APH researcher Lianne de Vries (assistant professor at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) discusses research on stress and resilience in the podcast Stress Navigation. Stress often has a negative connotation. However, people need stress to function well in life. To recover effectively from a lot of stress, people are naturally resilient. How individuals cope with stress and their level of resilience varies from person to person.
In the episode "Stress, Resilience, and Well-being in Daily Life with Lianne de Vries", we take a deeper dive into Lianne's research on stress and resilience in relation to mental health and well-being. This is explored both in the long term and in terms of daily dynamics and impact. In daily life, stress, resilience, and well-being are measured using short questionnaires and online diaries via phone. This method is called Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA). With this measurement technique, researchers hope to assess daily stress and recovery from it.
We also discuss social stress. Some people thrive with many people around them, while others feel better when they are alone. When does social interaction become too much, leading to social stress? And when does being alone become loneliness?
Individual differences in stress and well-being are highly interesting and are extensively studied in genetic research, such as in the twin study of the Netherlands Twin Register (NTR) at VU Amsterdam. In the NTR, twins are followed for years to measure genetic, biological, and social traits for the benefit of science. This data is extremely valuable for various studies, including research on stress in Stress in Action.
Stress in Action is a research project in which seven Dutch universities and medical centers collaborate in a long-term study on stress, funded by the NWO Zwaartekrachtprogramma. Stress can be a threat to our health. Using modern measurement and analysis techniques, the research team maps emotional, cognitive, biological, and behavioral responses to stress in daily life. Currently, over 90 consortium members are working on different themes and projects, from four different perspectives, toward a beautiful and ambitious goal. In large-scale population studies, we investigate which environmental and personal factors influence stress and how stress can lead to mental and physical diseases. With this new knowledge, methods are being developed to track and reduce stress in daily life, preventing the onset of stress-related diseases.
The Stress Navigation podcast is an initiative of Stress in Action. We release episodes in both English and Dutch. The Dutch episodes are hosted by Myrte Schoenmakers, a PhD candidate in the Department of Biological Psychology at VU Amsterdam. The production of the podcast and communication is managed by Anouk Weverling. You can reach them at stress-in-action@amsterdamumc.nl.
The episode "Stress, Resilience, and Well-being in Daily Life with Lianne de Vries" will be available on December 18, 2025, on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube. More information about Stress in Action can be found on the Stress in Action website.