harmful effects of stress can lead to many serious conditions from depression, obesity, to even memory loss and cardio vascular conditions. However, researchers at Michigan State University (MSU) may have discovered a simple hack that will reduce your stress levels immediately - talking to yourself in the third person. 

Experiments led by Jason Moser and Andy Henion of MSU found that "the simple act of silently talking to yourself in the third person during stressful times may help you control emotions without any additional mental effort than what you would use for first-person self-talk - the way people normally talk to themselves." 

If you are confused about how to talk to yourself in the third person, then Moser and Henion gives the perfect example: "Say a man named John is upset about recently being dumped. By simply reflecting on his feelings in the third person ("Why is John upset?"), John is less emotionally reactive than when he addresses himself in the first person ("Why am I upset?")." 

"Essentially, we think referring to yourself in the third person leads people to think about themselves more similar to how they think about others, and you can see evidence for this in the brain," said Jason Moser, who is an associate professor of psychology at Michigan State University. "That helps people gain a tiny bit of psychological distance from their experiences, which can often be useful for regulating emotions", he added. 

The study was partially funded by the US National Institutes of Health and the John Temple Foundation, and t he findings are published online in Scientific Reports, a Nature journal . 

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