10 Anti-Stress Techniques To Help You Through Overwhelming Situations

Stress will affect all of us from time to time. When it’s chronic or not managed well, it has the potential to cause physical and mental health problems. That’s why learning to manage stressful situations can be so important for overall health and well-being. If you’re looking for ideas on healthy ways to cope with stress, read on: We’ve compiled 10 stress-reduction techniques based on research that may help you find balance during difficult times.

1. Get some exercise

Engaging in some form of physical activity regularly may be one of the best anti-stress techniques to try if you're experiencing stress. Physical exercise can promote the release of endorphins, which are scientifically suggested to result in decreased feelings of nervousness, lower rates of depression, and reduced stress. Exercise may also improve sleep quality, decrease anxiety, reduce the risk of certain illnesses, lower blood pressure to healthier levels, promote weight loss, and even increase confidence.

You don't necessarily have to do strenuous exercise for long periods to lower stress. Dancing, going for a bike ride, doing tai chi, or taking a mindful walk can sometimes be enough to help you move past moments of stress into a place of relief or lower-intensity symptoms. 

2. Engage in progressive muscle relaxation

When feeling stressed, it’s not uncommon to hold tension in the body. That’s why taking a few moments to engage in progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) exercises can be so beneficial, because they may help release some muscle tension and bring about an overall sense of calm. As research suggests, these types of relaxation techniques may help “reduce stress, enhance relaxation states, and improve overall well-being.” 

A simple way to get started is to lay down, close your eyes, have some deep breaths, and take just a few minutes to tense and then relax each muscle group from head to toe. You can also find guided exercises for PMR, body scans, guided imagery exercises, or hatha yoga to induce the relaxation response online.

3. Writing in a journal

Journaling has been scientifically suggested to decrease mental distress and increase well-being in a range of test subjects and across peer-reviewed studies. Writing about your thoughts, feelings, and stressors can help get them out of your head, which may result in less rumination or frustration. It can also help you avoid unhealthy habits like bottling up emotions. Journaling as a form of “venting” can be especially helpful if you’re dealing with sensitive subjects, or if you aren’t able to speak to someone at that particular moment. It can also be a powerful way to learn to self-control your emotions. 

Journaling can be effective in a variety of forms. For example, you may choose to write about what you're feeling or list the stressors you’re experiencing. Or, you might choose to redirect your thoughts, writing down things that you're happy about or grateful for to help improve your mood.

4. Speak with a friend

If you’re experiencing stress, you may find that talking it out with a friend can be a good stress reliever. Gaining a third-party perspective, venting, or otherwise connecting with another person may support you in moving into a more relaxed state. You may also find that you’re able to more effectively reframe your thoughts and seek solutions because of their influence. Research suggests that receiving social support may help decrease biological markers of stress, pointing to the potential power of leaning on friends or other loved ones when experiencing a tough time.

 5. Have a good laugh

While it can sometimes be difficult to feel lighthearted enough to have a good laugh when you’re stressed, it could bring mood-boosting benefits. According to a 2021 study on the topic, laughter may help “physiologically lessen the pro-stress factors and increase the mood-elevating anti-stress factors to reduce anxiety and depression.” Spending time with a friend who always has a joke ready, watching a comedic movie or standup set, or looking up funny videos may help you shift your mood and benefit your overall health.

6. Draw healthy boundaries

A lack of healthy boundaries may result in more day-to-day stress. If you’re a person who tends to say yes to everything or you frequently feel overwhelmed by an overloaded schedule, for instance, you may benefit from the anti-stress technique of setting some boundaries. Saying no more often, setting parameters for interactions and commitments, and enforcing these when pushed could help you safeguard your time and energy and reduce stress. Consider, for example, research that suggests that those who set healthy work-life boundaries are likelier to engage in other healthy habits and may experience less emotional exhaustion.

7. Address procrastination

Procrastination can represent one of the potentially unhealthy habits that could be exacerbating your stress. Putting off tasks—and the potential consequences of doing so—can result in acute bouts of stress in many cases. 

Research suggests that procrastinating could even reduce your ability to manage stress and negative emotions in a healthy way, so figuring out the root of your tendency to procrastinate, if applicable, could be a helpful first step. If it’s perfectionism, anxiety, or ADHD, for instance, you might seek the support of a professional to learn strategies to manage these. On your own, it could also help to try tools and strategies such as project management platforms, planning apps, and motivational self-reward systems.

8. Practice meditation

The goal of meditation and mindfulness practices in general is to be aware of the thoughts, feelings, and sensations you’re experiencing without engaging with them or judging them. While this can feel challenging—particularly during times of acute stress—it often becomes easier with practice, and it has the potential to provide physical and mental health benefits. 

Research suggests that practicing mindfulness meditation in particular can actually change pathways in the brain associated with stress and emotional control. This may potentially make a person less likely to react with negative thoughts or have “unhelpful emotional reactions” during stressful times.

9. Listen to music

Many of us have experienced the potentially mood-shifting effects of music. Whether it’s a favorite song that makes you feel nostalgic, lyrics that make you feel seen, or a beat that you find uplifting, it’s often possible to feel differently by the end of a song than you did when you started. Listening to your favorite soothing music may allow you to move through an emotional storm like a stressful time, with research suggesting that it may help counteract the stress response.

10. Cut the caffeine

Did you know that caffeine can increase your levels of anxiety? While it may not be the only contributing factor to your experience, regular consumption of too much caffeine could potentially affect your stress levels. If you regularly consume caffeine, it could be helpful to try cutting back or avoiding it for a period of time as an anti-stress technique to see if it helps you feel more emotionally balanced. 

Finding support in managing the stress response

If you find yourself frequently overwhelmed by stress or facing a highly stressful period in your life, it can be helpful to reach out for support. While venting to friends or family members may provide temporary relief, meeting with a mental healthcare professional may offer concrete, research-based strategies that can help you shift distorted thoughts and learn to manage stress in a healthy way. 

Those who are experiencing high levels of stress often have busy schedules or may otherwise feel overwhelmed, so the prospect of commuting to and from in-person therapy sessions can seem daunting. That’s where online therapy may represent a useful alternative. With a platform like BetterHelp, you can get matched with a licensed therapist and then meet with them from home or anywhere else you have an internet connection—no commuting required.

Online therapy can help

A growing body of research suggests that online therapy can be a viable alternative to in-person sessions in many cases. For example, consider a study specifically conducted to examine the efficacy of online therapy for stress management in both acute and chronic cases. Its findings suggest that individuals who participated in online interventions for stress experienced lower levels of perceived stress and improved functional ability. These results were consistent even when measured again at the six-month mark.