21 Effective Stress Management Techniques


The following stress management techniques will help you get relief from stress quickly and supply you with the tools you need for long-term stress management.

1. Exercise – About 15-30 minutes of vigorous exercise releases a chemical in your blood stream called ‘endorphins’ that makes you feel good and even reverses the effects of stress. Regular exercise is one of the best methods for long-term stress management, weight loss, and just feeling better about yourself.

2. Deep breathing – When you get stressed your breathing naturally becomes shallow. If you practice some deep breathing you will immediately feel better. Remember to breathe deep and slow. If you breathe to fast you can cause hyperventilation. Just take a full breath over 3-4 seconds and exhale slowly over the same time. Do this for 3-5 minutes.

3. Practice progressive relaxation – You can’t be relaxed and stressed at the same time. If you relax your body then you will automatically relive stress. Progressive relaxation is very easy to do. You just tense one muscle group and relax it then do another muscle group and relax until you have relaxed all the muscles in your body. For example; make a fist relax it, tense the muscles in your arm and relax, tense your head and relax, and so on till you have tensed and relaxed all muscle groups down to your toes.

4. Use guided imagery – It is a well known fact that the mind affects the body. If you think angry thoughts you will feel angry and if your think happy thoughts you will feel happy. All these thoughts have images associated with them. For example if you are angry or happy you are thinking about a situation (an image). You can use this principle of the mind in your favor. When you need to relieve stress imagine you are someplace that is peaceful. One of my favorites is imagining I’m on the beach. You could use that or imagine yourself in a beautiful garden or by a lake. The key to guided imagery is to imagine your chosen relaxing place in detail. If you choose the beach then imagine you are sitting on the warm sand, imagine feeling the salty wind, hearing sea gulls and the roar of the ocean. NOTE: You can combine these first three techniques together for a stress relief practice that is very effective and will help you relax more and more as you continue to practice the technique. To learn more read the page on ‘Breathing and Relaxation’.

5. Practice Meditation – Meditation is a well known stress reducer. There are many forms of meditation such as breathing, relaxation and yoga. Many meditation techniques are available on this website. Learn more on the ‘Meditation’ Page.

6. Self-Hypnosis – Self-hypnosis is easy to do and is very effective at changing thinking patterns that cause stress. You can also use self-hypnosis for deep relaxation, boosting your confidence and positive thinking. Learn more about self hypnosis & to use free online audios for relaxation and self improvement, visit Instant Self Hypnosis.com

7. Start a stress journal – We face stressful situations everyday that can just pile up on us till we are just fuming with anger and irritation. To gain more control over stressful events keep a record of every situation that caused you to get stressed, how you reacted to the stress (did you get angry, snap at someone or feel hopeless), and what you can do in the future to deal with this stress. Doing this gives you greater control over your reactions to stressful events and will make you more resilient to events that trigger stressful states in you (especially if you use techniques from this website to help you). An excellent example of a stress journal can be found at WebMD located here. 

8. Just write – Writing out your thoughts and feelings is a great way to release pent up emotions. If you are upset with someone but can’t talk about it then write a letter saying everything you want as this will clarify your thoughts on the matter and will help you feel better. Of course, don’t mail the letter to whomever you’re upset with. That’s high school behavior. Write for yourself only.

9. Manage your time better – A lot of stress we face is because we lack the time to do everything we want. We either take on too many commitments or don’t handle the ones that we have very well. First thing you need to do is prioritize your commitments. List them in order of importance or tasks that need to be immediately vs. those that you can do later. Second you need to take action. It doesn’t matter if you do 1 task at a time as long as you get it done. Slowly you will notice your workload will go down and you will feel much better. Remember: Relaxation is good but procrastination is the enemy of time management. Thirdly you need to manage your commitments with others. If you can’t do something that you said you would you have to call immediately apologize and set up a new meeting. If you need to postpone a task to take care of something more important then do it with grace. Always explain your situation and be nice so anyone who you have to break a commitment with will be understanding and open to working with you in the future.

10. Find something fun to do – Pick up a regular activity that you can do for stress relief. You could start a hobby, join a club, take a class, do volunteer work or learn a new sport. There is only one rule: You must pick something that you enjoy doing AND it has to distract you from stress in your life. 

11. Practice Yoga – You have probably used some stretching exercises over your lifetime especially if you are into sports. What you probably don’t know is that all the stretching exercises used in sports – even by professional athletes – are postures and positions of yoga (and some derived from yoga). Even physical therapists borrow heavily from yogic stretching exercises in dealing with patients. Learn some simple yoga poses and practicing them properly (with deep breathing) and you can manage your stress easily. 

12. Set goals – Studies have shown that people who have a purpose in life are more motivated and more resilient to stress. Set short and long-term goals for activities that motivate you. Short term can be as short as a day, a week, 2 weeks, a month etc. By setting short-term goals and attaining them your self-confidence will increase and so will feelings of accomplishment. These attitudes automatically make you more immune to stress. Set long-term goals for direction but rely on short term goals to keep moving forward. 

13. Balance the activities in your life – If you work a lot then it could lead to stressful situations at home. If you don’t work enough that has its own problems. If you ignore friends then not only do you miss an opportunity to relax with people but you may also alienate some friends over time. You have to balance your home, personal and work life to get the most out of life. This is difficult but if you utilize the methods on this webpage you should be bale to balance your life better and better.

14. Limit intoxicants and caffeine – Healthy living is better on your mind and body. Cut down on caffeine (ex. coffee and soda) as it makes you feel ‘wound up’ and can give you headaches. Excessive alcohol takes a heavy toll on your body. If you drink then drink in moderation. Don’t drink to get drunk and certainly don’t making drinking your means of stress relief. That will do you a lot more harm than good and will just increase your stress in the future.

15. Sleep well – Sleep is our body’s natural way to releasing stress. Get a good night’s sleep regularly and you will feel much better. If you have a tough time getting to sleep at night then there are a few things you can do; eat your last snack at least 4 hours before sleep, engage in vigorous exercise in the evening to relax and tire your body, practice yoga/meditation to let go of stress, play some soft music or ‘white noise’ in the background (at a low volume) to help you relax and most of all let go of all your problems. Letting go of your problems may seem difficult but is necessary to quiet your mind which is important to be able to fall asleep. The problems will still be there tomorrow so you can just postpone thinking about them till morning so you can get some sleep. It may also help to write down all your problems and any solutions you can think of then put it aside and tell yourself ‘I’ve done all I could for now, it’s time to forget stressful stuff and get some sleep’. Then clear your mind and sleep. Sleeping medication should only be used as a last resort. There are some herbal supplements you can use instead of medication to relieve anxiety and help overcome insomnia (read the next technique for recommended herbs).

16. Use herbal supplements – There are many herbs that have proven themselves as stress and anxiety relievers. Since stress and anxiety and the main causes of insomnia these herbs can help you sleep better as well. There are five herbal supplements which are perfect for stress, anxiety and insomnia and are readily available. 1. Valerian Root: This is good for anxiety if taken 2-3 times during the day, can help you fall asleep without affecting your sleep cycles and even helps alleviate menstrual cramps. 2. Kava Root: This herb is well known for its calming qualities and is often used to make tea. It’s not addictive and has a similar relaxing effect that Valium does. 3. Ginkgo Biloba:This is a leaf from which tea and extracts are made. It improves blood flow all over your body (including your brain) and it even acts like an anti-oxidate. This means it’s perfect to reverse the physical harm caused by stress. 4. St. John’s Wort: This plant have been used for treating depression. In fact, studies have proven that this herbs works in relieving mild to moderate depression and may help with more serious depression cases as well. It does take 2-3 weeks to take effect. 5. Chamomile: This supplement is most famous as a tea but it is known to relieve stomach cramps and reduce infections (as an antiseptic). It is actually approved in Germany for reducing swelling, fighting bacteria and stomach craps.

NOTE: Before using any herbal supplement you should read about them carefully and then consult a doctor.

17. Humor – Laughter relaxes your muscles, brings more oxygen into your body, lowers your blood pressure, lowers cortisol (a negative chemical released by stress) and boosts your immune system. Laughter really is the best medicine for stress. Watch comedy movies and sit-coms. Laugh with family and friends. Look for humor in your everyday life. A positive perspective makes you more resilient to stress but being able to laugh – load and often – actually reverses the effects of stress and makes you healthier. 

18. Diet and Nutrition – Food affects your body and what affects your body affects your mental state. So if you overeat or eat junk food then your body will not function as well and you create unnecessary stress for yourself. Eat a balanced meal. If you are not sure what a balanced meal is then study the food pyramid. Also, eat mindfully. Take time to sit down and relax when you eat. If you eat on the go then you may get indigestion. Take your time to enjoy your meal and eat properly. Also, don’t overeat as it makes you feel lazy. If you eat when you are stressed then you are making yourself feel worse and probably on the path to weight gain. Replace stress eating with a short breathing and relaxation practice. You will feel better and be thinner. 

19. Keep good company – If your friends are negative it will rub off on you. Make friends with people whoe positive and have a good sense of humor. Don’t hold grudges. If you don’t like someone or someone was mean to you then avoid them. Don’t let them get you down. If possible forgive - don’t forget, learn a lesson from the experience instead. Forgiveness takes a weight off of you and you feel better. Try to understand the background of beliefs of the rude person to put the experience in perspective. It’s easier to forgive if you feel sympathy for the lack of manners etc. from such a person. You shouldn’t forget because that person may not grow up and may attack you in the same way again. So forgive and move on. 

20. Take pleasure in small things – If you think about big things then you have a better chance of being overwhelmed with stress. On the other hand if you enjoy the little things in life you will be less stressed and you’ll’ have more fun. Enjoy a tasty meal, gaze at a beautiful garden, watch a good movie, read a book, play with your kids or pets, take a bubble bath, walk in the park or at the beach, enjoy a cup of tea, enjoy an sunset and a sunrise etc.

21. Get regular massages – Massage is a well known stress reliever. Just getting a friend to massage your shoulders and the back of your neck (where stress accumulates) will do wonders for your stress. You can also get a full body massage which will not only relax your entire body but will also release chemicals in your bloodstream that reverse stress. You could also get your hands and feet massaged, which are known to have nerve endings connected to all the major organs in your body, it has a very calming effect on stressed out nerves (there is also a field called ‘Reflexology’ that specializes in this form of massage). There are many types of massage therapies and you should try out all of them to determine the one (or ones) that are best for you.