32 Techniques for Stress Management

Excessive levels of stress—and the inability to deal with it—have been leading to major personal and professional outbursts, impacting the global economy.

Stress.org’s research indicates that 77% of people experience physical signs due to stress.
One in three individuals feels they live with intense stress, and 73% believe it impacts their mental health.

Forbes Magazine reports that the U.S. incurs nearly $190 billion yearly in stress-related healthcare costs. 55% of Americans report feeling stressed daily, exceeding the global average of 35%.

Let’s dive together in this overview of stress management techniques suitable for busy professionals, students, and individuals in all walks of life.

Stress management techniques have been explored in different depths, but access to information is limited—or at least, distributed sparingly. Schools and universities rarely focus on the best practices when it comes to dealing with stress, and the lack of practical “how to deal in real life” skills have vastly contributed to generations being overwhelmed for continuous periods of time.

The inability to manage stress effectively can lead to further mental conditions and even physiological outbreaks.

Here’s what you need to know about stress and how to cope with it over time.

The Definition of Stress

effects of stress

As defined by Merriam-Webster, stress is:

“a physical, chemical, or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental tension and may be a factor in disease causation”

Broadly speaking, stress is the reaction to external changes requiring adaptation or a certain response that can feel overwhelming. 

However, stress can be good or bad. Psychologists define good stress as “eustress”, the feeling of thrill or excitement. Playing a third-party shooter game or opening your Christmas present can be attributed to stress in terms of the physical and mental reactions your body responds to.

Eustress is helpful for maintaining motivation, aiming at goals, developing yourself personally and professionally. Otherwise, you would end up in boredom, or a level of depression being disinterested in anything surrounding you.

Managing stress is the activity of handling the bad kind of stress—living a life of fulfillment at home, with your friends and family, and at work. 

Now, how can you tell when you are stressed out?

Symptoms of Stress

The American Institute of Stress defines the 50 common signs and symptoms of stress. Here are some well-known factors you can recognize if you feel stressed out:

  • Gritting, grinding teeth
  • Neck ache, back pain, and muscle spasms
  • Frequent colds, infections, sweaty hands, herpes sores
  • Unexplained “allergy” attacks, such as dermatologic reactions
  • Diminished sexual desire or performance
  • Excess anxiety, worry, guilt, nervousness
  • Increased anger, frustration, hostility
  • Depression, frequent or wild mood swings
  • Unusual appetite (both lack of it or excessive eating)
  • Sleep problems (insomnia)
  • Forgetfulness, disorganization, difficult concentration
  • Feelings of loneliness or worthlessness
  • Overreaction to petty annoyances
  • Social withdrawal and isolation
  • Increased smoking, alcohol or drug use

If you feel several factors on a recurring basis, chances are, you’re dealing with stress and need to consider both short-term actions and long-term techniques to managing stress in order to get your health intact.

Keep in mind that ongoing stress will impact multiple areas of your well-being:

  • Physical effects – increased heart rate or blood pressure, lower immune system, acne, herpes
  • Emotional effects – panic attacks, depression, anxiety, irritability
  • Cognitive effects – rushing into decisions, brain fog, limited concentration, inability to complete simple assignments
  • Behavioral effects – lack of motivation, social isolation, troublesome sleeping, lack of joy, overuse of nicotine, caffeine, alcohol, or other substances

Practical Techniques for Managing Stress

There is no need to instantly turn to negative coping mechanisms when you are dealing with stress. Here’s why I have gathered 32 techniques for managing stress effectively.

Check each of these techniques for stress management below and discover how you can deal with stress better.

1. Identify Stress Triggers

The first step is identifying your stress triggers.  Finding out what causes the high levels of stress you’re experiencing is integral to identifying the better course of action.

Are you struggling with a new job? Or maybe, with a new promotion you’re trying to fit in?

What about the factors external from work? Dealing with family stress, sick relatives and a troublesome relationship could also be contributing factors to increased levels of stress.  I’ve discussed burnout in the workplace in a different post of mine and it shows that oftentimes, the leading causes of burnout are actually not directly related to work. 

You might also be dealing with other physiological or psychological issues including lack of sleep, obesity, and poor eating habits. Assess your patterns first and combat the leading issues with the highest priority.

2. Embrace Stress

Instead of focusing on the negative side of stress, you can start changing your mindset. 

A Stanford study suggests that sticking to a stress mindset that focuses on stress negatively can elicit an automatic negative response, which results in even more harmful consequences.

Furthermore, the effects of stress can be debilitating or enhancing. Note that having an enhancing perspective towards stress does not downplay the harmful effects that increasing stress can bring upon you. 

The change in mindset is critical as it leads to a better response. Embracing the positive implications of stress on one’s performance, productivity, health, learning, and development can be a game-changer.

When you channel your actions toward stress the right way, your responses can be beneficial. Your brain can automatically trigger hormones that will help boost your memory and performance on tasks.

3. Apply the 4 A’s of Stress Management

Another approach for managing stress is the four A’s—Avoid, Alter, Adapt, and Accept.

Each of these responses can guide you in managing stress independently.

Avoid – Be watchful of what causes your stress and avoid these triggers. Avoiding stress triggers is still among the best techniques for stress management. 

For instance, in the workplace, you must pinpoint your priorities first so you can tackle them and stay on schedule. This prevents you from experiencing stress that’s normally caused by delayed projects or productivity issues.

Alter – Be strategic about how you handle complications during work so you can alter the course of events to your favor.

Are there things you can delegate instead of choking yourself with all the work? Or perhaps, are there things others can decide for you instead of giving so much time worrying and deciding on insignificant details?

Adapt – Be ready to adjust to situations, especially to sudden changes of plans or emergencies. 

Instead of dwelling on what could have been avoided or altered, you have the choice to immediately adapt to the circumstances at hand and face the issues head-on.

Accept – Most of the time, we get stressed out by events we cannot control or change. Yes, we can try to avoid triggers, alter our responses, or adapt to the current circumstances but often, we can only do so much.

The sooner you accept what is out of your control, the sooner you would be able to manage stress and behave appropriately.

4. Get Out of Your Head

Aside from combating stress factors headfirst, getting out of your head is the next best thing. 

Overthinking causes of stress isn’t going to make it any better.  In fact, you may incur additional stress as a result of continuously thinking about the problem over and over again.

Applying mindfulness and making the most of it to alleviate the problem through healthy distractions, such as walking around a scenic view, playing sports can help you perform better and lessen stress.

Taking your mind off of stressful things and diverting your attention to something else can be very helpful, provided you also pay attention to what does not cause stress.

5. Take a Vacation

For most people, taking a vacation is what they look forward to several times a year. But if you are in an executive or a leadership role, it may be tricky to plan for some time off if work is piling up every single hour. 

However, prioritizing vacation every now and then is also important. You need to distract yourself, get extra sleep, find time to exercise, have fun, and recharge so you can perform better at work. All these lead to increased levels of dopamine which is healthy for your brain.

As an executive, vacations have become dreadful for me for years in a row, until a friend of mine gave me his secret strategy to planning vacation successfully. What it boils down to is simple.  

Set aside a daily budget for potential challenges at work or lost business opportunities. It could be $1,000, $3,000, $5,000 or $10,000. Understanding the rabbit hole you’re in right now and the positive impact of vacation, would you be able to afford a week at this fee?  

Keep it realistic. You need to take vacations every now and then no matter what.

The best case scenario is that you won’t be dealing with this cost anyway or maybe just a fraction of it.  But even if things get really worse, you can put a realistic cost that you’ve agreed upon early on so that you can fully focus on your time off.

6. Explore New Hobbies

If you can handle stress by yourself, perhaps your environment needs some positive change.

Revise your day or week. What do you do on your downtime? Are you playing video games, watching Netflix, or binge eating?

Think about the new ways to spark your creativity or indulge in a hobby that you’ve been dreaming of for a while. You can even resurrect your passion from your high school days.

Are you passionate about playing a guitar? Invest in a new one and sign up for lessons. Or, purchase an online course for guitar chords and general progressions.

If you’re into art instead, sign up for a drawing class. Or, how about some pottery?

Live close to the ocean and soon, think about surfing classes or diving.  Having a hobby will keep you satisfied, teach new skills, and project the vision of a wonderful future that you can look forward to.

7. Reorganize Your Home and Workspace

If you have been informed of living a zen lifestyle but never managed to accomplish it at the end, maybe it’s time to put your work space in your home and start cleaning off what will prevent you from focusing on one thing and performing your best.  

Having bills or invoices around is a constant reminder that there’s something else to do and there are pending items and it’s really easy to lead to procrastination or distraction.

Style your workspace and think about bringing something new to bring you back to your great memories. Perhaps, you can bring in a new plant to take care of or a photo of your last family vacation. How about a motivational poster to keep you focused throughout work?

8. Calibrate Your Schedule

The big pitfalls I constantly deal with is my own schedule.

Back in the day, I used to commute for 3 hours a day in peak hours. I used to arrive tired and angry at work and non-productive for the first 40 minutes, then deal again with traffic while commuting back home.

Now, I leave a 5-minute walk away from the office and take my dog with me. I order food online when I can and I shop less frequently. I plan to purchase and make the most out of Black Friday through other discounts while buying in bulk.

You may even explore different services for virtual assistants who will be able to help you with this at the modest fee.

Consider your most productive hours of the day, too. Can you schedule meetings early in the day or before the end of the business day?

See what eats up most of your time or what brings the most friction for you and try to optimize accordingly.

optimizing schedule

9. Temporarily Deprioritize Perfection

If you accept no less than perfection, put it on hold for a while.  Your backlog is full and you’re probably afraid of taking some tasks because you take too much time.

Instead, implement the simple Pareto principle. Spend 20% of the time it normally takes to accomplish 80% of the job. Review the outcome. Is it perfect? Sure, it probably isn’t. But does it get the job done for now?

If so, use this as a foundation and sift through your backlog continuously.

You need to unblock your assignments and catch up as much as possible.  

10. Implement Productivity Techniques

Manage stress by optimizing your day-to-day processes with the use of productivity techniques.

There are a myriad of productivity techniques out there such as the Pomodoro, Getting-Things-Done, the 135 list, or Seinfeld’s “Don’t Break The Chain”.

The different approaches are applicable to different people depending on your work lifestyle, communication necessities, and responsibilities.  Increasing your productivity will lead to better results in a shorter period of time and increase your job satisfaction which leads to a stress-free lifestyle.

Here’s a list of my most favorite productivity techniques that I’ve tested myself.

productivity frameworks

11. Focus on Long-Term Goals

Increased levels of stress also impacts your level of motivation.

However, short-term obstacles shouldn’t get in the way. Consider why you’re doing what you’re doing. What’s the end goal?

If you’re struggling at work or maybe, you’re aiming for a new promotion, is it worth it? You probably have to grind for a few more months until you finally get the promotion.

Lack of sleep due to raising a newborn? Don’t worry. It’s hard at first, but it gets easier with time.

Having a hard time being sore after the gym you just started? Sports is one of the best stress-relief instruments and getting used to the pattern is inevitably going to bring satisfaction over time.

Just keep up and hustle through the first months. Every beginning is tough but it’s worth it if the end goal is worth fighting for.

12. Take a Walk

Walks are a natural instrument that relieves stress. 

In most days, you may find the need to escape from a stressful environment at your workplace or your home, and the several distractions every now and then. Even the cars passing by can be a great distraction, among others.

Re-calibrate your brain in a positive way by taking a walk. Moving your body will put you in an active state which happens to be a natural technique to relieve stress.

My executive friends love to hold meetings outside of the office. A short walk outside grabbing a cup of coffee and having a meeting while walking around can actually spark and boost creative juices as well improve the satisfaction of your work day (not to mention the positive outcome for your body over time).

short-term obstacles

13. Implement the ABC Technique

The ABC Technique was originally created by Dr. Albert Ellis, a psychologist and researcher. It was further adapted by others in pursuit of a more refined model for stress management.

Basically, ABC stands for Adversity, Beliefs, and Consequences.

Every now and then, you may face adversities or stressful events. Your beliefs refer to your responses to these events. The consequences are the results of what actions your beliefs have led to.

As an exercise, let’s reflect on a recent stressful event that you have encountered.

  • Adversity: Think of the last time you got stressed or triggered emotionally. What was it about?
  • Beliefs: Remember how you responded to that particular event. What beliefs influenced you to respond the way you did?
  • Consequences: Analyze the consequences of your responses. Did the event turn out to be favorable?

The ABC Technique helps you develop a better outlook on life by helping you improve your mindset and what you tell yourself every time you experience stress.

Analyzing the pattern of your thinking every time there is a stressful event can provide you with helpful insights on how to better handle the next possible occurrence of a similar stress trigger.

14. Adopt Breathing Exercises

There are several reasons why you must learn to adopt breathing exercises when dealing with stress.

A proper breathing exercise can help:

  • Reduce unhealthy tension within your body
  • Avoid health problems such as high blood pressure or heart disease
  • Prevent the onset of anxiety or depression
  • Encourage relaxation response

The aforementioned risks can be detrimental to your mental and physical well-being. The earlier you develop a breathing technique, the better you could manage stress-related problems. It’s a practical stress-relief technique you can also apply at the office, during lunch breaks, while traveling – which makes it versatile.

Some of the popular breathing exercises are:

  • Deep breathing – this breathing exercise messages your brain and causes it to calm down and relax when in the middle of a stressful session. 
  • Breath focus – with the use of a picture in your mind or a phrase to utter, you can imagine that you are breathing in peace and calm while breathing out stress and tension

15. Meditate

When you meditate, you will be able to experience relief from stress that has lasting benefits. 

According to Mayo Clinic, meditation can provide the following benefits:

  • Gaining a fresh “outside” perspective while in stressful situations
  • Becoming skillful in different ways of managing stress
  • Increasing self-awareness
  • Focusing on the “now”
  • Lessening negative emotions
  • Encouraging imagination and creativity
  • Having more patience and tolerance

Meditation is a popular activity you can do on your own by simply reading and reflecting, listening to music, calming yourself in a peaceful and quiet spot, or even focusing on something positive. Of course, working with a specialist first to learn the ropes is highly recommended. Meditation is commonly applied at the end of some sports sessions, yoga included.

The deep state of relaxation that meditation produces can easily make you eliminate stressful thoughts and focus only on what is good for your overall well-being. 

Through meditation, you can respond better to stress triggers and become more aware of your behavior towards other people.

16. Try Self-Massaging

Just like proper breathing exercises, self-massage can also reduce muscle tension and relieve stress. In fact, 56% of those who have received a massage for at least one time to manage stress.

Here’s a video showing some self-massage techniques:

In a research published in Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, the data shows that most nurses who take advantage of massage were able to reduce stress and stress-related symptoms such as headache, muscle pain and tension, insomnia, and fatigue. 

Did you know you can try self-massage even while at work? It shouldn’t take a long time to do it. You can stay on your desk and self-massage between tasks.

You can enhance the effect of massage with the use of aromatic oil or scented lotion. Five minutes should be enough to do it.

analyzing stress pattern

17. Experiment With Autogenic Training

Does your mind get too noisy and overwhelmed with so many thoughts up until bedtime? That’s definitely a warning sign of stress.

There’s a technique called Autogenic training which was developed by a German neurologist named Dr. H.H. Sultz. This technique enables you to elicit bodily sensations of warmth and heaviness through self-hypnosis.

Here’s the list of six exercises or formulas included in the Autogenic training:

  • Heaviness formula
  • Warmth formula
  • Heart regulation
  • Breathing regulation
  • Regulation of the visceral organs
  • Regulation of the temperature of the head 

Through a level of self-reflection, your mind connecting with your body has a therapeutic effect that many first-timers decide to repeat and opt-in for as a continuous stress-relief practice.

After multiple sessions, you can voluntarily shift into a state of reduced stress and heal any respiratory, circulatory, insomnia, and anxiety disorders that are normally caused by stress.

18. Invest in Self-Motivation 

How many times a day do you browse the internet for no good reason?

Instead of randomly checking out the web or doom-scrolling through your social feeds, why not invest in self-motivation and enroll in courses online or follow pages that help you get motivated?

Self-motivation is a great way to combat stress and get rid of ongoing anxiety. According to the Happy Manager, self-motivation is all about achieving a certain “flow” at work that helps you feel completely involved, aware of yourself, worry less about failure, and eliminate distractions.

So, how can you be “in the flow”?

Among the most critical elements is social support. Surround yourself with people who can encourage you and lead you to appreciate the bright side of everything and reflect on what else you can improve.

Some practical ways to engage in self-motivation activities:

  • Drop all distractions and stressful factors across your day, particularly your morning
  • Start your day with a motivation video or a podcast that boosts your creative juices
  • Create a list of motivational pages around your industry and spend the first 5 to 10min of your day on positive reinforcement
  • Sign up for a self-motivation training
  • Get a life coach to improve your lifestyle as a whole
  • Purchase several books on positivity and spend the first 30min of the day on them
  • Create a small support group of friends who are also eager to shift their mindset, and help one another daily

Connecting with the right people and shifting your habits will both allow you to calibrate your state of mind.

19. Start Training

62% of adults who say they exercise to manage stress find this particular technique to be very effective. Exercise also makes people feel good about themselves. Exercise is known to produce endorphins which are the chemicals in the brain that serve as natural painkillers and enable better sleep.

You can start training with some exercises such as the following:

  • Running
  • Swimming
  • Dancing
  • Walking
  • Cycling
  • Aerobics

Find time to move your body around and undertake a physical activity by doing minimal changes in your day-to-day activities.

  • Instead of driving to the store, bike
  • Always use the stairs instead of the escalator or elevator
  • Intentionally park far from your home
  • Wash your car on your own
  • Walk during your breaks
avoiding stress and overcommitting

20. Explore Your Creative Side

Exploring your creative side does not only reduce stress and anxiety, but also helps you become even more productive.

Try to do something you’ve never done before and see if you could discover something new about yourself. 

This could mean as simple as engaging in activities or as complicated as taking risks. Either way, you must stimulate your imagination and boost your creativity minus all the stress around.

From drawing through pottery to becoming a chess master, here’s a collection of online creative courses you can enjoy right now.

21. Play a Stress-Relief Game

Did you know that playing video games can be a great stress-reliever?

Others presume that playing video games can lead to real-world aggression, especially if the games are filled with violence. However, several research studies show a positive link between playing video games and reducing stress level.

In one particular study, 1,614 game players are surveyed and the results showed that games help the players cope after getting exposed to stressful situations.

But like with any other games, be careful about getting addicted to playing. Should you ever play one occasionally, choose to play games that have a cooperative social component. 

Additionally, look up specialized games on relieving stress. While your RPG or 3rd party shooter can be exciting, they also act on your nerve system in various ways, which may affect your food cravings or sleeping schedule. Certain games have been fine-tuned to relieve stress – still a playful exercise with a positive outcome on your mental health.

Also, take note of your mental state before and after playing. If playing what you thought as a stress-relief game ended giving you stress, then avoid this as a stress-relief tool.

22. Drop or Postpone Overwhelming Duties

The key to avoiding stress brought about by too many commitments is simply to not overcommit yourself. 

Prioritize the important tasks. There are urgent tasks that are not really important so, learn how to distinguish priorities as well. The Eisenhower Matrix is a great productivity tool for categorizing priorities appropriately. 

The Eisenhower matrix
Image from The Eisenhower Matrix

Always check your schedule and give space for leisure and other relaxing activities, even if there’s a chance you won’t go for a vacation soon.

Leaving some time off for yourself is a great way to recharge and handle duties. If you have been so used to juggling several responsibilities for years now, don’t be surprised if it may take a toll on your body.

Overestimating what your mind and body can take is definitely not advisable. 

23. Create a “Safe Space”

What is a safe space?

According to Oxford Dictionary, a safe space is any place or environment in which a person or group of people can feel confident that they will not be discriminated against, criticized, harassed, or experience emotional or physical harm.

Safe spaces are vital for mental well-being and represent a healthy stress management technique. Whether virtual or physical, an individual must have access to a safe space in order to shield himself from any prejudice.

Lack of a safe space can lead to anxiety, which is the primary indicator of high-level stress. You want to be able to put your guard down and rest from time to time. 

It can get emotionally exhausting if you continually expose yourself to a stressful and toxic environment. Be sure you create a safe space, no matter how little, for your sanity.

24. Ask for Appraisal or Validation

Too much stress can make you lose your drive towards achieving anything at all. Worse, it can even make you forget your worth and your capabilities.

During times like this, it is best to have someone reliable around you, from whom you can ask for validation. However, validation from others should only come next to validation from yourself.

Find a sense of purpose in everything that you do, and remind yourself that you’re doing great.

being grateful

25. Be Grateful

To show you that being grateful is something Science approves, read the following educational and health articles on gratitude:

Considering that stress management at work and stress management techniques for students rank so high in consumer surveys, the mindshift change can overcome many artificial problems from the day-to-day.

Furthermore, according to a Forbes article, there are 7 scientifically-proven benefits of gratitude. Here’s the list:

  1. Gratitude opens the door to more relationships.
  2. Gratitude improves physical health.
  3. Gratitude improves psychological health. 
  4. Gratitude enhances empathy and reduces aggression.
  5. Grateful people sleep better. 
  6. Gratitude improves self-esteem. 
  7. Gratitude increases mental strength.

Each of these benefits has research studies to back them up. Let’s focus on the 7th benefit.

In a 2006 study published in Behavior Research and Therapy, the findings show that Vietnam War Veterans with higher levels of gratitude experienced lower rates of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.  

Finding something to be grateful for is indeed key to managing stress on a profound level. 

26. Seek Physical Contact

As you learn these stress management techniques, think about the natural remedies of humankind (not limited to romantic experiences).

There’s a reason why we are naturally inclined to touch a loved one’s hand whenever we feel that they are in distress. Physical contact, especially a warm and friendly touch, can calm down the person’s neurophysiology of stress. 

Simply holding the hand of a person suffering from a stressful experience can deactivate the stress-related regions of the brain. A brief hug has a similar effect on stress receptors, along with other exercises.

Physical contact actually produces oxytocin, a hormone released by the brain when people express love or care through body contact.

So, the next time you’re under immense stress, look for a friend or a family member who’s very dear to you and seek a hug or touch. You have no idea how a single, loving touch can do wonders!

27. Try Aromatherapy

Aromatherapy is a kind of treatment that uses essential oils or extracts from plants. The oils or extracts are generally used to treat breathing difficulties, skin problems, and even ease stress.

How does aromatherapy ease stress? Watch this video from Professional Beauty:

Essential oils can stimulate the smell receptors in your nose. The stimulation sends a message to your nervous system to have a better response or perspective towards a stressful situation that just occurred.

Although aromatherapy is not officially endorsed as a replacement for your medical treatments, several people claim that they feel better upon smelling a certain aroma.

The following Healthline’s list scents that are known to provide relief from stress:

  • Valerian
  • Jatamansi
  • Lavender
  • Jasmine
  • Holy basil
  • Sweet basil
  • Bergamot
  • Chamomile
  • Rose
  • Vetiver

28. Improve Your Eating Habits

Adopting a nutritious diet is one of the most important techniques for stress management. A bad diet does not only lead to weight problems, but will also result in increased levels of stress. 

There are nutrients that are essential for reducing stress. Some of these nutrients are:

  • Vitamin C – citrus fruits such as oranges, etc
  • Complex carbohydrates – whole grains, fruits and vegetables
  • Magnesium – leafy greens, salmon
  • Omega 3 – fish, nuts, and fatty acids

Of course, you can’t just limit your diet to wholegrain bread with salmon and lemon. It’s indeed a delicious sandwich but your creativity can only get you so far.

Understanding dieting is not an easy feat. Managing protein levels is important for physical health and muscle recovery, but doubling down on protein may have an effect on brain-feeding elements coming from fats and carbs.

This makes food regimes that much more complicated, leading to sufficiencies or overflows in supplements, inevitably affecting your brain functions if you overdo continuously – especially through snacking, junk food, sugar, alcohol.

Just maintaining a healthy diet alone can already lower stress levels. However, it can still be a chore for many who lack the discipline to improve their eating habits.

sleeping disorder due to stress

29. Catch Up on Sleep

In a study, results show that Americans tend to sleep less when they are stressed. 43% of American adults report that that stress has also caused them to have sleeping problems and end up staying awake at night for a significant amount of time.

However, a higher percentage of 45% report that getting less sleep causes even more stress. 

If you are finding it hard to sleep well, you can try changing your activities before sleeping. The tips below might help.

  • Have a regular exercise
  • Expose yourself to sunlight every now and then
  • Avoid drinking caffeine or alcohol before sleeping
  • Follow a strict sleeping schedule
  • Put your gadgets away from your bed

You may need to try some supplements such as an extra pill of melatonin to calibrate your sleep patterns better. Consult with a medical professional before experimenting on your own.

30. Explore Relaxation Products

Money can’t buy happiness, nor can it buy a stress-free life. However, you can definitely use money to buy certain relaxation products that might help you overcome your stress.

Editors at Verywell Mind has curated this list of the 12 best stress relief products of 2020.

While I do not endorse any of the following products as I have not reviewed any of them yet, this list might be worth researching: 

  • Natural Vitality Calm Gummies, Raspberry Lemon
  • The Mandala Coloring Book
  • Papier Constellation Notebook
  • Peloton Indoor Exercise Bike
  • Tranquility Temperature Balancing Weighted Blanket, 12 lbs
  • Galison Jigsaw Puzzles
  • Bloomscape Indoor Plants
  • MONQ Essential Oil Pen
  • Dr Teal’s Pure Epsom Salt Soaking Solution, Fragrance
  • Speks Magnetic Balls
  • Kindle Paperwhite
  • Aura Cacia’s Chill Pill Essential Oil

31. Talk to Close Friends or Family

In a study by Carnegie Mellon University, the findings show that people consider their family and friends as a stress buffer. Instead of doing drugs, drinking alcohol, or smoking, people turn to the closest to them to talk about their problems.

The study by Annals of Behavioral Medicine supports this as they have found out that people who share their problems and difficult times had a lower pulse and blood pressure.

So, the next time you are feeling stressed out, call a family member or a reliable friend. The social distancing protocols should not discourage you from exploring ways to talk to them, even if it’s only via mobile or the Internet.

32. Consult With a Therapist

If stress persists even after trying out most of these techniques for stress management, it’s probably time to seek expert help. 

Stress can cause serious harm to your physical, emotional, and mental state. If not prevented, stress can worsen and lead to severe anxiety and depression. Several instances have also led those with aggressive outbursts to develop PTSD which is a depressive disorder. 

Do not be afraid of approaching a reliable local psychologist to consult on your problems with stress.

Your mental health matters. You matter. Find the strength to visit an expert as soon as you can.

sharing problems

Overcome Stress and Grow Sustainably

A healthy mind enables you to keep pushing, sustainably handling stress factors surrounding you throughout the week.

If you’re pushing for a career promotion, managing your energy levels and reactions to external events will enable you to deliver more in a consistent manner, proving leadership skills worth pushing for.

If you are already a leader, stress management is an admirable skill worth following. Your team and new staff members need an established leader able to overcome challenges without breaking a sweat, motivating the team, assuring everyone that things are under control no-matter-what.

No matter the circumstances, your mental health is a priority—take care of it before it’s too late.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *