Stress Management Techniques and Practices
By Elizabeth Scott, M.S., About.com Guide
Feel Better Now
If you want to lower your stress level in a matter of minutes, these techniques are all relatively fast-acting. Use them as needed to feel better quickly; practice them regularly over time and gain even greater benefits.
- Breathing Exercises
- Meditation
- Reframing With a Sense of Humor
- Music
- Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR)
Take Care of Yourself
When we're stressed, we don't always take care of our bodies, which can lead to even more stress. Here are some important ways to take care of yourself and keep stress levels lower.
Maintaining The Right Attitude
Much of your experience of stress has to do with your attitude and the way you perceive your life's events. Here are some resources to help you maintain a stress-relieving attitude.
- Optimism
- Being In Control
- Overcoming Perfectionism
- Using The Law of Attraction
- How To Be Happier
- Positive Affirmations
- Maintaining a Sense of Humor
- Mindfulness and Stress Relief
- Letting Go of Stressful Thoughts
- Letting Go of Anger
- Tips on Having Fun
Creating The Right Atmosphere
Your physical and emotional surroundings can impact your stress levels in subtle but significant ways. Here are several ways you can change your atmosphere and less your stress.
Resources for Busy People
Many stressed people are busy people--people who may have more stressors in their lives (because they have more activity in their lives), and less time to devote to stress management. If you're a busy person, these resources can help you to manage stress efficiently in a short amount of time, and eliminate some of what's causing you stress in the first place.
- Ongoing Stress Reduction Resources
- Time Management
- Finding Time
- Prioritizing
- Best Stress Relievers for Busy People
Healthy Habits
Certain routines can help buffer you from stress; if you adopt a few of them, you can more easily manage stress without it becoming severe. The following are some healthy habits you may want to adopt, along with resources to make it easier to make them a lasting part of your life.
Interactive Resources
I've found that the readers on this site (that's you!) have a lot of wisdom and have learned quite a bit from managing their stressors so far. Here you will find 'reader wisdom' articles that allow you to read other reader's best advice and experiences, and add your own; interactive tools for assessing and managing your stress; ongoing resources that can help you to learn more about stress management and put what you've learned into practice; polls to tell you what others are experiencing and thinking about stress; and more ways to really get involved with stress management. We'd love to hear from you!
