Kelly McGonigal is a health psychologist who is known for her work in the field of ‘science help’ — a popular explication of scientific research — as it relates to achieving personal goals despite inner conflict. Mainstream media articles about inner-conflict-related aspects of modern lifestyles regularly quote her. A longtime advocate of self-compassion and mindfulness as stress-coping strategies, McGonigal has latterly altered her focus on the problematic aspects of stress: In a talk at the TED Global 2013, she emphasized the importance of an individual’s subjective belief in themselves as someone who is able to cope successfully as being a crucial factor in their actual response to stress.

She is the author of The Joy of Movement, The Science of Compassion, and The Upside of Stress and in 2020 she was named the first-ever O! Visionary by The Oprah Magazine.