20 Stress Management Techniques: Your Guide to Finding Calm

If you find you are overwhelmed by an acute stressor, or the daily grind, there are ways to cope and recover. Whether you try some stress management strategies on your own or seek professional help… It is important to keep stress levels in check to avoid the negative impact on your cognitive, emotional, and physical well being. Feeling stressed over a relationship, money, or living situation can create physical health issues. Health problems, whether you’re dealing with high blood pressure or diabetes, will also affect your stress level and mental health. When your brain experiences high degrees of stress, your body reacts accordingly.

Understanding the stress response

The protective qualities of social support were recognized in the social support theory, another theory about coping with stress (Cohen & Wills, 1985). In this theory, social support is crucial for managing anxiety, because it helps ease feelings of anxiety and helps healthy ways of coping with stress develop solutions to stressful environments. Social support is not limited to only immediate family and friends but includes colleagues and health care professionals. Learning how to reduce stress is critical to maintaining good mental and physical health.

Try relaxation techniques

• Gratitude also reminds you of all of the resources you have to cope with stress, which can be quite empowering.
• You can practice guided meditation, guided imagery, mindfulness, visualization and other forms of meditation anywhere at any time.
• You may be able to feel the difference as you stick to your routine.
• From minor challenges to major crises, stress is part of life.
• According to the American Psychological Association (APA), 67% of Americans report feeling increased stress since the COVID-19 outbreak began.

Those who reported being most affected and stressed by the COVID-19 pandemic consumed the most drinks per day, over the greatest number of days. Nobody gets through life stress-free and you probably wouldn’t want to anyway. If these strategies aren’t giving you tools to cope, try seeking help from a professional. It’s recommended to exercise for at least 30 minutes five days a week. Treat this method of writing it out as a way of taking notes without derailing your whole workday. Keep these notes on hand to check for patterns to see if there’s a deeper reason behind your stress.

How to Get Relief When You’re Going Through a Stressful Time

The key to quick stress relief is to experiment and discover the unique sensory experiences that work best for you. Self-medicating with alcohol or drugs may provide an easy escape from stress, but the relief is only temporary. Don’t avoid or mask the issue at hand; deal with problems head on and with a clear mind. The temporary “highs” caffeine and sugar provide often end with a crash in mood and energy. By reducing the amount of coffee, soft drinks, chocolate, and sugar snacks in your diet, you’ll feel more relaxed and you’ll sleep better.

Intervene with mindfulness-based, stress-reduction techniques

• Although the tips below may relieve many types of stress, they are not a substitute for treatment from a mental health professional.
• In bed, before I go to sleep, I also say a thank you prayer for things that have gone well that day.
• Journaling may help reduce stress and anxiety and provide a positive outlet for your thoughts and emotions.
• These include a longer life, lower levels of depression, greater resistance to the common cold and cardiovascular disease, and better coping skills for when hard times hit.
• As such, a deficiency in one or more nutrients may affect your mental health and ability to cope with stress.
• But they can actually be one of the most significant sources of stress in our lives.

The important thing is to learn to manage it so that our stress levels don’t become overwhelming. Depending on the type and regularity of your stress, your stress management regiment will look vastly different from another individual’s. But it’s helpful to have a toolkit of stress management techniques on hand should you need them. Fortunately, several evidence-based strategies can help you reduce stress and improve your overall psychological well-being.

healthy ways to manage stress

Yoga combines physical movement, meditation, light exercise, and controlled breathing—all of which provide excellent stress relief. With practice, you’ll learn to recognize tension and tightness in your muscles and you’ll be able to relax more easily. Each time you practice, however, you should experience a feeling of relaxation sweeping through your body. The worksheets are easy to administer and appropriate for clients experiencing stress in different domains of their lives. Two of these tools are designed for assessment and can help identify energy levels, the most effective ways to recharge, and how clients approach and reframe life events.

Social Support for Stress Relief

If one relaxation technique doesn’t work for you, try another one. If none of your efforts at lessening your stress seems to work, talk to your healthcare professional about other options. Whether your stress is out of control or you’ve already got it tamed, you can benefit from relaxation techniques. Relaxation techniques are often free or low cost and pose little risk. Carry healthy snacks with you when you leave the house. Stay away from processed foods, and try not to eat mindlessly.

Stress wreaks havoc on your emotional equilibrium, as well as your physical health. It narrows your ability to think clearly, function effectively, and enjoy life. It may seem like there’s nothing you can do about stress. The bills won’t stop coming, there will never be more hours in the day, and your work and family responsibilities will always be demanding. But you have a lot more control than you might think.