How To Manage Stress
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Medically reviewed by Marla Anderson, MD
When faced with life’s challenges, it’s normal to experience some level of stress. Stress is a natural biological and psychological response to both big and small stressors. In small doses, stress can sharpen your concentration, increase your reaction time, and help you prioritize responsibilities or tasks during tough situations.
Chronic (long-term) stress, however, can lead to negative health consequences. Long-term stress can lead to mental health conditions like anxiety and depression, as well as physical health conditions like chronic pain.
Developing stress management techniques is an important way to avoid the harmful effects of chronic stress. Different techniques work for different people—so, it’s important to find strategies that fit your situation and lifestyle. Luckily, there are many ways to manage stress to reduce its harmful effects.
Signs of Stress
Stress is a full-body experience that activates your body’s “fight or flight” response, releasing hormones like adrenaline (which controls metabolism and blood circulation) and cortisol (which regulates your stress response). Your body, emotions, and thinking are all affected by stress. And too much stress can cause a variety of physical and emotional symptoms.
If you're experiencing chronic stress, it's also possible to experience behavioral changes like getting too much or too little sleep, skipping meals or eating too much, difficulty completing tasks, or using substances like alcohol or drugs.
Physical Symptoms
Because stress takes a toll on your body, you might notice the following symptoms during a stressful situation or time:
Fatigue
Dry mouth
Fidgeting
Heart palpitations
Sweating
Emotional Symptoms
High levels of stress may also cause the following changes to your mental health:
Changes in mood
Depression
Racing thoughts
Anger or irritability
Trouble concentrating
Memory problems
Difficulty making decisions
Common Causes of Stress
Both big and small stressors can activate your body’s stress response. Stressors are any situation, event, or person your body and mind perceive as a threat. While stress varies in intensity and duration, the same stress response activates whether you’re frantically looking for your car keys or running away from a tiger.
Situations that commonly cause acute, short–term stress include:
Running late to an appointment
Work stressors, like an upcoming meeting with your boss
Sitting in unexpected traffic
Losing important items, like your keys or wallet
School stressors, like an upcoming exam
Parenting stressors, like getting your kids ready for school
While acute stressors are part of everyday life, many people will also experience chronic stressors that can build up over time. In these cases, the stressor is often more difficult to solve, may be partially or fully out of your control, and occurs for a longer period of time. Some examples of chronic stressors include:
Living in poverty or being financially insecure
Managing a chronic or terminal illness
Caretaking for an aging or sick loved one
Parenting without adequate support
Dealing with ongoing abuse, harassment, racism, sexism, discrimination, and other forms of oppression
Community violence or war
It’s important to note that everyone experiences stressors differently. How severely stressors affect you depends on your coping skills, level of support, and personality.
Risks of Chronic Stress
When left unaddressed, long-term stress can lead to various negative health consequences. Both short and long-term stressors can take a mental toll—affecting your mood, anxiety levels, and cognitive functioning. The over-activation of your body's fight-or-flight response can change your physical well-being, causing pain, sleep issues, and a weakened immune system.
Some studies also show a link between chronic stress and the following health conditions:
Autoimmune disorders, such as lupus, arthritis, or type 1 diabetes
Stroke
Migraine
Chronic pain
Mental health conditions, such as depression, anxiety, or PTSD
How Does Stress Management Work?
While it’s impossible to live in a world without stressors, there are ways to mitigate the harmful effects of stress. Stress management typically focuses on techniques that promote relaxation, mindfulness, and general wellness.
Some stress management techniques focus on slowing the body’s stress response down to reduce the physical effects of stress. Other methods focus on controlling negative thoughts and emotions that can arise in stressful situations. Stress management can also be preventative, meaning taking care of yourself in a way that makes you more resilient to stress when you encounter a stressful situation next time.
While stress management techniques can work for both short-term and long-term stressors, it’s important to also address the underlying causes of stress. This can be especially true for people experiencing chronic stress. For example, while someone caring for a sick loved one can benefit from stress management techniques, these strategies can’t replace tangible support and better resources for caregivers.
Stress Management Techniques To Try
Everyone is different, so it’s important to find stress management techniques that work for you. This might take some trial and error—and that's OK. Be patient with yourself as you learn what's right for you and your wellness.
Use Relaxation Techniques
Relaxation techniques can counteract your body’s fight or flight stress response by slowing down your heart rate, lowering your blood pressure, and decreasing levels of stress hormones. You can use relaxation techniques as often as you need and can sometimes feel relief within a few moments.
Two of the most common relaxation techniques include:
Deep breathing: Also known as belly breathing or diaphragmatic breathing, deep breathing has been shown to reduce levels of the stress hormone cortisol. To engage in deep breathing, slowly breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth, letting your stomach fill up with air as you breathe in. Some people also find it helpful to place their hands on their stomachs or count along with each breath.
Progressive muscle relaxation: Studies show progressive muscle relaxation can reduce stress, anxiety, and depression. This technique involves clenching and tightening one part of your body, holding it for 5 to 10 seconds, then releasing it. For example, you can start at your toes and work your way up your body, tensing and then releasing one muscle group at a time.
Start a Mindfulness Practice
According to research, people who practice mindfulness see a significant reduction in stress and anxiety levels, lower levels of psychological distress, and even improved sleep. While it can be helpful to practice mindfulness during stressful situations, practicing it daily can help improve your ability to cope with stress long-term.
There are many ways to practice mindfulness, including:
Meditation: Meditation is the practice of focusing your attention and clearing your mind. In many practices, this means spending time focusing on your breath and noticing your thoughts in a non-judgmental way. If you’re a beginner, following a guided meditation video is a good way to start.
Yoga: Yoga, a practice that combines movement, meditation, and breathwork, also supports stress management. Look for online videos you can try at home or visit your local yoga studio.
Mindfulness-based stress reduction: Initially designed to help people with chronic pain, this type of therapy program teaches meditation, body scans, and yoga-inspired physical exercises.
Move Your Body
Exercise triggers the same systems that respond to stress. Raising your heart rate and releasing energy through movement helps you respond to stress more effectively by making your stress responses shorter and less intense.
Experts recommend exercising for at least 30 minutes most days of the week. Walking, running, dancing, yoga, lifting weights, and playing sports are some examples of physical activity. But what's more important is to find a form of exercise that you enjoy.
Keep a Journal
Studies show that journaling your thoughts can lower blood pressure and improve mood. Writing about stressful events can help you work through difficult thoughts and emotions, process challenging situations, and develop solutions. You can journal as often as you wish, but many people benefit from a daily journaling practice.
Get Enough Sleep
Unfortunately, stress can often affect the quality of your sleep. Lack of sleep leads to higher levels of stress, irritability, trouble concentrating, and low motivation.
Engaging in good sleep hygiene, like having a consistent bedtime, removing electronics from the bedroom, and avoiding caffeine and large meals before bed, can help support a good night’s sleep. It also may be helpful to practice meditation or progressive muscle relaxation before bed if stress is keeping you up at night.
Make Time for Hobbies You Enjoy
While it can feel hard to make time for hobbies or leisure activities when you’re stressed, engaging in activities you enjoy can support your health in the long run. Research shows engaging in pleasurable activities lowers your blood pressure and cortisol levels. Crafting, gardening, playing an instrument, hiking, and reading are some examples of activities that can support stress management.
Talk About Your Stress
A gentle reminder: you don't have to go through stressful situations alone. Talking to a trusted loved one about stressors can help you work through problems, feel less lonely, and receive support. One recent study found that having at least one conversation with a friend each day lowers stress levels and increases well-being. For more chronic stressors, you may also find it useful to talk to a provider (such as a psychologist or psychiatrist) or join a support group.
When to Contact a Healthcare Provider
If you’re experiencing symptoms of stress that won’t go away, it may be time to contact a healthcare provider. It's a good idea to talk to your provider if you have any of the following symptoms:
Persistent physical pain with no apparent cause
Anxiety symptoms, such as racing thoughts, panic attacks, or restlessness
Depression symptoms, like a low mood, feeling “numb,” and a loss of interest in activities
Thoughts of suicide or self-harm
It can also help to ask your provider for a referral to a mental health professional for additional resources and treatment options, which may include therapy, group therapy, and in some cases, medication.
Looking for Support?
If you are experiencing a crisis, or know someone who is, call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 for free and confidential support 24/7. You can also visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for a list of additional resources or call the number below to reach the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) hotline.
Tips for Preventing Stress
While it may not be possible to prevent all stress, there are ways to prevent stress from taking over your life. Consider the following prevention methods:
Focus on what you can control: It's easy to feel stressed when you're over-extending yourself. While some stressors are unavoidable, identify the stressors that are in your control. Set boundaries to make these stressors more manageable, and remember: it's OK to say "no" every once in a while.
Be diligent about self-care: The negative effects of stress build up over time. Getting enough sleep, eating well, and moving regularly can help you become more resilient when you experience stress, leading to better health outcomes long term.
Ask for support: You don't have to face life's stressors alone. Identify a few tangible things a loved one can support you with or make a plan to talk about what you're going through. Seeking help from a mental health professional can also help prevent the health effects of chronic stress.
A Quick Review
Stress is a natural biological and psychological response to life's challenges. If you're experiencing high levels of stress, it's possible to have symptoms like headaches, fatigue, muscle aches, mood changes, irritability, and racing thoughts. Thankfully, there are ways to effectively manage stress. Some common stress management tools include relaxation techniques, mindfulness, exercise, and journaling. Seeking support from a mental health professional can also help you manage the impact of stress.
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