essay about how to cope with stress

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How to Relax in Stressful Situations: A Smart Stress Reduction System

Yekta said can.

1 Computer Engineering Department, Bogazici University, 34342 Istanbul, Turkey; [email protected] (N.C.); [email protected] (D.E.); rt.ude.nuob@yosre (C.E.)

Heather Iles-Smith

2 Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust/University of Leeds, Leeds LS1 3EX, UK; [email protected]

Niaz Chalabianloo

Javier fernández-Álvarez.

3 General Psychology and Communication Psychology, Catholic University of Milan, 20123 Milan, Italy; [email protected] (J.F.-Á.); [email protected] (C.R.); [email protected] (G.R.)

Claudia Repetto

Giuseppe riva.

Stress is an inescapable element of the modern age. Instances of untreated stress may lead to a reduction in the individual’s health, well-being and socio-economic situation. Stress management application development for wearable smart devices is a growing market. The use of wearable smart devices and biofeedback for individualized real-life stress reduction interventions has received less attention. By using our unobtrusive automatic stress detection system for use with consumer-grade smart bands, we first detected stress levels. When a high stress level is detected, our system suggests the most appropriate relaxation method by analyzing the physical activity-based contextual information. In more restricted contexts, physical activity is lower and mobile relaxation methods might be more appropriate, whereas in free contexts traditional methods might be useful. We further compared traditional and mobile relaxation methods by using our stress level detection system during an eight day EU project training event involving 15 early stage researchers (mean age 28; gender 9 Male, 6 Female). Participants’ daily stress levels were monitored and a range of traditional and mobile stress management techniques was applied. On day eight, participants were exposed to a ‘stressful’ event by being required to give an oral presentation. Insights about the success of both traditional and mobile relaxation methods by using the physiological signals and collected self-reports were provided.

1. Introduction

Stress constitutes a complex process that is activated by a physical or mental threat to the individuals’ homeostasis, comprising a set of diverse psychological, physiological and behavioral responses [ 1 ]. Although it is usually considered a negative response, stress actually constitutes a key process for ensuring our survival. However, when a stress response is repeatedly triggered in the absence of a challenging stimulus, or if there is constant exposure to challenging situations, stress can become harmful. Evidence suggests that, in either of these two contexts, stress is a persistent factor for the development of psycho-pathological conditions [ 2 , 3 ].

When faced with stressful events, people make autonomic and controlled efforts to reduce the negative impact and maximize the positive impact that every specific situation may provoke. Generally, this process is denominated as emotion regulation, formally defined as the process by which individuals can influence what emotions they have, when they have them and how they experience and express those emotions [ 4 ]. It has been suggested that the term emotion regulation can be understood as a broad tag that comprises the regulation of all responses that are emotionally charged, from basic emotions to complex mood states as well as regulation of everyday life [ 5 ].

Failure to address triggers of stress has been shown to lead to chronic stress, anxiety and depression, and attributed to serious physical health conditions such as cardiovascular disease [ 6 ]. The World Health Organization concluded that psychological stress is one of the most significant health problems in the 21st-century and is a growing problem [ 7 ]. There are various interventions to minimize stress based on individual preferences and requirements. Stress management techniques including ancient practices such as Tai Chi [ 8 ] and yoga [ 9 ] as well as other physical activities [ 10 ] are often cited as being helpful in combating stress. Likewise traditional meditation, mindfulness [ 11 ] and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) [ 12 ] all have established benefits. These techniques are not applicable in office or social environments, or during most daily routines. Therefore, a smart device based stress management application may be of benefit. Recently, smartphone applications such as Calm, Pause, Heartmath and Sway have been developed for indoor environments. However, these applications are not individualized nor do they include biofeedback and studies that validate their effects are limited [ 13 ].

In this study, we used the stress level detection scheme using physiological signals and added a physical activity based context analyzer. When the user experiences a high stress level, the system suggests appropriate stress reduction methods (traditional or mobile). We further compare the effects of traditional and mobile stress alleviation methods on physiological data of 15 international Ph.D. students (participants) during eight days of training. In addition, 1440 h of physiological signals from Empatica E4 smart bands were collected in this training event. Stress management techniques based on the emotion regulation model of James Gross [ 4 ] were applied to reduce participant stress levels. To the best of our knowledge, this work is the first one suggesting appropriate stress reduction methods based on contextual information and comparing both traditional and mobile stress management interventions in the real-life environment using a commercial smart-band based automatic stress level detection system that eliminates motion artifacts. Using such a system is essential because these offline stress level detection algorithms could be used in real-time biofeedback apps.

Application of our stress level detection algorithm, in a real world context, could allow individuals to receive feedback regarding high stress levels along with recommendations for relaxation methods. Additional continued monitoring may also enable the individual to better understand the effectiveness of any stress reduction methods. However, for our stress detection algorithm to be applied in daily life, the smart device should be unobtrusive (i.e., should not be comprised of cables, electrodes, boards). Our system works on smart-bands which are perfect examples of this type of unobtrusive wearable device.

This paper describes emotion regulation in the context of stress management and how yoga and mindfulness can be used for regulating emotions ( Section 2 ). Methods of detecting stress and analyzing context based on physical activity are described ( Section 3 ) and data are presented related to our method for stress level detection with the use of smart-bands ( Section 4 ). Experimental results and discussion are also presented ( Section 5 ) and we present the conclusions and future works of the study ( Section 6 ).

The major research contributions of this study are the following:

• Developing a physical activity based context analyzer and relaxation method suggestion system
• Comparison of stress reduction methods (mobile mindfulness, traditional mindfulness and yoga) and their effectiveness in the context of stress management with the use of an unobtrusive smartwatch based stress level detection system
• Application of James Gross’s prominent emotion regulation model in the context of stress management and measuring the physiological component with smart bands.

2. Background

2.1. emotion regulation in the context of stress management.

Stress is a normal part of daily life. However, its effects often vary across individuals and despite similar circumstances, some people do not feel under strain while others may be severely affected. Multiple reasons exist for these differences between individuals, including how people perceive reality and how they respond to the numerous stimuli to which they are exposed. When a person believes that a certain situation surpasses their available coping mechanisms, it is referred to as perceived stress. Thus, perceived stress varies from person to person depending on the value that an individual gives to a situation and their self-recognition of the resources to deal with it.

Numerous psychological scientists have investigated perceived stress. Individuals who display a mismatch between contextual demands and perceived resources constantly (rather than during a specific moment in time) are referred to as experiencing chronic stress. Chronic stress has not only been shown to be very relevant in people’s well-being and quality of life, but also important in the appearance and maintenance of several physical and mental diseases [ 14 ].

As a consequence, mounting research has focused on the mechanisms that people implement in order to alleviate the physical and cognitive burden associated with that perceived stress. Coping styles, stress management techniques, self-regulation, or emotion regulation techniques are different labels that define the way people implement certain behavioral, cognitive, or emotional strategies to maintain allosteric load [ 15 ]. In other words, every living organism needs to vary among plasticity and stability in order to survive. Human beings are not the exception to the rule and the complex system that applies to every single person and the necessity of reaching a constant level of regulation permits the individuals to pursue their goals.

Specifically, emotion regulation has been defined as the study of “the processes by which we influence which emotions we have when we have them, and how we experience and express them” [ 4 ]. A large body of evidence has shown that there are very different consequences depending on the effectiveness people achieve to regulate their emotions. Naturally, both at an implicit or explicit level, people regulate emotions in order to maintain those allosteric levels previously mentioned. Therefore, when there are specific stressors that demand a particular cognitive or physical response, the emotional reactivity may be stronger and the need for a proper regulation more relevant. Indeed, emotion regulation has shown to be a transdiagnostic factor that is present at a wide range of mental disorders. In other words, the way people initiate, implement and monitor their emotional processes, in order to reach more desirable states, has a significant impact on the stress levels. Some emotion regulation (ER) strategies have shown to be correlated with mental health issues. Among these strategies, cognitive reappraisal, problem-solving, or acceptance shall be mentioned as strategies that are negatively correlated with psychopathology, while rumination, experiential avoidance, or suppression are positively correlated with psychopathology [ 16 ]. In this regard, hinging on the different ER strategies deployed, ER can constitute a protective factor to face stress responses that all individuals experience after minor or major stressors [ 17 ]. Additionally, an adaptive regulation of emotions, by managing stress, may also be beneficial for clinical populations, such as people suffering from affective disorders [ 18 , 19 ].

Therefore, from whole psychotherapeutic treatments to single self-applied applications, studies in the literature have focused on how people can better regulate their emotions and manage their stress levels. Among many other techniques, cognitive behavioral therapy, autogenic training, biofeedback, breathing exercises, relaxation techniques, guided imagery, mindfulness, yoga, or Tai-Chi, are some of the stress management interventions that have received attention from researchers [ 20 , 21 ].

2.2. Yoga and Mindfulness: As Tools for Emotion Regulation

2.2.1. yoga.

Yoga is an ancient Eastern practice that developed more than 2000 years ago. Although its original creator and source are uncertain, the earliest written word ‘Yoga Sutra’ describes the philosophy of yoga focussing on growing spirituality, regulating emotions and thoughts. Initially, the focus was on awareness of breathing and breathing exercises ‘pranayama’ to calm the mind and body, ultimately reaching a higher state of consciousness.

As yoga evolved, physical movement in the form of postures was included and integrated with yogic breathing ‘prana’ and elements of relaxation. The underlying purpose is to create physical flexibility, reduce pain and unpleasant stimuli and reduce negative thoughts and emotions to calm the mind and body, thereby improving well-being. In the healthcare literature, the benefits are reported to be far-reaching both for mental and physical health conditions such as anxiety, depression, cardiovascular disease, cancer and respiratory symptoms. It is also reported to reduce muscular-skeletal problems and physical symptoms through increasing the awareness of the physical body.

Yoga has become a global phenomenon and is widely practiced in many different forms. Generally, all types of yoga include some elements of relaxation. Additionally, some forms include mainly pranayama and others are more physical in nature. One such practice is vinyasa flow which involves using the inhale and exhale of the breathing pattern to move through a variety of yoga postures; this leads to the movement becoming meditative. The practice often includes pranayama followed by standing postures linked together with a movement called vinyasa, (similar to a sun salutation) which helps to keep the body moving and increases fitness, flexibility and helps maintain linkage with the breath. The practice also often includes a range of seated postures, an inversion (such as headstand or shoulder stand) and final relaxation ‘savasana’.

2.2.2. Mindfulness

Mindfulness involves being more present at the moment by acknowledging the here and now, often referred to as ‘being present’ rather than focussing on the past or future [ 8 ]. Being present may include being aware of our surroundings and the environment, or of what we are eating and drinking and physical sensations such as the sun or wind on our skin.

Acknowledging the thoughts and body are also aspects of mindfulness. Each day humans experience thousands of thoughts, the majority being of no consequence. In some instances, these thoughts are repetitive and negative in nature which can lead to increased stress and the related unpleasant physical symptoms such as feeling anxious, nausea and tension headaches. Being mindful includes an awareness of our thinking and whether we are caught up with our thoughts rather than being aware of the moment. Additionally, on a daily basis, awareness of the physical body may be minimal; being mindful includes increasing this awareness through becoming more connected with the sensations in the body. This might include experiencing the legs moving when walking, or feeling the ground under the feet or the natural way of the body whilst standing.

Mindfulness has been shown to be of benefit to physical and mental health. It is currently recommended by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence [ 22 ] as adjunctive therapy to Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for the prevention of relapse depression.

However, it may be challenging for some individuals to do this with a multitude of distractions around them and, therefore, they may choose to identify a particular time and place when and where they can sit in a comfortable position to start to become aware of their breathing and bodily sensations.

2.2.3. Mobile Mindfulness Inspired By Tai-Chi—Pause

Tai-Chi is an internal Chinese martial art practiced for both its defense training, its health benefits and meditation. There is good evidence of benefits for depression, cardiac and stroke rehabilitation and dementia [ 23 ]. The term Tai-Chi refers to a philosophy of the forces of yin and yang, related to the moves. An iPhone application Pause inspired by Tai-Chi is used for guided mindfulness which draws upon the principles of mindfulness meditation to trigger the body’s rest and digest response, quickly restoring attention [ 24 ].

3. Related Work

Researchers have created the ability to detect stress in laboratory environments with medical-grade devices [ 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 ]; smartwatches and smart bands started to be used for stress level detection studies [ 29 , 30 , 31 ]. These devices provide high comfort and rich functionality for the users, but their stress detection accuracies are lower than medical-grade devices due to low signal quality and difficulty obtaining data in intense physical activity. If data are collected for long periods, researchers have shown that their detection performance improves [ 32 ]. During movement periods, the signal can be lost (gap in the data) or artifacts might be generated. Stress level detection accuracies for 2-classes by using these devices are around 70% [ 29 , 30 , 33 , 34 ].

After detecting the stress level of individuals, researchers should recover from the stressed state to the baseline state. To the best of our knowledge, there are very few studies that combine automatic stress detection (using physiological data) with recommended appropriate stress management techniques. Ahani et al. [ 35 ] examined the physiological effect of mindfulness. They used the Biosemi device which acquires electroencephalogram (EEG) and respiration signals. They successfully distinguished control (non-meditative state) and meditation states with machine learning algorithms. Karydis et al. [ 36 ] identified the post-meditation perceptual states by using a wearable EEG measurement device (Muse headband). Mason et al. [ 37 ] examined the effect of yoga on physiological signals. They used PortaPres Digital Plethtsmograph for measuring blood pressure and respiration signals. They also showed the positive effect of yoga by using these signals. A further study validated the positive effect of yoga with physiological signals; researchers monitored breathing and heart rate pulse with a piezoelectric belt and a pulse sensor [ 21 ]. They demonstrated the effectiveness of different yogic breathing patterns to help participants relax. There are also several studies showing the effectiveness of mobile mindfulness apps by using physiological signals [ 20 , 38 , 39 ]. Svetlov et al. [ 20 ] monitored the heart rate variability (HRV), electrodermal activity (EDA), Salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) and EEG values. In other studies, EEG and respiration signals were also used for validating the effect of mobile mindfulness apps [ 38 , 39 ]. When the literature is examined, it could be observed that the effect of ancient relaxation methods and mobile mindfulness methods are examined separately in different studies. Ancient methods generally require out of office environments that are not suitable for most of the population, since, in the modern age, people started to spend more time in office-like environments. On the other hand, some smartphone applications such as Pause, HeartMath and Calm do not require extra hardware or equipment and be applicable in office environments. Hence, an ideal solution depends on the context of individuals. A system that monitors stress levels, analyzes the context of individuals and suggests an appropriate relaxation method in the case of high stress will benefit society. Furthermore, mobile methods along with the ancient techniques should be applied in stressful real-life events and their effectiveness should be compared by investigating physiological signals. When the literature is examined, there is not any study comparing the performance of these methods in real-life events (see Table 1 ). Another important finding is that these methods should be compared with unobtrusive wearable devices so that they could be used for a biofeedback system in daily lives. Individuals may be reluctant to use a system with cables, electrodes and boards in their daily life. Therefore, a comparison of different states with such systems could not be used in daily life. There is clearly a need for a suggestion and comparison of ancient and mobile meditation methods by using algorithms that could run on unobtrusive devices. An ideal system should detect high stress levels, suggest relaxation methods and control whether users are doing these exercises right or not with unobtrusive devices. Our algorithm is suitable to be embedded in such daily life applicable systems that use physiological signals such as skin temperature (ST), HRV, EDA and accelerometer (ACC). In this paper, we present the findings of our pilot study that tested the use of our algorithm during general daily activities, stress reduction activities and a stressful event.

Comparison of our work with the studies applying different types of meditation techniques for stress management in the literature.

4. Methodology

4.1. unobtrusive stress detection system with smart bands.

Our stress detection system developed in [ 32 ] allows users to be aware of their stress levels during their daily activities without creating any interruption or restriction. The only requirement to use this system is the need to wear a smart band. Participants in this study wore the Empatica E4 smart band on their non-dominant hand. The smart band provides Blood Volume Pressure, ST, EDA, IBI (Interbeat Interval) and 3D Acceleration. The data are stored in the memory of the device. Then, the artifacts of physiological signals were detected and handled. The features were extracted from the sensory signals and fed to the machine learning algorithm for prediction. In order to use this system, pre-trained machine learning models are required. For training the models, feature vectors and collected class labels were used.

4.1.1. EDA Preprocessing Artifact Detection and Removal Methods

The body sweats when emotional arousal and stress are experienced and, therefore, skin conductance increases [ 40 ]. This makes EDA a promising candidate for stress level detection. Intense physical activity and temperature changes contaminate the SC (Skin Conductance) signal. Therefore, affected segments (artifacts) should be filtered out from the original signal. In order to detect the artifacts in the SC signal, we used an EDA toolkit [ 41 ] which is 95% accurate on the detection of the artifacts. While developing this tool, technicians labeled the artifacts manually. They trained a machine learning model by using the labels. In addition to the SC signal, 3D acceleration and ST signals were also used for artifact detection. We removed the parts that this tool detected as artifacts from our signals. We further added batch processing and segmentation to this tool by using custom software built-in Python 2.7.

4.1.2. EDA Feature Extraction Methods

After the artifact removal phase, features were extracted from the EDA signal. This signal has two components phasic and tonic; features from both components were extracted (see Table 2 ). The cvxEDA tool [ 42 ] was used for the decomposition of the signal into these components. This tool uses convex optimization to estimate the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) activity that is based on Bayesian statistics.

EDA features and their definitions.

Tonic Component Features

The tonic component in the EDA signal represents the long-term slow changes. This component is also known as the skin conductance level. It could be regarded as the indicator of general psychophysiological activation [ 43 ].

Phasic Component Features

The phasic component represents faster (event-related ) differences in the SC signal. The Peaks of phasic SC component as a reaction to a stimulus is also called Skin Conductance Response [ 43 ]. After we decompose the phasic component from the EDA signal, peak related features were extracted.

4.1.3. Heart Activity Preprocessing (Artifact Detection and Removal) and Feature Extraction Methods

Heart activity (or, more specifically, HRV) reacts to changes in the autonomic nervous system (ANS) caused by stress [ 44 ] and it is, therefore, one of the most commonly used physiological signal for stress detection [ 40 ]. However, vigorous movement of subjects and improperly worn devices may contaminate the HRV signal collected from smartwatches and smart bands. In order to address this issue, we developed an artifact handling tool in MATLAB programming language [ 45 ] that has batch processing capability. First, the data were divided into 2 min long segments with 50% overlapping. Two-minute segments were selected because it is reported that the time interval for stress stimulation and recovery processes is around a few minutes [ 46 ]. The artifact detection percentage rule (also employed in Kubios [ 47 ]) was applied after the segmentation phase. In this rule, each data point was compared with the local average around it. When the difference was more than a predetermined threshold percentage, (20% is commonly selected in the literature [ 48 ]), the data point was labeled as an artifact. In our system, we deleted the inter-beat intervals detected as the artifacts and interpolated these points with the cubic spline interpolation technique which was used in the Kubios software [ 47 ]. The time-domain features of HRV are calculated. In order to calculate the frequency domain features, we interpolated the RR intervals to 4 Hz. Then, we applied the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). These time and frequency domain features (see Table 3 ) were selected because these are the most discriminative ones in the literature [ 30 , 49 , 50 ].

HRV features and their definitions [ 32 ].

4.1.4. Accelerometer Feature Extraction Methods

Research has shown that movements of the human body and postures can indeed be employed as a means to detect signs of different emotional states. The dynamics of body movement were investigated by Castellano et al. who used multimodal data to identify human affective behaviors. Specific movement metrics, such as the amount of movement, intensity and fluidity, were used to help deduct emotions, and it was found that the amount of movement was a major factor in distinguishing different types of emotions [ 51 ]. Melzer et al. investigated whether movements comprised of collections of Laban movement components could be recognized as expressing basic emotions [ 52 ]. The results of their study confirm that, even when the subject has no intention of expressing emotions, particular movements can assist in the perception of bodily expressions of emotions. Accelerometer sensors may be used to detect these movements and different types of affect. The accelerometer sensor data are used for two different purposes in our system. Firstly, we extracted features from the accelerometer sensor, for detecting stress levels. We also selected the features to be used as described in Table 4 [ 53 ] and, as mentioned above, this sensor was also employed to clean the EDA signal in the EDAExplorer Tool [ 41 ].

ACC features and their definitions.

4.1.5. Skin Temperature

A skin temperature signal is used for the artifact detection phase of the EDA signal in the EDAExplorer Tool [ 41 ]. After we divide our data into segments, different modalities were merged into one feature vector. The heart activity signal started with a delay (to calculate heartbeats per minute at the start) and all signals were then synchronized. We included start and end timestamps for each segment, and each modality was merged with a custom Python script.

4.1.6. Machine Learning Classifier Algorithms

The Weka machine learning toolkit [ 54 ] is used for identifying stress levels. The Weka toolkit has several preprocessing features before classification. Our data set was not balanced when the number of instances belonging to each class was considered. We solved this issue by removing samples from the majority class. We selected random undersampling because it is the most commonly applied method [ 55 ]. In this way, we prevented classifiers from biasing towards the class with more instances. In this study, we employed five different machine learning classification algorithms to recognize different stress levels: MultiLayer Perceptron (MLP), Random Forest (RF) (with 100 trees), K-nearest neighbors (kNN) ( n = 1–4), Linear discriminant analysis (LDA), Principal component analysis (PCA) and support vector machine (SVM) with a radial basis function. These algorithms were selected because they were the most commonly applied and successful classifiers for detecting stress levels [ 30 , 48 ]. In addition, 10-fold stratified cross-validation was then applied and hyperparameters of the machine learning algorithms were fine-tuned with grid search. The best performing models have been reported.

4.1.7. Dimensionality Reduction

We applied correlation-based feature selection (CBFS) technique which is available in the Weka machine learning package for combined signal [ 56 ]. The CBFS method removes the features that are less correlated with the output class. For every model, we selected the ten most important features. This method is applied for MLP, RF, kNN and LDA. In order to create an SVM based model, we applied PCA based dimensionality reduction where the covered variance is selected as 0.95 (the default setting).

4.1.8. Insights from the Feature Selection Process

The CBFS method computes the correlation of features with the ground truth label of the stress level. Insights about the contribution of the features to the stress detection performance can be obtained from Figure 1 and Figure 2 . Three of the best features (over 0.15 correlation) are frequency domain features. These features are high, low and very-low frequency components of the HRV signal (see Figure 1 ). When we examine the EDA features, peaks per 100 s feature are the most important and distinctive feature by far. Since the EDA signal is distorted under the influence of the stimuli, the number of peaks and valleys increases. Lastly, when the acceleration signal is investigated, the most discriminative feature is mean acceleration in the z -axis (see Figure 2 b). This could be due to the nature of hand and body gestures which are caused by stressed situations.

Top-ranking features selected for the HRV signal.

Top-ranking features selected for the EDA and ACC signals.

4.2. Relaxation Method Suggestion by Analyzing the Physical Activity-Based Context

Context is a broad term that could contain different types of information such as calendars, activity type, location and activity intensity. Physical activity intensity could be used to infer contextual information. In more restricted environments such as office, classrooms, public transportation and physical activity intensity could be low, whereas, in outdoor environments, physical activity intensity could increase. Therefore, an appropriate relaxation method will change according to the context of individuals.

For calculating physical activity intensity, we used the EDAExplorer tool [ 41 ]. The stillness metric is used for this purpose. It is the percentage of periods in which the person is still or motionless. Total acceleration must be less than a threshold (default is 0.1 [ 41 ]) for 95 percent of a minute in order for this minute to count as still [ 41 ]. Then, the ratio of still minutes in a session can be calculated. For the ratio of still minutes in a session, we labeled sessions below 20% as still, above 20% as active and suggested relaxation method accordingly (see Figure 3 ).

The whole system diagram is depicted. When a high stress level is experienced, by analyzing the physical activity based context, the system suggests the most appropriate reduction method.

4.3. Description of the Data Collection Procedure

The proposed stress level monitoring mechanism, for real-life settings, was evaluated during an eight day Marie Skłodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network (ITN) training event in Istanbul, Turkey, for the AffecTech project. AffecTech is a program funded by Horizon 2020 (H2020) framework established by the European Commission. The AffecTech project is an international collaborative research network involving 15 PhD students (early stage researchers (ESR)) with the aim of developing low-cost effective wearable technologies for individuals who experience affective disorders (for example, depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder).

The eight-day training event included workshops, lectures and training with clearly defined tasks and activities to ensure that the ESR had developed the required skills, knowledge and values outline prior to the training event. At the end of the eight-day training, ESRs were required to deliver a presentation about their PhD work to two evaluators from the European Union where they received feedback about their progress (see Figure 4 for raw physiological signals at the start of the presentation). For studying the effects of emotion regulation on stress, yoga, guided mindfulness and mobile-based mindfulness, sessions were held by a certified instructor.

Sample data belong to a presentation session. The increase in EDA, ST and IBI could be observed when the subject started the presentation.

During the training, physiological and questionnaire data were collected from the 16 ESR participants (9 men, mean age 28); 15 ESRs and one of the AffecTech project academics, all of whom gave informed consent to participate in the study. Participants were from different countries with diverse nationalities (two from Iran, two from Spain, two from Italy, one from Argentina, one from Pakistan, one from China, one from Switzerland, one from Belarus, one from France, one from England, one from Barbados, one from Turkey and one from Bulgaria). Due to the fault of one of the Empatica E4 devices, it was not possible to include data from one participant. The remaining 15 participants completed all stages of the study successfully.

During the eight days of training and presentations, psychophysiological data were collected from 16 participants during the training event from Empatica E4 smart band while they are awake. For studying the effects of emotion regulation on stress, yoga, guided mindfulness and mobile-based mindfulness sessions were held by a certified instructor. The timeline of the event is shown in Figure 5 .

Time-line depicting eight days of the training event. Presentations, relaxations and lectures are highlighted.

4.3.1. Physiological Stress Data

The psychophysiological signal data were collected using the Empatica E4 smart band whilst participants were awake throughout the eight days of the AffecTech training. Physiological data included IBI, EDA, ACC (Accelerometer) and ST and stored in different csv files. In addition, 27.39% of the data are obtained from free times (free day and after training until subjects slept 5:00 p.m.–10:00 p.m.), 43.83% of the data comes from lectures in the training, 11.41% is the presentation session and relax sessions consist of 17.35% of the data. As mentioned previously, we randomly undersampled (most commonly applied method [ 55 ] ) the data to overcome the class imbalance problem. The participants’ blood pressure (BP) was also recorded using CE(0123) Harvard Medical Devices Ltd. automated sphygmomanometer prior to and after each stress reduction event (yoga and mindfulness), in order to demonstrate whether the participants stress levels were modified. On each occasion that the participants’ BP was recorded, the mean of three recordings was used as the final BP. A reduction in the participants’ blood pressure and/or pulse rate may be seen, which demonstrates a reduction in stress level.

4.3.2. Ethics

The procedure used in this study was approved by the Institutional Review Board for Research with Human Subjects of Boğaziçi University with the approval number 2018/16. Prior to data acquisition, each participant received a consent form describing the experimental procedure and its benefits and implications to both the society and the subject. The procedure was also explained verbally to the subject. All of the data are stored anonymously.

4.3.3. Questionnaire Self-Report Stress Data

A session-based self-report questionnaire comprised of six questions based on the Nasa Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) [ 57 ]. The frustration scale was specifically used to measure perceived stress levels [ 32 ]. We asked the following question to the participants for each session:

How irritated, stressed and annoyed versus content, relaxed and complacent did you feel during the task?

Questionnaires were completed daily (at the end of the day) and, after each presentation, lecture and stress reduction event (such as yoga and mindfulness).

4.3.4. Stress Management Scheme Using Yoga and Mindfulness

During the eight day training, it is assumed that the participants’ stress levels are likely to have increased day by day because they were required to give a presentation (perceived as a stressful event) reporting their PhD progress to the EU project evaluators at the end of the training.

Underpinned by James Gross’s Emotion Regulation model (see Figure 6 ) [ 4 ], we modified the situation to help the participants to reduce their thoughts of the end of the training presentation. To help participants manage their stress levels, we applied Yoga and mindfulness sessions on two separate days (day three and day four, respectively). These sessions lasted approximately 1 h and, throughout the sessions, participants wore an Empatica E4 smartband. In addition to the physiological signals coming from the Smartbands, participants’ blood pressure values were also recorded before and after the yoga and mindfulness sessions.

Application of James Gross’s Emotion Regulation model [ 4 ] in the context of stress management.

5. Experimental Results and Discussion

5.1. statistical data analysis, 5.1.1. validation of different perceived stress levels by using the self-reports.

In order to validate that the participants experienced different perceived stress levels in different contexts (lecture, relaxation, presentation), we used the Frustration item (see Section 4.5) from the NASA-TLX [ 57 ]. The distribution of answers is demonstrated in Figure 7 . Our aim is to show that the perceived stress levels (obtained from self-report answers) differ in relaxation sessions considerably when compared to the presentation session (high stress). To this end, we applied the t -test (in R programming language) to the perceived stress self-report answers of yoga versus presentation, mindfulness versus presentation and pause (mobile mindfulness) versus presentation session pairs. The paired t -test is used to evaluate the separability of each session. The degree of freedom is 15. We applied the variance test to each session tuple; we could not identify equal variance in any of the session tuples. Thus, we selected the variance as unequal. We used 99.5% confidence intervals. The t -test results’ ( p -values and test statistics) are provided in Table 5 . For all tuples, the null hypothesis stating that the perceived stress of the relaxation method is not less than the presentation session is rejected. The perceived stress levels of participants for all meditation sessions are observed to be significantly lower than the presentation session (high stress).

Visual representation of the frustration scores collected in different types of sessions.

T -test results for session tuple comparison of perceived stress levels using self-reports.

5.1.2. Before and After Physiological Measurements for Evaluating Performance of Yoga and Mindfulness with Blood Pressure

In this section, we compared the effect of stress management tools such as yoga and mindfulness on blood pressure. It is expected that blood pressure sensors will be part of unobtrusive wrist-worn wearable sensors soon. We plan to integrate a blood pressure (BP) module to our system when they are available. Therefore, by using the measurements of a medical-grade blood pressure monitor, we provided insights about how stress reaction affects BP. We further applied and tested the prominent emotion regulation model of James Gross by analyzing these measurements in the context of stress management. We measured the diastolic and systolic BP and pulse using a medical-grade blood pressure monitor before and after the yoga and mindfulness sessions. In order to ensure that the participants were relaxed and that an accurate BP was recorded, BP was measured three times with the mean as the recorded result. A one-sample t -test was applied to the difference between mean values. The results are shown in Table 6 .

The difference between the mean diastolic blood pressure, the mean systolic blood pressure and the mean pulse, before and after sessions of guided mindfulness and guided yoga. (* p < 0.05).

Mindfulness decreased the systolic BP, –1.13% (ns), increased diastolic BP, +1.75% ( p < 0.05) and decreased the pulse –5.75% ( p < 0.05). Medicine knows that systolic blood pressure (the top number or highest blood pressure when the heart is squeezing and pushing the blood around the body) is more important than diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number or lowest blood pressure between heartbeats) because it gives the best idea of the risk of having a stroke or heart attack. In this view, the significant reduction of systolic BP after mindfulness is an important result.

Moreover, the difference between systolic and diastolic BP is called pulse pressure. For example, 120 systolic minus 60 diastolic equals a pulse pressure of 60. It is also known that a pulse pressure greater than 60 can be a predictor of heart attacks or other cardiovascular diseases, while a low pulse pressure (less than 40) may indicate poor heart function. In our study, pulse pressure was lower after mindfulness (we had both a significant reduction in systolic BP and an increase in diastolic BP), but its value was higher than 40 (42.69 mean difference before the mindfulness and 40.48 mean difference after the mindfulness), suggesting that this result can also be considered clinically positive.

During yoga, there was a decrease in systolic BP by −5.81% ( p < 0.05), diastolic BP by −1.93% (ns) and increase in pulse +8.06% ( p < 0.05). Yoga appears to be more effective than mindfulness at decreasing systolic and diastolic blood pressure, although mindfulness seems to be more effective than yoga for decreasing the pulse due to the activity involved in yoga.

5.2. Physiological Stress Level Detection with Wearables by Using Context Labels as the Class Label

We tested our system by using the known context labels of sessions as the class label. We used Lecture (mild stress), Yoga and Mindfulness (relax) and Presentation in front of the board of juries (high stress) as class labels by examining perceived stress self-report answers in Figure 6 . We investigated the success of relaxation methods, different modalities and finding the presenter.

5.2.1. Effect of Different Physiological Signals on Stress Detection

We evaluated the effect of using the interbeat-interval, the skin conductance and the accelerometer signals separately and in a combined manner on two and three class classification performance. These classes are mild stress, high stress and relax states from mindfulness and yoga sessions. The results are shown in Table 7 , Table 8 and Table 9 . For the three-class classification problem, we achieved a maximum accuracy of 72% by using MLP on only HRV features and 86.61% with only accelerometer features using the Random Forest classifier and 85.36% accuracy combination of all features with LDA classifier (see Table 7 ). The difficulty in this classification task is a similar physiological reaction to relax and mild stress situations. However, since the main focus of our study is to discriminate high stress from other classes to offer relaxation techniques in this state, it did not affect our system performance. We also investigated high-mild stress and high stress-relax 2-class classification performance. For the discrimination of high and mild stress, HRV outperformed other signals with 98% accuracy using MLP (see Table 8 ). In the high stress-relax 2-class problem, only HRV features with RF achieved a maximum accuracy of 86%, whereas ACC features with MLP achieved a maximum of 94% accuracy. In this problem, the combination of all signals with RF achieved 92% accuracy which is the best among all classifiers (see Table 9 ). For all models, EDA did not perform well. This might be caused by the loose contact with EDA electrodes in the strap due to loosely worn smartbands.

Effect of different modalities and their combination on the system performance. Note that the number of classes is fixed at 3 (high stress, mild stress and relax).

Effect of different modalities and their combination on the system performance. Note that the number of classes is fixed at 2 (high stress and mild stress).

Effect of different modalities and their combination on the system performance. Note that the number of classes is fixed at 2 (high stress and relax).

5.2.2. Effectiveness of Yoga, Mindfulness and Mobile Mindfulness (Pause)

We applied three different relaxation methods to manage stress levels of individuals. In order to measure the effectiveness of each method, we examined how easily these physiological signals in the relaxation sessions can be separated from high stress presentations. If it can be separated from high stress levels with higher classification performance, it could be inferred that they are more successful at reducing stress. As seen in Table 10 and Table 11 , mobile mindfulness has lower success in reducing stress levels. Yoga has the highest classification performance with both HR and EDA signals.

The classification accuracy of the relaxation sessions using stress management methods and stressful sessions using EDA.

The classification accuracy of the relaxation sessions using stress management methods and stressful sessions using HRV.

6. Conclusions

In this study, by using our automatic stress detection system with the use of Empatica-E4 smart-bands, we detected stress levels and suggested appropriate relaxation methods (i.e., traditional or mobile) when high stress levels are experienced. Our stress detection framework is unobtrusive, comfortable and suitable for use in daily life and our relaxation method suggestion system makes its decisions based on the physical activity-related context of a user. To test our system, we collected eight days of data from 16 individuals participating in an EU research project training event. Individuals were exposed to varied stressful and relaxation events (1) training and lectures (mild stress), (2) yoga, mindfulness and mobile mindfulness (PAUSE) (relax) and (3) were required to give a moderated presentation (high stress). The participants were from different countries with diverse cultures.

In addition, 1440 h of mobile data (12 h in a day) were collected during this eight-day event from each participant measuring their stress levels. Data were collected during the training sessions, relaxation events and the moderated presentation and during their free time for 12 h in a day, demonstrating that our study monitored daily life stress. EDA and HR signals were collected to detect physiological stress and a combination of different modalities increased stress detection, performance and provided the most discriminative features. We first applied James Gross ER model in the context of stress management and measured the blood pressure during the ER cycle. When the known context was used as the label for stress level detection system, we achieved 98% accuracy for 2-class and 85% accuracy for 3-class. Most of the studies in the literature only detect stress levels of individuals. The participants’ stress levels were managed with yoga, mindfulness and a mobile mindfulness application while monitoring their stress levels. We investigated the success of each stress management technique by the separability of physiological signals from high-stress sessions. We demonstrated that yoga and traditional mindfulness performed slightly better than the mobile mindfulness application. Furthermore, this study is not without limitations. In order to generalize the conclusions, more experiments based on larger sample groups should be conducted. As future work, we plan to develop personalized perceived stress models by using self-reports and test our system in the wild. Furthermore, attitudes in the psychological field constitute a topic of utmost relevance, which always play an instrumental role in the determination of human behavior [ 58 ]. We plan to design a new experiment which accounts for the attitudes of participants towards relaxation methods and their effects on the performance of stress recognition systems.

Acknowledgments

We would like to show our gratitude to the Affectech Project for providing us the opportunity for the data collection in the training event and funding the research.

Author Contributions

Y.S.C. is the main editor of this work and made major contributions in data collection, analysis and manuscript writing. H.I.-S. made valuable contributions in both data collection and manuscript writing. She was the yoga and mindfulness instructor in the event and contributed the related sections regarding traditional and mobile methods. She also led the blood pressure measurement efforts before and after relaxation methods. D.E. and N.C. contributed equally to this work in design, implementation, data analysis and writing the manuscript. J.F.-Á., C.R. and G.R. contributed the experiment design and provided valuable insights into both emotion regulation theory. They also contributed to the related sections in the manuscript. C.E. provided invaluable feedback and technical guidance to interpret the design and the detail of the field study. He also performed comprehensive critical editing to increase the overall quality of the manuscript. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

This work has been supported by AffecTech: Personal Technologies for Affective Health, Innovative Training Network funded by the H2020 People Programme under Marie Skłodowska-Curie Grant Agreement No. 722022. This work is supported by the Turkish Directorate of Strategy and Budget under the TAM Project number DPT2007K120610.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

How to Cope With Stress: 10+ Strategies and Mechanisms

If so, you might be stressed.

Stress is an inevitable part of life, affecting individuals in different ways. Some people thrive under stress, whereas others struggle. Our thresholds for how much stress we can endure differ from one person to the next.

Learning how to cope with stress is essential to ensuring that individuals maintain their physical and mental health. It is improbable to have a life completely free of stress, so we must learn how to cope.

In this post, we explore how to cope with stress using stress coping techniques. We will start with the psychological theories about stress and, from there, look at several methods, informal and formal, that can be used. Our goal is that readers should have a solid understanding of stress-management techniques that can be easily implemented.

Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Stress & Burnout Prevention Exercises (PDF) for free . These science-based exercises will equip you and your clients with tools to better manage stress and find a healthier balance in your life.

This Article Contains

How to cope with stress according to psychology, healthy coping strategies and mechanisms: a list, 6+ techniques your clients can try, 5 activities, prompts, and worksheets, stress-management skills for work stress, 3 questionnaires, tests, and inventories, resources from positivepsychology.com, a take-home message.

There are various psychological theories about coping with stress, and it is essential to understand these theories to manage stress effectively.

4 Theories about coping with stress

One of the most popular and widely accepted theories is the transactional model of stress and coping, developed by Richard Lazarus and Susan Folkman (1984).

According to this model, stress results from an individual’s assessment of the stressor, its threat, and whether they have the necessary cognitive and behavioral resources to manage the stressor.

Based on this assessment, our coping mechanisms and psychological responses to stress are triggered. The model suggests that coping strategies can be either problem focused or emotion focused.

Problem-focused coping involves actively addressing the stressor, while emotion-focused coping involves managing the emotions associated with the stressor.

The transactional model of stress was expanded upon into the workplace, where it’s known as the job demand–control theory and the job demand–control–support theory (for a review, see Häusser et al., 2010; Goh et al., 2010).

In this theory, two dimensions influence the experience of stress: workload/job demands and the degree of control employees have over work tasks. The combination of high demand and low control increases the likelihood of high stress. Social support within the office has protective properties that moderate the relationship between demand and control.

The protective qualities of social support were recognized in the social support theory, another theory about coping with stress (Cohen & Wills, 1985). In this theory, social support is crucial for managing anxiety, because it helps ease feelings of anxiety and helps develop solutions to stressful environments. Social support is not limited to only immediate family and friends but includes colleagues and health care professionals.

The conservation of resources Theory (COR; Hobfoll, 1989) is another stress coping theory. This theory developed from the starting point that people feel stressed when they do not think they have the necessary resources to combat stress. However, in COR, additional emphasis is placed on the objective resources that are also available. These resources can be tangible (e.g., money, a house) or intangible (e.g., our relationships, self-worth), and individuals experience stress when their resources are threatened, depleted, or unattainable.

This theory is primarily used to explain workplace stress , and some researchers prefer it over the transactional model of stress because it:

• Is more practical and realistic
• Places less responsibility on the individual who experiences the stressor to change their mindset to combat stress
• Has predictive qualities (Hobfoll et al., 2018)

Why is stress management important?

Chronic stress can adversely affect an individual’s wellbeing and lead to mental health disorders like anxiety and depression (Hammen, 2005).

Therefore, developing good coping strategies has multiple beneficial outcomes (Cohen, 2004), including:

• Reducing the negative impact of stress
• Improving an individual’s overall quality of life by enhancing resilience
• Improving their social support network, allowing them to seek help and support from friends and family during stressful times

Here we provide a concise list of methods that can be used to cope with stress.

• Healthy coping strategies include exercise, relaxation techniques, social support, and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapies (CBT). Exercise has been shown to have numerous health benefits, including stress reduction, improved mood, and enhanced cognitive function (Sui et al., 2019).
• Relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, meditation, and yoga have also been shown to reduce stress and improve mental health outcomes (Pascoe et al., 2017).
• Social support, such as emotional and practical support from family and friends, can help individuals cope with stress (Cohen & Wills, 1985).
• CBT helps individuals recognize and change negative thought patterns and behaviors, improving mental health outcomes (Hofmann et al., 2012).
• Additional strategies that can improve mental and physical health are getting enough sleep, eating healthily, and avoiding alcohol (or consuming it in moderation). They do not impact stress directly, but they provide the scaffolding so individuals are better positioned to cope with stressful experiences effectively.

Besides these healthy coping strategies, there are several psychological techniques or mechanisms that individuals can use to manage stress.

• One mechanism is problem-focused coping, which involves addressing the stressor directly through problem-solving strategies (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984).
• Emotion-focused coping involves managing the emotional response to stress through strategies such as positive reappraisal or acceptance (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984).
• Meaning-focused coping involves finding meaning or purpose in the stressor or the experience of coping with it (Park, 2010).

These psychological techniques can be used alongside healthy coping strategies to manage stress more effectively and maintain overall wellbeing.

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Stress can have a significant impact on both our physical and mental wellbeing. Fortunately, there are several psychological techniques and physiological strategies that can alleviate stress.

• One such technique is mindfulness-based stress reduction ( MBSR ). MBSR has decreased perceived stress, anxiety, and depression in individuals who practice it regularly (Carmody & Baer, 2009).
• Similarly, practicing mindfulness meditation has been found to reduce stress levels and improve wellbeing (Hoge et al., 2013). Mindfulness exercises can include simple techniques, such as paying attention to one’s breath or body sensations, or more structured practices, such as body scans or mindful eating .
• Another technique is CBT , which helps individuals identify and challenge negative thoughts and beliefs contributing to stress (Beck, 2011).
• Additionally, relaxation techniques such as progressive muscle relaxation and deep- breathing exercises have been shown to reduce stress (Hennefeld & Battle, 2019).
• Another technique is visualization, which involves imagining a calm, peaceful place or scenario to reduce stress and promote relaxation (Chafin & Ollendick, 2001).

Move your body to improve your mood

Physical exercise and activity have also reduced stress levels and improved mood and overall wellbeing (Craft & Perna, 2004). Physical exercise reduces stress by releasing endorphins, improving mood, combating depression , and improving physical health (Belvederi Murri et al., 2019).

One simple yet effective activity is to take a walk in nature. A study conducted by Bratman et al. (2015) found that taking a 90-minute walk in a natural environment reduced neural activity in the sub-genual prefrontal cortex, a brain region associated with rumination and negative thought patterns.

Although exercise can be completed alone, consider doing it with friends or family or joining an exercise group or club. This way, you get double the benefits: exercise’s mood-boosting effects plus social support’s protective benefits.

Consider formal social support groups

Finally, joining a support group or taking part in group therapy can also help build a sense of community and reduce feelings of isolation.

Cohen et al. (2015) found that individuals who received social support had lower levels of stress hormones in response to stressors than those who did not receive social support.

The ABC sheet

One commonly used activity is the ABC sheet , which is based on CBT and helps patients understand the relationship between their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.

The name is an initialism:

• Antecedent is the event or stimulus that activates thoughts.
• Belief represents the perception or evaluation of that event.
• Consequence is the emotional or behavioral reaction that follows.

With this sheet, patients learn to identify irrational thoughts, negative beliefs, and consequences.

Once patients learn how to recognize these beliefs and behaviors, they can also learn how to challenge them, resulting in more favorable emotional and behavioral outcomes.

The Core Values Worksheet

Another worksheet is the Core Values Worksheet . With this worksheet, the underlying premise is that if we behave in a way that is incongruent with our core values, then we will experience stress.

Therefore, to reduce stress, we must identify our core values and how to align our behaviors to achieve, preserve, and satisfy them. These behaviors should be incorporated into our daily lives, not just reserved for big, life-changing decisions.

In this worksheet, the client will list their top values and then identify specific actions aligned with them. In addition to helping clients identify primary values, the tool can also help them identify incongruous behaviors that can lead to stress.

Journal prompts

Journaling is a valuable method for reducing stress and identifying patterns of behaviors and thoughts. One of the most significant advantages of journaling is that it is easy to implement and cost effective. All you need is a pencil and a notebook.

Several journal prompts can be used for coping with stress. In fact, we suggest having a look at our gratitude journal article for ideas. However, to whet your appetite, here is a short list to start with:

• Gratitude journaling: Write about three things you are grateful for each day to increase positive emotions.
• Positive self-talk: Jot down some positive affirmations or statements about yourself. This can help combat negative self-talk and increase self-esteem.
• Reflection on achievements: Write about a recent accomplishment to improve your self-worth.

For most adults, work is a source of significant stress. Unfortunately, it is a common occurrence that can lead to substantial physical and mental health issues if not adequately managed.

Developing stress-management techniques for work will improve not only wellbeing, but also productivity. Stress-management strategies for work include time management, physical activity, and mindfulness meditation.

Effective time management is a critical stress-management skill, and it involves organizing and prioritizing tasks to optimize productivity and reduce stress. For example, employees who manage their time efficiently are less likely to experience work stress (Frost & Stimpson, 2020).

To do this, individuals should set realistic goals and establish a schedule that allows them to accomplish their tasks without feeling overwhelmed. Other methods within employees’ control are to avoid procrastination and work without distraction.

For example, do not accept all tasks or requests that come your way, learn to say no or delegate, do the most difficult task first, and use a time-management system. One example of an effective time-management system is the Pomodoro technique , where you work for 25 minutes, take a five-minute break, and then after three cycles, take a longer break.

If employees do not determine their deadlines or tasks, which can be unrealistic or untenable, they should discuss these challenges with their managers or team leaders.

Employers can also significantly reduce work stress by implementing policies promoting a healthy work–life balance and providing stress-management training and support resources.

Physical activity is another critical stress-management skill that can help employees cope with work stress. Regular physical activity has been shown to reduce stress, improve mood, and increase energy levels by reducing stress hormones in the body (i.e., cortisol and adrenaline) and promoting the release of endorphins, which are natural mood enhancers (Salmon, 2018).

Physical activity can also improve cognitive function and help individuals make better decisions, which can reduce work stress (Stults-Kolehmainen & Sinha, 2014).

Other simple physical techniques that may help combat work stress include getting enough sleep, eating healthily and regularly, and avoiding alcohol (or consuming it in moderation).

Mindfulness exercises, such as mindfulness meditation, may also protect against work stress. Mindfulness meditation is a stress-management technique focusing on the present moment without judgment.

This technique helps individuals reduce stress by promoting relaxation, improving cognitive function (Schmidt et al., 2019), and reducing feelings of anxiety even in the workplace (Biegel et al., 2009). Mindfulness meditation can be easily performed in the office or a quiet workplace.

These tools have good psychometric properties (i.e., internal consistency, test–retest reliability, and validity) and are often used in peer-reviewed research.

Perceived Stress Scale

The first questionnaire is the Perceived Stress Scale, a 10-item self-report questionnaire designed to measure an individual’s subjective perception of stress (Cohen et al., 1983).

Initially, it was designed as a generic tool to measure perceived stress in a smoking cessation study. The original version contained 14 items and can be found in the original paper.

It assesses how individuals perceive their life as unpredictable, uncontrollable, and overloaded. The Perceived Stress Scale , with scoring instructions, can be accessed via the link.

State–Trait Anxiety Inventory

A second, more general measure of anxiety and stress is the State–Trait Anxiety Inventory (Spielberger et al., 1983).

Originally, it was developed as two separate tools, each containing 20 questions; however, these are often administered together. This inventory is widely used, easy to administer, and freely available.

It is a 40-item self-report questionnaire that measures two types of anxiety: state and trait anxiety. State anxiety is the temporary emotional state characterized by subjective feelings of tension, apprehension, and nervousness. For example, when presented with an urgent deadline, we might feel acute but short-lived feelings of stress and worry.

In contrast, trait anxiety is a stable personality trait characterized by a tendency to experience anxiety across various situations. For example, some people tend to have higher anxiety in general that is not limited to a specific event.

Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ)

For professionals who work in industrial and organizational psychology, we recommend the JCQ (Karasek et al.,1998).

This is a 49-item self-report questionnaire that measures job stress in terms of its psychological demands, decision authority, skill discretion, and social support. Initially, it was designed for research on the relationship between job stress and cardiovascular disease.

A study by Kivimäki et al. (2012) found that high job strain (high psychological demands combined with low decision authority and low social support) was associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease. The JCQ is in the manuscript’s appendix published by Karasek et al. (1998).

17 Exercises To Reduce Stress & Burnout

Help your clients prevent burnout, handle stressors, and achieve a healthy, sustainable work-life balance with these 17 Stress & Burnout Prevention Exercises [PDF].

Created by Experts. 100% Science-based.

For readers interested in journaling techniques and prompts, we suggest the following articles:

• Journaling for Mindfulness
• Journal prompts to improve self-esteem

For readers who want to read more about mindfulness meditation, especially in the workplace. this post is a good starting point and is quite exhaustive:

• Mindfulness at Work

In addition to our blog posts and free worksheets, we’d also like to share these three tools specifically related to stress and burnout. The Stress & Burnout Prevention Exercise Pack includes the following useful worksheets:

• Energy Management Audit
• The Stress-Related Growth Scale
• Strengthening the Work–Private Life Barrier

The worksheets are easy to administer and appropriate for clients experiencing stress in different domains of their lives. Two of these tools are designed for assessment and can help identify energy levels, the most effective ways to recharge, and how clients approach and reframe life events. The third tool is an exercise to help develop work–life boundaries.

Looking for even more tools? If you’re looking for more science-based ways to help others manage stress without spending hours on research and session prep, check out this collection of 17 validated stress-management tools for practitioners . Use them to help others cope with stress and create more balance in their lives.

Stress is a common experience that can have very serious negative consequences if left unmanaged. However, learning how to cope with stress is vital and will positively impact different spheres of life.

A large amount of stress is due to work demands. Finding a coping solution that works for you, especially one that can be incorporated into the work environment, is a great way to improve your mental health.

We encourage you to try these coping techniques to find the optimal one that will help you manage your stress levels.

Are there any stress coping methods you would recommend personally or that you have found highly effective in your practice? Please share them with us in the comments.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our three Stress & Burnout Prevention Exercises (PDF) for free .

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What is stress management?

Tip 1: identify the sources of stress in your life, tip 2: cut out unhealthy ways of dealing with stress.

• Tip 3: Practice the 4 A's of stress management

Tip 4: Get moving

Tip 5: connect to others, tip 6: make time for fun and relaxation, tip 7: manage your time better, tip 8: maintain balance with a healthy lifestyle, tip 9: learn to relieve stress in the moment, stress management: how to reduce and relieve stress.

While it may seem like there’s nothing you can do about stress at work and home, there are steps you can take to destress and regain control.

It may seem like there’s nothing you can do about stress. The bills won’t stop coming, there will never be more hours in the day, and your work and family responsibilities will always be demanding. But you have a lot more control than you might think.

If you’re living with high levels of stress, you’re putting your entire well-being at risk. Stress wreaks havoc on your emotional equilibrium, as well as your overall physical and mental health. It narrows your ability to think clearly, function effectively, and enjoy life.

Effective stress management helps you break the hold stress has on your life, so you can be happier, healthier, and more productive. The ultimate goal is a balanced life, with time for work, relationships, relaxation, and fun—and the resilience to hold up under pressure and meet challenges head on. But stress management is not one-size-fits-all. That’s why it’s important to experiment and find out what works best for you. The following stress management tips can help you do that.

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Stress management starts with identifying the sources of stress in your life. This isn’t as straightforward as it sounds. While it’s easy to identify major stressors such as changing jobs, moving, or going through a divorce, pinpointing the sources of chronic stress can be more complicated. It’s all too easy to overlook how your own thoughts, feelings, and behaviors contribute to your everyday stress levels.

Sure, you may know that you’re constantly worried about work deadlines, but maybe it’s your procrastination, rather than the actual job demands, that is causing the stress.

To identify what’s really stressing you out, look closely at your habits, attitude, and excuses:

• Do you explain away stress as temporary (“I just have a million things going on right now”) even though you can’t remember the last time you took a breather?
• Do you define stress as an integral part of your work or home life (“Things are always crazy around here”) or as a part of your personality (“I have a lot of nervous energy, that’s all”)?
• Do you blame your stress on other people or outside events, or view it as entirely normal and unexceptional?

Until you accept responsibility for the role you play in creating or maintaining it, your stress level will remain outside your control.

Start a stress journal

A stress journal can help you identify the regular stressors in your life and the way you deal with them. Each time you feel stressed, make a note of it in your journal or use a stress tracker on your phone. Keeping a daily log will enable you to see patterns and common themes. Write down:

• What caused your stress (make a guess if you’re unsure).
• How you felt, both physically and emotionally.
• How you acted in response.
• What you did to make yourself feel better.

Many of us feel so stressed out, we resort to unhealthy and unproductive ways to cope. A lot of these unhelpful strategies can temporarily reduce stress, but in the long run, they actually cause even more damage:

• Smoking, drinking too much, or using drugs to relax.
• Bingeing on junk or comfort food.
• Zoning out for hours in front of the TV or phone.
• Withdrawing from friends, family, and social activities.
• Sleeping too much.
• Filling up every minute of the day to avoid facing problems.
• Procrastinating.
• Taking out your stress on others (lashing out, angry outbursts, physical violence).

[Read: Self-Medicating Depression, Anxiety, and Stress]

If your methods of coping with stress aren’t contributing to your greater emotional and physical health, it’s time to find healthier ones that leave you feeling calm and in control.

Tip 3: Practice the 4 A’s of stress management

While stress is an automatic response from your nervous system, some stressors arise at predictable times: your commute to work, a meeting with your boss, or family gatherings, for example. When handling such predictable stressors, you can either change the situation or change your reaction.

When deciding which option to choose in any given scenario, it’s helpful to think of the four A’s: avoid , alter , adapt , or accept .

Avoid unnecessary stress

It’s not healthy to avoid a stressful situation that needs to be addressed, but you may be surprised by the number of stressors in your life that you can eliminate.

Learn how to say “no.” Know your limits and stick to them. Whether in your personal or professional life, taking on more than you can handle is a surefire recipe for stress.

Avoid people who stress you out. If someone consistently causes stress in your life, limit the amount of time you spend with that person, or end the relationship.

Take control of your environment. If the evening news makes you anxious, turn off the TV. If traffic makes you tense, take a longer but less-traveled route. If going to the market is an unpleasant chore, do your grocery shopping online.

Avoid hot-button topics . If you get upset over religion or politics, cross them off your conversation list. If you repeatedly argue about the same subject with the same people, stop bringing it up or excuse yourself when it’s the topic of discussion.

Pare down your to-do list. Analyze your schedule, responsibilities, and daily tasks. If you’ve got too much on your plate, distinguish between the “shoulds” and the “musts.” Drop tasks that aren’t truly necessary to the bottom of the list or eliminate them entirely.

Alter the situation

If you can’t avoid a stressful situation, try to alter it. Often, this involves changing the way you communicate and operate in your daily life.

Express your feelings instead of bottling them up. If something or someone is bothering you, communicate your concerns in an open and respectful way. If you don’t voice your feelings, resentment will build and the stress will increase.

Be willing to compromise. When you ask someone to change their behavior, be willing to do the same. If you both are willing to bend at least a little, you’ll have a good chance of finding a happy middle ground.

Be more assertive.  Don’t take a backseat in your own life. Deal with problems head on, doing your best to anticipate and prevent them. If you’ve got an exam to study for and your chatty roommate just got home, say up front that you only have five minutes to talk.

Find balance. All work and no play is a recipe for burnout. Try to find a balance between work and family life, social activities and solitary pursuits, daily responsibilities and downtime.

Adapt to the stressor

If you can’t change the stressor, change yourself. You can adapt to stressful situations and regain your sense of control by changing your expectations and attitude.

Reframe problems. Try to view stressful situations from a more positive perspective. Rather than fuming about a traffic jam, look at it as an opportunity to pause and regroup, listen to your favorite radio station, or enjoy some alone time.

Look at the big picture. Take perspective of the stressful situation. Ask yourself how important it will be in the long run. Will it matter in a month? A year? Is it really worth getting upset over? If the answer is no, focus your time and energy elsewhere.

Adjust your standards. Perfectionism is a major source of avoidable stress. Stop setting yourself up for failure by demanding perfection. Set reasonable standards for yourself and others, and learn to be okay with “good enough.”

Practice gratitude. When stress is getting you down, take a moment to reflect on all the things you appreciate in your life , including your own positive qualities and gifts. This simple strategy can help you keep things in perspective.

Accept the things you can’t change

Some sources of stress are unavoidable. You can’t prevent or change stressors such as the death of a loved one, a serious illness, or a national recession. In such cases, the best way to cope with stress is to accept things as they are. Acceptance may be difficult, but in the long run, it’s easier than railing against a situation you can’t change.

Don’t try to control the uncontrollable. Many things in life are beyond our control, particularly the behavior of other people. Rather than stressing out over them, focus on the things you can control such as the way you choose to react to problems.

Look for the upside. When facing major challenges, try to look at them as opportunities for personal growth. If your own poor choices contributed to a stressful situation, reflect on them and learn from your mistakes.

Learn to forgive. Accept the fact that we live in an imperfect world and that people make mistakes. Let go of anger and resentments. Free yourself from negative energy by forgiving and moving on.

Share your feelings. Expressing what you’re going through can be very cathartic, even if there’s nothing you can do to alter the stressful situation. Talk to a trusted friend or make an appointment with a therapist.

When you’re stressed, the last thing you probably feel like doing is getting up and exercising. But physical activity is a huge stress reliever—and you don’t have to be an athlete or spend hours in a gym to experience the benefits. Exercise releases endorphins that make you feel good, and it can also serve as a valuable distraction from your daily worries.

While you’ll get the most benefit from regularly exercising for 30 minutes or more, it’s okay to build up your fitness level gradually. Even very small activities can add up over the course of a day. The first step is to get yourself up and moving. Here are some easy ways to incorporate exercise into your daily schedule:

• Put on some music and dance around.
• Take your dog for a walk .
• Walk or cycle to the grocery store.
• Use the stairs at home or work rather than an elevator.
• Park your car in the farthest spot in the lot and walk the rest of the way.
• Pair up with an exercise partner and encourage each other as you work out.
• Play ping-pong or an activity-based video game with your kids.

Deal with stress with mindful rhythmic exercise

While just about any form of physical activity can help burn away tension and stress, rhythmic activities are especially effective. Good choices include walking, running, swimming, dancing, cycling, tai chi, and aerobics. But whatever you choose, make sure it’s something you enjoy so you’re more likely to stick with it.

While you’re exercising, make a conscious effort to pay attention to your body and the physical (and sometimes emotional) sensations you experience as you’re moving. Focus on coordinating your breathing with your movements, for example, or notice how the air or sunlight feels on your skin. Adding this mindfulness element will help you break out of the cycle of negative thoughts that often accompanies overwhelming stress.

There is nothing more calming than spending quality time with another human being who makes you feel safe and understood. In fact, face-to-face interaction triggers a cascade of hormones that counteracts the body’s defensive “fight-or-flight” response. It’s nature’s natural stress reliever (as an added bonus, it also helps stave off depression and anxiety). So make it a point to connect regularly—and in person—with family and friends.

[Read: Social Support for Stress Relief]

Keep in mind that the people you talk to don’t have to be able to fix your stress. They simply need to be good listeners. And try not to let worries about looking weak or being a burden keep you from opening up. The people who care about you will be flattered by your trust. It will only strengthen your bond.

Of course, it’s not always realistic to have a pal close by to lean on when you feel overwhelmed by stress, but by building and maintaining a network of close friends you can improve your resiliency to life’s stressors.

Tips for building relationships

• Reach out to a colleague at work.
• Help someone else by volunteering .
• Have lunch or coffee with a friend.
• Ask a loved one to check in with you regularly.
• Call or email an old friend.
• Go for a walk with a workout buddy.
• Schedule a weekly dinner date.
• Meet new people by taking a class or joining a club.
• Confide in a clergy member, teacher, or sports coach.
• Join a support group—either in-person or via on online therapy platform .

Beyond a take-charge approach and a positive attitude, you can reduce stress in your life by carving out “me” time. Don’t get so caught up in the hustle and bustle of life that you forget to take care of your own needs. Nurturing yourself is a necessity, not a luxury. If you regularly make time for fun and relaxation, you’ll be in a better place to handle life’s stressors.

Set aside leisure time. Include rest and relaxation in your daily schedule. Don’t allow other obligations to encroach. This is your time to take a break from all responsibilities and recharge your batteries.

Do something you enjoy every day. Make time for leisure activities that bring you joy, whether it be stargazing, playing the piano, or working on your bike.

Keep your sense of humor. This includes the ability to laugh at yourself. The act of laughing helps your body fight stress in a number of ways.

Take up a relaxation practice. Relaxation techniques such as yoga, meditation, and deep breathing activate the body’s relaxation response , a state of restfulness that is the opposite of the fight or flight or mobilization stress response. As you learn and practice these techniques, your stress levels will decrease and your mind and body will become calm and centered.

Poor time management can cause a lot of stress. When you’re stretched too thin and running behind, it’s hard to stay calm and focused. Plus, you’ll be tempted to avoid or cut back on all the healthy things you should be doing to keep stress in check, like socializing and getting enough sleep. The good news: there are things you can do to achieve a healthier work-life balance.

Don’t over-commit yourself. Avoid scheduling things back-to-back or trying to fit too much into one day. All too often, we underestimate how long things will take.

Prioritize tasks. Make a list of tasks you have to do, and tackle them in order of importance. Do the high-priority items first. If you have something particularly unpleasant or stressful to do, get it over with early. The rest of your day will be more pleasant as a result.

Break projects into small steps. If a large project seems overwhelming, make a step-by-step plan. Focus on one manageable step at a time, rather than taking on everything at once.

Delegate responsibility. You don’t have to do it all yourself, whether at home, school, or on the job. If other people can take care of the task, why not let them? Let go of the desire to control or oversee every little step. You’ll be letting go of unnecessary stress in the process.

In addition to regular exercise, there are other healthy lifestyle choices that can increase your resistance to stress.

Eat a healthy diet . Well-nourished bodies are better prepared to cope with stress, so be mindful of what you eat. Start your day right with breakfast, and keep your energy up and your mind clear with balanced, nutritious meals throughout the day.

Reduce caffeine and sugar. The temporary “highs” caffeine and sugar provide often end with a crash in mood and energy. By reducing the amount of coffee, soft drinks, chocolate, and sugar snacks in your diet , you’ll feel more relaxed and you’ll sleep better.

Avoid alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs. Self-medicating with alcohol or drugs may provide an easy escape from stress, but the relief is only temporary. Don’t avoid or mask the issue at hand; deal with problems head on and with a clear mind.

Get enough sleep. Adequate sleep fuels your mind, as well as your body. Feeling tired will increase your stress because it may cause you to think irrationally.

When you’re frazzled by your morning commute, stuck in a stressful meeting at work, or fried from another argument with your spouse, you need a way to manage your stress levels right now . That’s where quick stress relief comes in.

The fastest way to reduce stress is by taking a deep breath and using your senses—what you see, hear, taste, and touch—or through a soothing movement. By viewing a favorite photo, smelling a specific scent, listening to a favorite piece of music, tasting a piece of gum, or hugging a pet, for example, you can quickly relax and focus yourself.

[Read: Quick Stress Relief]

Of course, not everyone responds to each sensory experience in the same way. The key to quick stress relief is to experiment and discover the unique sensory experiences that work best for you.

More Information

• Stress Management - Learn to manage your stress. (American Heart Association)
• Special Health Report from Harvard Medical School. (Harvard Health) - Special Health Report from Harvard Medical School. (Harvard Health)
• Tolerating Distress - Workbook and information sheets to help you manage feelings of distress. (Centre for Clinical Interventions)
• Building Your Resilience - Learn how to increase your resilience in the face of stress and hardship. (American Psychological Association)
• How To Relax: 8 Relaxation Tips for Your Mental Health
• Trauma- and Stressor-Related Disorders. (2013). In Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders . American Psychiatric Association. Link
• Can, Yekta Said, Heather Iles-Smith, Niaz Chalabianloo, Deniz Ekiz, Javier Fernández-Álvarez, Claudia Repetto, Giuseppe Riva, and Cem Ersoy. “How to Relax in Stressful Situations: A Smart Stress Reduction System.” Healthcare 8, no. 2 (April 16, 2020): 100. Link
• Norelli, Samantha K., Ashley Long, and Jeffrey M. Krepps. “Relaxation Techniques.” In StatPearls . Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing, 2021. Link
• Toussaint, Loren, Quang Anh Nguyen, Claire Roettger, Kiara Dixon, Martin Offenbächer, Niko Kohls, Jameson Hirsch, and Fuschia Sirois. “Effectiveness of Progressive Muscle Relaxation, Deep Breathing, and Guided Imagery in Promoting Psychological and Physiological States of Relaxation.” Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2021 (July 3, 2021): e5924040. Link
• Unger, Cynthia A, David Busse, and Ilona S Yim. “The Effect of Guided Relaxation on Cortisol and Affect: Stress Reactivity as a Moderator.” Journal of Health Psychology 22, no. 1 (January 1, 2017): 29–38. Link
• Singh, Karuna. “Nutrient and Stress Management.” Journal of Nutrition & Food Sciences 6, no. 4 (2016). Link
• Katsarou, Alexia L., Marios M. Vryonis, Athanassios D. Protogerou, Evangelos C. Alexopoulos, Apostolos Achimastos, Dimitrios Papadogiannis, George P. Chrousos, and Christina Darviri. “Stress Management and Dietary Counseling in Hypertensive Patients: A Pilot Study of Additional Effect.” Primary Health Care Research & Development 15, no. 1 (January 2014): 38–45. Link
• Errisuriz, Vanessa L., Keryn E. Pasch, and Cheryl L. Perry. “Perceived Stress and Dietary Choices: The Moderating Role of Stress Management.” Eating Behaviors 22 (August 1, 2016): 211–16. Link
• Choi, Dong-Woo, Sung-Youn Chun, Sang Ah Lee, Kyu-Tae Han, and Eun-Cheol Park. “Association between Sleep Duration and Perceived Stress: Salaried Worker in Circumstances of High Workload.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 15, no. 4 (April 2018): 796. Link
• Blaxton, Jessica M., Cindy S. Bergeman, Brenda R. Whitehead, Marcia E. Braun, and Jessic D. Payne. “Relationships Among Nightly Sleep Quality, Daily Stress, and Daily Affect.” The Journals of Gerontology: Series B 72, no. 3 (May 1, 2017): 363–72. Link
• Saleh, Dalia, Nathalie Camart, Fouad Sbeira, and Lucia Romo. “Can We Learn to Manage Stress? A Randomized Controlled Trial Carried out on University Students.” PLOS ONE 13, no. 9 (September 5, 2018): e0200997. Link
• Loprinzi, Paul D., and Emily Frith. “Protective and Therapeutic Effects of Exercise on Stress-Induced Memory Impairment.” The Journal of Physiological Sciences: JPS 69, no. 1 (January 2019): 1–12. Link
• Salmon, P. “Effects of Physical Exercise on Anxiety, Depression, and Sensitivity to Stress: A Unifying Theory.” Clinical Psychology Review 21, no. 1 (February 2001): 33–61. Link

More in Stress

The power of the relaxation response to reduce stress and boost mood

Using your senses to relieve stress on the spot

How to Stop Worrying

Self-help strategies for anxiety relief

Quick tips for when you’re short on time

Using close relationships to manage stress and improve well-being

Fill your life with music that reduces daily stress

Tips for overcoming adversity

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Stress is a normal psychological and physical reaction to the demands of life. A small amount of stress can be good, motivating you to perform well. But many challenges daily, such as sitting in traffic, meeting deadlines and paying bills, can push you beyond your ability to cope.

Your brain comes hard-wired with an alarm system for your protection. When your brain perceives a threat, it signals your body to release a burst of hormones that increase your heart rate and raise your blood pressure. This "fight-or-flight" response fuels you to deal with the threat.

Once the threat is gone, your body is meant to return to a normal, relaxed state. Unfortunately, the nonstop complications of modern life and its demands and expectations mean that some people's alarm systems rarely shut off.

Stress management gives you a range of tools to reset and to recalibrate your alarm system. It can help your mind and body adapt (resilience). Without it, your body might always be on high alert. Over time, chronic stress can lead to serious health problems.

Don't wait until stress damages your health, relationships or quality of life. Start practicing stress management techniques today.

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• How stress affects your health. American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/topics/stress/health. Accessed Dec. 8, 2021.
• Manage stress. MyHealthfinder. https://health.gov/myhealthfinder/topics/health-conditions/heart-health/manage-stress. Accessed Dec. 6, 2021.
• What is stress management? American Heart Association. https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/what-is-stress-management. Accessed Dec. 7, 2021.
• Managing stress. National Alliance on Mental Illness. https://www.nami.org/Your-Journey/Individuals-with-Mental-Illness/Taking-Care-of-Your-Body/Managing-Stress. Accessed Dec. 8, 2021.
• Stress. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/stress. Accessed Dec. 6, 2021.
• AskMayoExpert. Stress management and resiliency (adult). Mayo Clinic; 2021.
• Stress and your health. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. https://www.womenshealth.gov/mental-health/good-mental-health/stress-and-your-health. Accessed Dec. 9, 2021.
• Seaward BL. Essentials of Managing Stress. 5th ed. Jones & Bartlett Learning; 2021.

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What Is Stress?

Your Body's Response to a Situation That Requires Attention or Action

Elizabeth Scott, PhD is an author, workshop leader, educator, and award-winning blogger on stress management, positive psychology, relationships, and emotional wellbeing.

• Identifying
• Next in How Stress Impacts Your Health Guide How to Recognize Burnout Symptoms

Stress can be defined as any type of change that causes physical , emotional, or psychological strain. Stress is your body's response to anything that requires attention or action. 

Everyone experiences stress to some degree. The way you respond to stress, however, makes a big difference to your overall well-being.

Verywell / Brianna Gilmartin

Sometimes, the best way to manage your stress involves changing your situation. At other times, the best strategy involves changing the way you respond to the situation.

Developing a clear understanding of how stress impacts your physical and mental health is important. It's also important to recognize how your mental and physical health affects your stress level.

Watch Now: 5 Ways Stress Can Cause Weight Gain

Signs of stress.

Stress can be short-term or long-term. Both can lead to a variety of symptoms, but chronic stress can take a serious toll on the body over time and have long-lasting health effects.

Some common signs of stress include:

• Changes in mood
• Clammy or sweaty palms
• Decreased sex drive
• Difficulty sleeping
• Digestive problems
• Feeling anxious
• Frequent sickness
• Grinding teeth
• Muscle tension, especially in the neck and shoulders
• Physical aches and pains
• Racing heartbeat

Identifying Stress

What does stress feel like? What does stress feel like? It often contributes to irritability, fear, overwork, and frustration. You may feel physically exhausted, worn out, and unable to cope.

Stress is not always easy to recognize, but there are some ways to identify some signs that you might be experiencing too much pressure. Sometimes stress can come from an obvious source, but sometimes even small daily stresses from work, school, family, and friends can take a toll on your mind and body.

If you think stress might be affecting you, there are a few things you can watch for:

• Psychological signs such as difficulty concentrating, worrying, anxiety, and trouble remembering
• Emotional signs such as being angry, irritated, moody, or frustrated
• Physical signs such as high blood pressure, changes in weight, frequent colds or infections, and changes in the menstrual cycle and libido
• Behavioral signs such as poor self-care, not having time for the things you enjoy, or relying on drugs and alcohol to cope

Stress vs. Anxiety

Stress can sometimes be mistaken for anxiety, and experiencing a great deal of stress can contribute to feelings of anxiety. Experiencing anxiety can make it more difficult to cope with stress and may contribute to other health issues, including increased depression, susceptibility to illness, and digestive problems.

Stress and anxiety contribute to nervousness, poor sleep, high blood pressure , muscle tension, and excess worry. In most cases, stress is caused by external events, while anxiety is caused by your internal reaction to stress. Stress may go away once the threat or the situation resolves, whereas anxiety may persist even after the original stressor is gone.

Causes of Stress

There are many different things in life that can cause stress. Some of the main sources of stress include work, finances, relationships, parenting, and day-to-day inconveniences.

Stress can trigger the body’s response to a perceived threat or danger, known as the fight-or-flight response .   During this reaction, certain hormones like adrenaline and cortisol are released. This speeds the heart rate, slows digestion, shunts blood flow to major muscle groups, and changes various other autonomic nervous functions, giving the body a burst of energy and strength.

Originally named for its ability to enable us to physically fight or run away when faced with danger, the fight-or-flight response is now activated in situations where neither response is appropriate—like in traffic or during a stressful day at work.

When the perceived threat is gone, systems are designed to return to normal function via the relaxation response .   But in cases of chronic stress, the relaxation response doesn't occur often enough, and being in a near-constant state of fight-or-flight can cause damage to the body.

Stress can also lead to some unhealthy habits that have a negative impact on your health. For example, many people cope with stress by eating too much or by smoking. These unhealthy habits damage the body and create bigger problems in the long-term.  

Mental Health in the Workplace Webinar

On May 19, 2022, Verywell Mind hosted a virtual Mental Health in the Workplace webinar, hosted by Amy Morin, LCSW. If you missed it, check out  this recap  to learn ways to foster supportive work environments and helpful strategies to improve your well-being on the job.

Types of Stress

Not all types of stress are harmful or even negative. Some of the different types of stress that you might experience include:

• Acute stress : Acute stress is a very short-term type of stress that can either be positive or more distressing; this is the type of stress we most often encounter in day-to-day life.
• Chronic stress : Chronic stress is stress that seems never-ending and inescapable, like the stress of a bad marriage or an extremely taxing job; chronic stress can also stem from traumatic experiences and childhood trauma.
• Episodic acute stress : Episodic acute stress is acute stress that seems to run rampant and be a way of life, creating a life of ongoing distress.
• Eustress : Eustress is fun and exciting. It's known as a positive type of stress that can keep you energized. It's associated with surges of adrenaline, such as when you are skiing or racing to meet a deadline. 

4 Main Types of Stress:

The main harmful types of stress are acute stress, chronic stress, and episodic acute stress. Acute stress is usually brief, chronic stress is prolonged, and episodic acute stress is short-term but frequent. Positive stress, known as eustress, can be fun and exciting, but it can also take a toll.

Impact of Stress

Stress can have several effects on your health and well-being. It can make it more challenging to deal with life's daily hassles, affect your interpersonal relationships, and have detrimental effects on your health. The connection between your mind and body is apparent when you examine stress's impact on your life.

Feeling stressed over a relationship, money, or living situation can create physical health issues. The inverse is also true. Health problems, whether you're dealing with high blood pressure or diabetes , will also affect your stress level and mental health. When your brain experiences high degrees of stress , your body reacts accordingly.

Serious acute stress, like being involved in a natural disaster or getting into a verbal altercation, can trigger heart attacks, arrhythmias, and even sudden death. However, this happens mostly in individuals who already have heart disease.

Stress also takes an emotional toll. While some stress may produce feelings of mild anxiety or frustration, prolonged stress can also lead to burnout , anxiety disorders , and depression.

Chronic stress can have a serious impact on your health as well. If you experience chronic stress, your autonomic nervous system will be overactive, which is likely to damage your body.

Stress-Influenced Conditions

• Heart disease
• Hyperthyroidism
• Sexual dysfunction
• Tooth and gum disease

Treatments for Stress

Stress is not a distinct medical diagnosis and there is no single, specific treatment for it. Treatment for stress focuses on changing the situation, developing stress coping skills , implementing relaxation techniques, and treating symptoms or conditions that may have been caused by chronic stress.

Some interventions that may be helpful include therapy, medication, and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).

Press Play for Advice On Managing Stress

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Psychotherapy

Some forms of therapy that may be particularly helpful in addressing symptoms of stress including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) . CBT focuses on helping people identify and change negative thinking patterns, while MBSR utilizes meditation and mindfulness to help reduce stress levels.

Medication may sometimes be prescribed to address some specific symptoms that are related to stress. Such medications may include sleep aids, antacids, antidepressants, and anti-anxiety medications.

Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Some complementary approaches that may also be helpful for reducing stress include acupuncture, aromatherapy, massage, yoga, and meditation .

Coping With Stress

Although stress is inevitable, it can be manageable. When you understand the toll it takes on you and the steps to combat stress, you can take charge of your health and reduce the impact stress has on your life.

• Learn to recognize the signs of burnout. High levels of stress may place you at a high risk of burnout. Burnout can leave you feeling exhausted and apathetic about your job.   When you start to feel symptoms of emotional exhaustion, it's a sign that you need to find a way to get a handle on your stress.
• Try to get regular exercise. Physical activity has a big impact on your brain and your body . Whether you enjoy Tai Chi or you want to begin jogging, exercise reduces stress and improves many symptoms associated with mental illness.  
• Take care of yourself. Incorporating regular self-care activities into your daily life is essential to stress management. Learn how to take care of your mind, body, and spirit and discover how to equip yourself to live your best life.  
• Practice mindfulness in your life. Mindfulness isn't just something you practice for 10 minutes each day. It can also be a way of life. Discover how to live more mindfully throughout your day so you can become more awake and conscious throughout your life.  

If you or a loved one are struggling with stress, contact the  Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline  at 1-800-662-4357 for information on support and treatment facilities in your area.

For more mental health resources, see our  National Helpline Database .

Cleveland Clinic. Stress .

National institute of Mental Health. I'm so stressed out! Fact sheet .

Goldstein DS. Adrenal responses to stress .  Cell Mol Neurobiol . 2010;30(8):1433–1440. doi:10.1007/s10571-010-9606-9

Stahl JE, Dossett ML, LaJoie AS, et al. Relaxation response and resiliency training and its effect on healthcare resource utilization [published correction appears in PLoS One . 2017 Feb 21;12 (2):e0172874].  PLoS One . 2015;10(10):e0140212. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0140212

American Heart Association. Stress and Heart Health.

Chi JS, Kloner RA. Stress and myocardial infarction .  Heart . 2003;89(5):475–476. doi:10.1136/heart.89.5.475

Salvagioni DAJ, Melanda FN, Mesas AE, González AD, Gabani FL, Andrade SM. Physical, psychological and occupational consequences of job burnout: A systematic review of prospective studies .  PLoS One . 2017;12(10):e0185781. Published 2017 Oct 4. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0185781

Bitonte RA, DeSanto DJ 2nd. Mandatory physical exercise for the prevention of mental illness in medical students .  Ment Illn . 2014;6(2):5549. doi:10.4081/mi.2014.5549

Ayala EE, Winseman JS, Johnsen RD, Mason HRC. U.S. medical students who engage in self-care report less stress and higher quality of life .  BMC Med Educ . 2018;18(1):189. doi:10.1186/s12909-018-1296-x

Richards KC, Campenni CE, Muse-Burke JL. Self-care and well-being in mental health professionals: The mediating effects of self-awareness and mindfulness .  J Ment Health Couns . 2010;32(3):247. doi:10.17744/mehc.32.3.0n31v88304423806.

American Psychological Association. 2015 Stress in America .

Krantz DS, Whittaker KS, Sheps DS.  Psychosocial risk factors for coronary heart disease: Pathophysiologic mechanisms .  In R. Allan & J. Fisher,  Heart and mind: The practice of cardiac psychology. American Psychological Association; 2011:91-113. doi:10.1037/13086-004

By Elizabeth Scott, PhD Elizabeth Scott, PhD is an author, workshop leader, educator, and award-winning blogger on stress management, positive psychology, relationships, and emotional wellbeing.

Essays About Stress: 5 Examples and 7 Helpful Prompts

Stress deals with various sensitive matters and is a popular topic. See our top examples of essays about stress and prompts to assist in your writing.

Stress is a poison that gradually affects a person’s mental and physical health. It’s a common problem in all aspects of life, with money being the top stressor. There’s also a spectrum of stress, but chronic stress is the most dangerous of all types and levels. It can lead to health problems such as high blood pressure, anxiety disorders, heart disease, and more.

5 Essay Examples 

1. post-traumatic stress disorder and substance use disorders by anonymous on ivypanda.com, 2. coping up with stress by anonymous on gradesfixer.com, 3. stress management: how stress can cause mental illness and how to treat it by anonymous on papersowl.com, 4. assessing the personal stress levels by anonymous on ivypanda.com, 5. sources of stress in youths by anonymous on gradesfixer.com, 1. what is stress, 2. good stress vs. bad stress, 3. how stress can affect our daily lives, 4. the impact of stress on children, 5. what is financial stress, 6. the importance of stress management, 7. stress and health problems.

“…the self-medication hypothesis… is supportive to healthcare as it offers a clear pathway to sufferers from existing addiction, which, in turn, enhances the bond between specialists and victims, it improves access to dosages, and it may also decrease the cost of a prescribed drug.”

In this essay, the writer investigates the leading causes of stress and substance abuse resulting from a disorder. They note that stress, anxiety, and depression often develop after divorce, widowhood, disasters, and other traumatic events. 

To show the relationship between post-traumatic stress disorder and substance use, the author adds statistics and situations in which people who have gone through a separation or sexual abuse utilize self-medication, drugs, and alcohol to forget what happened to them. However, this brief escapes lead to addiction. Ultimately, the writer believes that developing stress, anxiety, and depression coping alternatives will reduce the number of people addicted to substances.

Do you want to write about depression? Check out our guide on how to write essays about depression .

“Stress coping and management is essential to have a healthy life. We need to manage stress effectively to avoid the side effects that can arise if not managed effectively. Let’s prioritize on our tasks, manage a healthy lifestyle, have time for fun and for one another, and practice the 4A’s of stress management to have a stress free life.”

This essay shares that stress can be beneficial as it teaches a person to handle difficult situations. However, stress becomes dangerous when it starts to control someone’s life. That’s why it’s vital to manage stress depending on its severity. 

To effectively cope with stress, the author suggests having a balanced diet, exercising regularly, and writing in journals. They also mention the importance of talking to a professional and identifying and avoiding the primary source of stress. 

“When people get stressed out, they try many coping mechanisms, and that usually helps a decent amount, however for some, the stress can be too overwhelming. That being said, stress is seen to have a very significant link to mental illness, more specifically, schizophrenia.”

In this essay, the author contends that stress is the root cause of some mental illnesses like schizophrenia. To support the claim, the author uses a real-life situation and shows the development of the disease, originating from the simple stress of moving and working in the city. 

The essay presents the different levels of schizophrenia and its symptoms. Then, after offering various sources, the author concludes that the most common way to treat stress and schizophrenia is having someone to spend time with and get therapy. You might also be interested in these essays about leadership .

“… A proper assessment of an individual’s stress levels is a critical factor in their well-being. Physiological and psychological aspects of intense pressure should be carefully studied and checked. Using corresponding methods and tools can be of significant help for the person, providing them with a clear understanding of the problems encountered.”

In this essay, the author discusses tools that help assess stress levels and effective strategies for combating stress. They use the “Symptoms of Stress Methodology” from Stress Management for Life: A Research-Based Experiential Approach and the “Ardell Wellness Stress Test” to determine stress levels and evaluate physiological symptoms. These symptoms assist in constructing effective ways to release stress, including participating in PTSD therapies and getting a service dog.

“Early exposure to stress not only affects children’s social and mental development during their formative years, it also can increase the risk of alcoholism, illicit drug use, adult depression, anxiety, and even heart disease much later in life.”

In this essay, the writer proves that stress can affect people of all ages and genders. However, the author focuses on young people and how quickly it appears in their adult life. According to the author, technostress, the fear of missing out, lack of personal space, and high expectations are the common causes of stress in youths. 

The author strongly discourages using drugs, cigarettes, and alcohol to relieve stress. Instead, they recommend reducing stress by taking regular breaks, replacing big life goals with smaller, more attainable goals, being open and sharing problems with others, and getting professional help.

7 Writing Prompts for Essays About Stress

Stress is a person’s emotional response to pressure to meet standards, commitments, and responsibilities. It usually occurs in a situation or an outcome we fail to manage or control. In your essay, explain what stress is all about and why it’s essential to understand this reaction. Use this prompt to help your readers know the early signs of stress. Then, add ways stress can be managed and avoided, so it doesn’t interfere with daily activities.

Although stress is often connected with bad instances, there’s also “good stress,” or eustress. Eustress pertains to a positive response to a stressor. For example, it happens when one is excited or ecstatic. Meanwhile, bad stress, or “distress,” negatively affects your mental and physical well-being. 

Consider using this prompt to compare and contrast the good and bad stress that people usually experience. Then, give real-life examples and suggest how your readers can effectively handle both eustress and distress.

The effects of stress vary in degree and duration. For example, stress can prevent us from functioning properly at work, home, or anywhere else. It can also affect our relationships with others and with ourselves.

To make your essay relatable, share a personal experience on how stress affects your life. You can also interview others in various professions and statuses to demonstrate the range of which stress affects different individuals.

Stress does not only occur among adults or teenagers. Children can also experience stress at a young age. For instance, a child can succumb to the pressure of adapting to a new environment, getting bullied, and sometimes being separated from loved ones. These can lead to anxiety, trust issues, and depression.

Identify and discuss these factors and why it affects young children. Include recent statistics that show the number of children experiencing stress and additional relevant citations to make your essay credible.

The most recent survey found that 65% of Americans worry about money and the economy’s decline. Pick this prompt to make your essay relevant and informative. Delve into what financial stress is and discuss its typical causes and effects. Then, add the latest percentage of people who experience financial stress and address why it’s a pressing issue.

Stress management offers various strategies to battle stress. First, explain to your readers the importance and effectiveness of proper stress management. Then, include proven and tested methods commonly used to treat stress. You can also share the strategies that have worked for you to persuade your readers that stress management is effective.

Stress causes several physical and mental health problems. Use this prompt to show the importance of treating stress before it worsens and affects a person’s welfare. Include research findings from reliable sources and real-life experiences where someone has damaged their health because of stress. If you’re looking for more ideas, check out our essays about bullying topic guide !

Maria Caballero is a freelance writer who has been writing since high school. She believes that to be a writer doesn't only refer to excellent syntax and semantics but also knowing how to weave words together to communicate to any reader effectively.

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Coping with Stress

Many of us are facing challenges that can be stressful and overwhelming. Learning to cope with stress in a healthy way will help you, the people you care about, and those around you become more resilient.

Stress can cause the following:

• Feelings of fear, anger, sadness, worry, numbness, or frustration.
• Changes in appetite, energy, desires, and interests.
• Trouble concentrating and making decisions.
• Nightmares or problems sleeping.
• Physical reactions, such as headaches, body pains, stomach problems, or skin rashes.
• Worsening of chronic health problems and mental health conditions.
• Increased use of  alcohol , illegal drugs (like heroin , cocaine , or methamphetamine ), and misuse of prescription drugs (like opioids).
• Healthy Ways to Cope with Stress
• If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org
• Disaster Distress Helpline : CALL or TEXT 1-800-985-5990 (press 2 for Spanish)

Here are some ways you can manage stress, anxiety, grief, or worry:

• Take breaks from news stories, including those on social media. It’s good to be informed, but constant information about negative events can be upsetting. Consider limiting news to just a couple times a day and disconnecting from phone, TV, and computer screens for a while.
• Eat healthy. Have fruits and vegetables, lean protein, whole grains, and low-fat or no-fat dairy. Limit foods with unhealthy fats, salt, and added sugars. See Healthy Eating Tips .
• Get enough sleep.  Go to bed and wake up at the same time each day to help you sleep better . Adults need 7 or more hours per night.
• Move more and sit less. Every little bit of physical activity helps. Start small and build up to 2 ½ hours a week. You can break it into smaller amounts such as 20 to 30 minutes a day.
• Limit alcohol  intake. Choose not to drink, or drink in moderation on days you drink alcohol. Moderation means having 2 drinks or less a day for men or 1 drink or less for women. Find out more at Drink Less, Be Your Best .
• Avoid using illegal drugs or prescription drugs in ways other than prescribed. Don’t take someone else’s prescription. Substance use treatment is available, and recovery starts with asking for help.
• Avoid smoking , vaping, and the use of other tobacco products. People can and do quit smoking for good.
• Continue with regular health appointments, tests, screenings, and vaccinations.
• Take deep breaths, stretch, or meditate .
• Try to do some other activities you enjoy.
• Talk with people you trust about your concerns and how you are feeling.
• Connect with your community-based or faith-based organizations.

For Everyone

• How Right Now — Finding What Helps
• Coping with a Disaster or Traumatic Event
• Suicide Prevention
• I’m So Stressed Out! Fact Sheet (NIMH)
• Mindfulness Coach – PTSD: National Center for PTSD (va.gov)

For Families and Children

• Helping Children Cope with Emergencies
• Adolescent Mental Health
• Tools for Supporting Emotional Wellbeing in Children and Youth

Exit Notification / Disclaimer Policy

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cannot attest to the accuracy of a non-federal website.
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Home — Essay Samples — Nursing & Health — Stress Management — Coping Up With Stress

Coping Up with Stress

• Categories: Stress Stress Management

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Words: 931 |

Published: Jan 21, 2020

Words: 931 | Pages: 2 | 5 min read

• Schwarzer, Ralf. Self-efficacy: Thought control of action. Taylor & Francis, 2014.
• Meichenbaum, Donald. "Stress Inoculation Training: A preventative and treatment approach." The Evolution of Cognitive Behavior Therapy. Routledge, 2017. 117-140.
• Figley, Charles R., and Hamilton I. McCubbin. Stress and the family: Coping with catastrophe. Routledge, 2016.

Should follow an “upside down” triangle format, meaning, the writer should start off broad and introduce the text and author or topic being discussed, and then get more specific to the thesis statement.

Cornerstone of the essay, presenting the central argument that will be elaborated upon and supported with evidence and analysis throughout the rest of the paper.

The topic sentence serves as the main point or focus of a paragraph in an essay, summarizing the key idea that will be discussed in that paragraph.

The body of each paragraph builds an argument in support of the topic sentence, citing information from sources as evidence.

Should follow a right side up triangle format, meaning, specifics should be mentioned first such as restating the thesis, and then get more broad about the topic at hand. Lastly, leave the reader with something to think about and ponder once they are done reading.

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Psychology Discussion

Essay on stress: it’s meaning, effects and coping with stress.

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Essay on Stress: It’s Meaning, Effects and Coping with Stress!

Stress is a very common problem being faced today. Every individual will experience stress in one or the other time.

The term stress has many definitions, Lazarus and Folkman (1984) have defined stress as “an internal state which can be caused by physical demands of body or by environmental and social situations, which are evaluated as potentially harmful, uncontrollable, or exceeding our resources for coping”.

According to David Fontana “stress is a demand made upon the adaptive capacities of the mind and body”.

These definitions indicate that stress represents those conditions under which individuals have demand made upon them, that they cannot physically or psychologically meet, leading to breakdown at one or other of these levels.

Stress is usually thought of in negative terms. But ii can manifest itself in both positive and negative way. It is said to be positive when the situation offers an opportunity for one, to gain something.

Eustress (the Greek word ‘eu’ means good) is the term used to describe positive stress. It is often viewed as motivator, since in its absence the individual lacks the spirit necessary for peak performance. Distress is the term used to indicate negative stress.

Almost any change in the environment- even a pleasant change such as a joyful trip- demands some coping, and a little stress is useful in helping us to adapt. But beyond some point, stress becomes a ‘distress’.

What acts to produce distress varies from person to person, but some events seem to be stressors for every person.

Examples of stressors are:

1. Injury or infections of the body, dangers in environment, major changes or transitions in life which force us to cope in new ways.

2. Physical stressors like noise, pollutions, climatic changes, etc.

3. Hustles of everyday life centering on work, family, social activities, health and finances.

4. Frustrations and conflicts.

The physical, environmental and social causes of the stress state are termed stressors. Once induced by stressors the internal stress state can then lead to various responses. On the other hand, psychological responses such as anxiety, hopelessness, depression, irritability, and a general feeling of not being able to cope with the world, can result from the stress state.

Stress cycles:

Stress has a number of immediate effects. If the stressors are maintained, long-term behavioural, physiological, emotional and cognitive effects occur. If these effects hinder adaptation to the environment or create discomfort and distress, they themselves become stressors and, tend to perpetuate a ‘cycle’ of distress.

Example, a patient spends more money on treatment, may experience continued stress even after the cure of the disease, because repayment of debt cause stress for long time in him or a patient whose leg is amputated after accident may continue to worry about it.

On the other hand, many people have developed ways of coping with stressors, so that they are able to respond adaptively. This is the ‘wellness cycle’. Teaching people adaptive ways of handling stress, so as to promote the wellness cycle is an important part of the newly emerging field of behavioural medicine.

Effects of stress:

Stress is not always harmful. In fact, it is recognised that low levels of stress can even helps for better performance. For example, a student can prepare well for forthcoming examination only if he has some stress. However, excess level of stress is undoubtedly harmful.

The effects of stress are divided into three categories:

a. Physiological effects:

Commonly appearing stress related bodily disorders are-peptic ulcers, hypertension, chronic fatigue, hormonal changes, increased heart rate, difficulty in breathing, numbness of limbs, heart disease and reduction in immunity, etc.

b. Psychological effects:

Anxiety, depression, hopelessness, helplessness, anger, nervousness, irritability, tension and boredom may be experienced.

c. Behavioural changes:

Decreasing efficiency, making mistakes, inability to take decisions, under eating or overeating, sleeplessness, increased smoking, develop addiction to alcohol and drugs, forgetfulness, hypersensitivity or passiveness, accident proneness and interpersonal difficulties are seen.

Stress is linked to disorders such as cancer and heart disorders. There are several mediating variables that determine whether stress becomes dangerous or not. For example, good coping mechanisms which can help to reduce stress, having good social support, often help in reducing stress.

Perception of stress or how a person views stress is also very important. For example, a person may not perceive a situation as stressful whereas the same situation may be perceived as highly stressful by some other person.

People with personality type ‘A’ are more prone to be affected by stress related disorders like cardiovascular diseases. Personality character like hardiness or emotional stability helps to withstand effects of stress.

Hans Selye, a renowned biological scientist defines stress as the nonspecific response of the body to any demand upon it. He termed the body’s response to stressors the “General Adaptation Syndrome” (GAS).

The GAS consists of 3 stages:

1. Alarm reaction:

It is an emergency response of the body. In this stage prompt responses of the body, many of them mediated by the sympathetic nervous system, prepare us to cope with the stressor here and now.

2. Stage of resistance:

If the stressor continues to be present, the stage of resistance begins, wherein the body resists the effects of the continuous stressor. During this stage certain hormonal responses of the body are an important line of defence in resisting the effects of stressors (For example, release of ACTH).

3. Stage of exhaustion:

In this stage, the body’s capacity to respond to both continuous and new stressors has been seriously compromised. The person will no longer be able to face stressor and he will finally succumb to it. The person may develop psychosomatic illness.

The stress leads to many psychosomatic diseases. Treatment for such diseases involves medical help for the physical problems and, at the same time, attention to the psychological factors producing the stress.

Coping with Stress :

There are different ways of coping with stress such as: confronting (facing), distancing (remoteness), self-control, seeking social support, accepting responsibility, escape or avoid (from the stressor), plan a problem solving strategy and positive reappraisal.

Usually two broad type of coping types are seen- Instrumental coping and Emotional coping.

In instrumental coping, a person focuses on the problem and tries to solve it. In emotional coping, the focus is more on the feelings generated by the problem.

Today, self- help remedies, Do to yourself approaches, weight loss clinics and diets, health foods and physical exercise are being given much attention in mass media. People are actually taking more responsibility to maintain good health.

However, some specific techniques to eliminate or to manage more effectively the inevitable, prolonged stress are as follows:

Good physical exercise like walking, jogging, swimming, riding bicycle, playing soft ball, tennis are necessary to cope with stress.

Relaxation:

Whether a person simply takes it easy once in a while or uses specific relaxation techniques such as bio-feedback, or meditation, the intent is to eliminate the immediately stressful situation or manage a prolonged stressful situation more effectively.

Taking it easy may mean curling up with a good book on an easy chair or watching some light programme on television or listening to a light music. Meditation is scientifically proved to be very useful, both physically and mentally to cope with stress.

Behavioural self-control:

By deliberately managing the antecedents and the consequence of their own behaviour, people can achieve self-control. Besides managing their own behaviour to reduce stress, people can also become more aware of their limits and of ‘red flags’ that signal trouble ahead. They can avoid people or situations that they know will put them under stress.

Maladaptive strategies, rigid strategies or relying on one type of coping method lead to increase in the stress. Social support helps reduce the effect of stress. People may provide help, advice, material support or moral support that helps to reduce stress.

In addition to the above, psychotherapy (Beck’s cognitive therapy, Ellis’s rational emotive therapy and Meichenbaum’s stress- inoculation training), skill training, environmental changes, Bio-feedback (control of physical signs such as Blood pressure, headache, etc), family therapy, group therapy, hypnosis, yoga, are found to be very useful. Finally, uses of drugs are some of the other strategies adopted in coping with stress.

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Essay on Stress Management

500 words essay on stress management.

Stress is a very complex phenomenon that we can define in several ways. However, if you put them together, it is basically the wear and tear of daily life. Stress management refers to a wide spectrum of techniques and psychotherapies for controlling a person’s stress level, especially chronic stress . If there is effective stress management, we can help one another break the hold of stress on our lives. The essay on stress management will throw light on the very same thing.

Identifying the Source of Stress

The first step of stress management is identifying the source of stress in your life. It is not as easy as that but it is essential. The true source of stress may not always be evident as we tend to overlook our own stress-inducing thoughts and feelings.

For instance, you might constantly worry about meeting your deadline. But, in reality, maybe your procrastination is what leads to this stress than the actual deadline. In order to identify the source of stress, we must look closely within ourselves.

If you explain away stress as temporary, then it may be a problem. Like if you yourself don’t take a breather from time to time, what is the point? On the other hand, is stress an integral part of your work and you acknowledging it like that?

If you make it a part of your personality, like you label things as crazy or nervous energy, you need to look further. Most importantly, do you blame the stress on people around you or the events surrounding you?

It is essential to take responsibility for the role one plays in creating or maintaining stress. Your stress will remain outside your control if you do not do it.

Strategies for Stress Management

It is obvious that we cannot avoid all kinds of stress but there are many stressors in your life which you can definitely eliminate. It is important to learn how to say no and stick to them.  Try to avoid people who stress you out.

Further, if you cannot avoid a stressful situation, try altering it. Express your feelings don’t bottle them up and manage your time better. Moreover, you can also adapt to the stressor if you can’t change it.

Reframe problems and look at the big picture. Similarly, adjust your standards and focus on the positive side. Never try to control the uncontrollable. Most importantly, make time for having fun and relaxing.

Spend some time with nature, go for a walk or call a friend, whatever pleases you.  You can also try working out, listening to music and more. As long as it makes you happy, never give up.

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Conclusion of the Essay on Stress Management

All in all, we can control our stress levels with relaxation techniques that evoke the relaxation response of our body. It is the state of restfulness that is the opposite of the stress response. Thus, when you practice these techniques regularly, you can build your resilience and heal yourself.

FAQ of Essay on Stress Management

Question 1: What is the importance of stress management?

Answer 1: Stress management is very efficient as it helps in breaking the hold which stress has on our lives. Moreover, you can also become happy, healthy and more productive because of it. The ultimate goal should be to live a balanced life and have the resilience to hold up under pressure.

Question 2: Give some stress management techniques.

Answer 2: There are many stress management techniques through which one can reduce stress in their lives. One can change their situation or their reaction to it. We can try by altering the situation. If not, we can change our attitudes towards it. Remember, accept things that you cannot change.

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420 Stress Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

To write a stress essay, you’ll need a good idea to start your research and writing process. We have some for you to check.

📑 Aspects to Cover in a Stress Essay

🏆 best stress topic ideas & essay examples, 🥇 most interesting stress topics to write about, 🎓 simple & easy stress essay topics, 📌 research titles about stress, 👍 good stress essay topics, 💡 interesting topics to write about stress, ❓ stress research questions.

As a student, you’re likely familiar with the subject already. Yet, you may struggle to choose between composing about stress management or mental health issues. That’s why our team has prepared this list of stress essay topics. Look through them to consider every possible title and pick the most suitable one.

Stress has become one of the most common problem individuals experience today. It is possible to say that everyone has felt stressed out at least once in their life.

Stress essays are challenging and engaging assignments that can help students to learn more about the issue. We are here to help you write an outstanding essay on stress.

Let us start by choosing the subject for your paper. We would suggest choosing one of the following stress essay topics and titles:

• Stress management techniques and their significance

The effects of stress on the body

• How bullying increases stress among students
• Causes and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (you can choose another mental health disorder, too)
• Benefits of leisure activities to reduce the level of stress
• The link between nutrition and stress
• Consequences of workplace stress
• Common causes of stress among students

Note that you can select one of the other stress essay titles, too. You can search for them online. Remember to only use online examples as an inspiration for your paper and avoid copying the information you will find.

Once you have chosen one of the topics, you are ready to work on your outstanding essay. Here are the aspects you should cover in your paper on stress:

• Think about what you already know about the subject you had selected. Check out stress essay examples online if you are not sure that your topic is relevant. Research the information about the issue, using credible sources (Wikipedia is not one of them!).
• Select the sources that you cite in your paper. The general rule is that you should use peer-reviewed articles and scholarly books. Ask your professor about the sources in advance.
• A well-developed stress essay outline is important. Include an introductory paragraph, several body paragraphs (we would recommend writing at least three), and a conclusion.
• Think about the purpose of your paper. Do you want to help the reader to minimize stress? Should your essay provide statistical data? Do you want to address workplace stress or school-related stress? Consider these questions while working on the essay.

A thesis statement is a must. Generally, it should be present in the last sentence of your introduction. Here is how a thesis can look like:

Nutrition is directly linked to the level of stress in an individual. / Workplace stress can lead to depression among employees.

• Define stress. Provide a dictionary definition of stress or select one from the articles you have studied. Your reader should understand the concept of stress clearly. Remember that there are different types of stress based on its causes.
• Discuss the consequences of stress, referring to the sources you have selected. Address the physical and emotional outcomes of stress.
• Discuss the potential ways of dealing with stress. According to the purpose of your paper, address one or several methods in detail. What are the positive changes an individual can feel after these interventions? Reflect on this question, too.
• Remember to support your claims with evidence from the sources you have studied. Cite the literature properly using the citation style guide.
• Your concluding paragraph should restate the main arguments of the paper. Avoid adding new information or in-text citations in this section.

Please feel free to analyze our free samples and get the best ideas for your essay!

• Time Management and Its Effect in Reducing Stress among Students One of the causes of stress among high school students and college students is the difficulty in interacting with a completely new set of students and an even larger social group within the body of […]
• Effects of Stress on Human Health There are numerous theories and researches on stress and health, they all agree that stress has an adverse effect on human health; the statement goes “a stressed man is an unhealthy man”.
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• Stress Management While undertaking the survey on management of stress in organizations, I came to realize that the sources of stress to employees are many and vary from one employee to another.
• Stress Among College Students: Causes, Effects and Overcomes Due to stress, college students may experience such adverse outcomes as the decreased levels of cognitive functioning, the impaired ability to study, and, consequently, lower academic performance.
• Yoga for Stress Management For instance, Karma yoga, which is one of Yoga types, aids in controlling stress through the development of appropriate attitudes in relation to work environment coupled with enhancing the ability to respond positively to professional […]
• Work Stress and Its Effects on Individuals Managers of leading companies have long realized that this phenomenon is dangerous to both employees and companies, and one of their priorities is to remove the causes of work stress and or at least minimize […]
• Factors and Consequences of a Plane Crash: Traumatic Stress The effects from air crash are determined by among other things, the cause of the crash, the altitude and its speed at the time of crash.
• Stress: Definition and Different Types of Stress Many believe that individual or team performance is susceptible to the effects of stress as there is a requirement for teams to maintain acceptable performance.
• How to Beat Stress? Stress seems to follow us everywhere and every minute, so that it is not always possible for people to find the time and think of the ways to beat stress and live quietly with no […]
• Frustration and Stress Managing The stress that is a result of waiting and anticipation is a kind of stress that can be controlled. Humor is one of the many forms that can be used to blow up stress.
• Improving Stress Resistance in Agricultural Crops The biotechnology involved in producing such crops faces many difficulties and there are a lot of considerations of the methods used to improve the crop’s resistance that need to be assessed.
• Comparison of Stress Level Among Traditional Learning and Online Learning College Students The distance learners have been perceived to be enjoying a suitable environment of learning as opposed to the traditional classroom learners who experience high levels of stress.
• Emotions, Stress and Ways to Cope with Them This means that strong emotions will trigger complex brain patterns and physiological responses due to the nature of hormones the body releases.
• How Does Stress Affect the Body? Especially after the pandemic of COVID-19 has made the levels of stress in people worldwide skyrocket, the significance of studying the levels of stress on the human body has grown tremendously.
• People Should Consider Owning a Pet Because Doing So Can Relieve Stress These are great techniques, but the issue of having a pet as a best friend is unique and one of the recently discovered best practices of relieving work-related strains or stress.
• How to Cope with Stress Essay The identification of the stressor also opens a window for an individual to explore other adaptation methods, which can be of help in the future such as avoidance.
• The Relationship between Stress Management and Criminal Recidivism Employment tends to increase the social capital of individuals, what is usually referred to as the networks of shared norms and values, which augments the access to the much-needed necessities.
• Positive Psychology and Academic Stress With the rising cases of academic stress among students in the United States, the federal government has introduced positive psychology programs in schools across the country.
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Case Conceptualization Samuel, an 8-year-old black male, lives in an adopted white family consisting of the father, incarcerated for domestic violence charges, the mother, the primary caretaker and the only home provider, and the older sibling.
• Working Conditions That Lead to Stress at Amazon For example, among the methods for evaluating the efficiency of warehouse employees is the indicator of the number of processed packages per hour.
• Stress and Its Effects on Health The effects of stress on the cardiovascular system are explained in a review by Kivimaki & Steptoe to determine the impact of stress on the development and progression of cardiovascular diseases.
• Burnout Stress in Nursing Related With Lazarus and Folkman’s Theory According to Lazarus and Folkman, stress is the relationship existing between a person and the environment that compels the individual beyond resources and consequently endangering life. The theory of stress and coping helps individuals to […]
• Transactional Model of Stress and Coping in Intravenous Drug Users The purpose of this paper is to explain how the transactional model of stress and coping can be used to explain and assess the process of coping in a group of intravenous users at risk […]
• Teen Stress: How to Help Them Manage It? The physiologic changes of the body, the first steps are taken in search of the individuality, examinations, and tests in school or college, the pressure from the parent’s side, the issues in the relationships, diffidence, […]
• Problem Solving: What Can We Do About Our Stress? Since we can decide on what to believe or think, we posses the aptitude on how we can respond to the exigent events and circumstances in our daily lives.
• Stress Management in the Hospitality Industry In the event of such aspects the body tries to bring its system to a balance by building adequate energy as well as staying alert to face any possibility of the threat happening.
• Posttraumatic Stress Disorders: Psychological Assessment PTSD was adopted by experts in the third revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders to replace terms like “shell shock, nervous shock, and combat fatigue” that described the response to traumatic […]
• Stress Management in Work Environment Leka, Griffiths and Cox are of the opinion that work related stress arises from the disparity between the demands of the job and the pressure on the employee on one hand and the mismatch between […]
• Academic Stress and Its Impact on Teenagers Another possible solution is raising awareness about the harms of stress to human health to educate students and their parents on the risks associated with stress.
• Social Impact of Stress in Childhood Stress in childhood can profoundly affect the cognitive and social development of a person. They can have a life-long impact on the behavior and identify of a person.
• Time and Stress Management for Better Productivity Procrastination is the forwarding of events that have to be done at a specific time to another time in the future.
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as a Health Issue in the Society The treatment is aimed at relieving the symptoms that the patient seems to be experiencing so that the individual can be able to deal with the traumatic experience.
• Defining The Stress Response Across Scientific Disciplines To capture the varying levels of stress among different patients, Holmes and Rahe use percentages to explain the different degrees of a person’s stress level.
• Stress: causes and effects This is due to the research methods used in the process of analyzing and finding solutions to the global psychological challenges and problems.
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Substance Use Disorder The hypothesis of self-medication is one of the mechanisms that can expound the comorbidity between post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety illness.
• A Healthy Way To Cope With Stress According to Seaward, stress is “the experience of a perceived threat to one’s mental, physical or spiritual well-being, resulting from a series of physiological responses and adaptations”.
• Stress in College Students, Its Causes and Effects Recognizing the cause and effect of stress in college students is an important aspect in college management and leadership as it will lead to a better understanding and development of the appropriate methods for intervention.
• Stress, Its Causes and Effects Relationship Understanding the diverse nature of the causes of the stress is crucial to the effective elimination of its effects, as these two factors heavily depend on each other.
• Definition of Fiscal Stress The state government and local authorities may use different services they provide to the public to measure the level of fiscal stress.
• Acute Stress and Attachment Theory At the point of stress, the person will feel vulnerable or in danger and will need something to offer them security.
• Walmart Company: Reducing Employee Stress The first function of this programme is “to encourage more employees to identify their sources of stress”. In conclusion, the above strategy will train more employees and clients in order to deal with their sources […]
• Stress Among Criminal Justice Workers The criminal justice system is aware of the seriousness of the current problem and is trying to adapt to the emerging trend.
• Understanding and Addressing Family Stress: Parental Responses and Impact on Children The spousal relationship, employment, a lack of structure in the household, and psychological suffering all contribute to stress. They are regarded as potent mediators, and therefore, offending elders indicates disrespecting the father and may lead […]
• Stress Management for Patients With Arthritis The study’s primary objectives were to substantiate the hypothesis of the relation between RA activity and stress and find the evidence for the basis of further decisions.
• ANOVA Analysis: The Influence of Physical Activity on Stress Levels The independent variable of this research is the degree of physical activity, while the independent variable is the level of stress.
• “Stress: How It Affects Us”: Critical Analysis As the name suggests, the article is related to stress and how it affects our day-to-day workings as well as our health in general.
• Organisational Stress and Its Possible Transformations The main problem is the inability to understand how organisational stress could influence the work of teachers and if it is necessary to cope with it or neglect its possibility.
• Anger, Stress and Aggression in Violent Offenders The intentions of the aggressor and the nature of the aggression offer the description of that form of aggression. Thus, understanding the relationship between anger, stress and aggression is important to the practitioners involved in […]
• Effect of Stress on Relations and Marriage Therefore, this paper had the aim of discussing the effects of stress on a marriage and relationships and how the stress can be reduced and controlled.
• Stress and Burnout in Organizations Stress may refer to a state of psychological and physical discomfort of an individual, which is derivative of the interaction of external and biological factors. This paper discusses the organizations’ and workers’ challenges related to […]
• Stress related to workplace conditions Physical factors are those related to the ability of the body to function correctly in the work environment. Unpredictability and uncertainty of work situations are recognized as the main causes of stress in the workplace.
• Pre-Stressed Concrete The aim of this paper is to discuss the historical developments of pre-stressed concrete, the basic concepts of pre-stressed concrete, and the manufacturing of the pre-stressed concrete.
• Meditation Effects on Anxiety and Stress My goal in this exercise was to use meditation to manage anxiety and stress and improve my general mental well-being. I am not accustomed to meditation and had to turn to YouTube for guidance.
• Stress Management Skills of Student-Athletes Their responses will then be categorized as “low perceived stress,” “moderate perceived stress,” and “high perceived stress”. The students will then be qualified as possessing superior, above-average, average, or below-average stress management skills.
• Living With Post Traumatic Stress Disorder This can be achieved by making efforts to keep away from the people and also the places that act as a reminder of the events.
• Great Recession Impact on Workplace Stress The recent recession directly increased the level of stress that people experienced in the US and other countries in the following ways. The responses of businesses to the recession affected employees’ stress levels in the […]
• Stress Management Strategies in Applied Psychology It is possible to note that the development of applied psychology was a natural stage of the evolution of psychology as a field of study.
• How Stress Affects Different Personality Types Type B Personality Type B personality is regarded as the inverse of Type A since people with this type lack the Type A attributes of competitiveness and time orientation.
• The Problem of Workplace Stress Stress at work can be defined as “the harmful physical and emotional responses that occur when the requirements of a job do not match the capabilities, resources or needs of the worker”. A variety of […]
• Stress Reduction Programs in an Organization There are different approaches to reducing stress levels in an organization. To choose the appropriate program, it is necessary to assess the available options based on a range of criteria.
• The Effect of Stress on the Immunity With an increase in the concentration of glucocorticoids, the thymus decreases in size and the formation of immune cells is disrupted.
• Mindfulness Meditation to Reduce Nursing Stress Levels This project will discuss nurse stress and the implementation of mindfulness meditation sessions as a main intervention for its reduction. Nurse stress should no longer be ignored, and the effect of mindfulness meditation may be […]
• Relationship Between Stress and Greying of the Hair The main topic of this study was the study of the influence of a negative psychological state of a person on the increase in the number of gray hairs.
• Stress and Its Influence on Human Body Prolonged exposure to stress worsens the body’s resistance and the immune and vegetative systems of a person and disrupts the functioning of hormonal glands and metabolism.
• Aspects of the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder They include direct or indirect exposure to stressors, intrusion symptoms, the persistent avoidance of trauma-related stressors, negative alterations in mood and the development of mental health comorbidities, aggression, and self-destructive behavior, the duration for not […]
• Family Health Assessment: Child Poverty, Toxic Stress Because of the nature of their work, and the fact that the two were working even during the pandemic, the father was at one point exposed to Covid-19. The model that will help the family […]
• Dogs: The Stress Coping Mechanisms When the arousal level increases, it helps the body prepare for action and deal with the cause of the stress. The hormone helps them to cope with the stress and to recover from it more […]
• Self-Reported PTSD (Posttraumatic Stress) Symptoms and Social Support At the same time, multiple authors prove that social support and connectedness with family members, relatives, friends, and other members of the community contribute to PTG and the minimization of the signs of PTSD in […]
• Coronary Heart Disease Caused by Stress It is essential to study the degree of influence of stress on the development of coronary heart disease since, in this way, it will be possible to prevent it more successfully.
• Self SWOT: Stress Resistance as the Main Strength However, the irrationality of my organization of time and schedule is a big threat that I will begin to lose control over my studies, which may affect my future career and its trajectory.
• Stress and Its Adverse Health Effects The article’s topic is Stress and Health: A Review of Psychobiological Processes. For instance, when stress increases or is prolonged, the dangers of mental health challenges and medical complications arise.
• Stress Management in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients The study also covered the epidemiological and pathophysiology of RA and looked at data linking psychological trauma to the emergence and aggravation of the clinical disease.
• The Effect of Emotional Freedom Techniques on Nurses’ Stress The objectives for each of the three criteria are clearly stated, with the author explaining the aims to the reader well throughout the content in the article’s title, abstract, and introduction.
• Pathophysiology of Stress, Processed Foods, and Risky Alcohol Consumption The body starts to see the fats, sugars, and salt in ultra-processed foods as rewards, which leads to increased cravings and overeating.
• Teachers Wellbeing: Becoming Aware of Work-Relate Stress Teachers who are aware of these stressors early in their careers may be able to minimize their risk of burnout and experience a sense of well-being.
• The Traumas from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Measuring the prevalence and incidence of PTSD requires excellent knowledge of epidemiology and biostatistics. The prevalence and incidence of PTSD have increased since 2000.
• Stress and Related Risks in Vulnerable Communities The case study family is between the ages of five and thirty-five years and consists of a father, a mother, and two male children. My rationale behind the ranking is the impact of the risks […]
• COVID-19, Secondary Traumatic Stress and Burnout The second part of the hypothesis states that the levels of STS and BO among caretakers during the pandemic will be higher than before it.
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Preliminary Care Coordination The personal character of trauma and how the patient reacts to it justifies the need to design patient-centered interventions to address this healthcare problem.
• Circumstances Causing Stress in Adolescence Hold one’s breath for many seconds and gently exhale via the mouth to evacuate the lungs, hence easing the body of stress. The more one is stressed, the more difficult and nervous it is to […]
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Causes and Symptoms The article by Smith entitled Posttraumatic Stress Disorder is valuable because it offers important information on the causes and symptoms of PTSD and ways of recognizing and treating the condition.
• Mishele’s Theory Applied to Pediatric Medical Traumatic Stress In other words, the theory addresses the problem of the subjective perception of the treatment outcomes and diseases under the prism of uncertainty.
• Major Depressive Disorder and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Her sleep is turbulent, she has rape nightmares, her mood is depressed, and her affect is congruent and constrained. Her mental process is rational and linear, and her mental faculties are largely intact.
• Stress and Deviance in College Education The other concept of the connection between deviance and stress is the stress factors. Management of stressors and the consequent effects on deviance among college students is yet to be investigated.
• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Case Presentation Report Date of initial assessment: N/A PSEUDO Name: Ana Ana is a self-referred and re-occurring client who entered counseling after the case of domestic violence. As a result, Ana expressed feelings of anxiety and fear […]
• Panel: Women’s Stress and COVID-19 It is vital to examine what is known about the connection of women’s stress to COVID-19. Overall, the link between COVID-19 and women’s stress is apparent.
• Effects of Support on Stress in School Principals Threats to living standards and wellbeing, the strain on families and the escalation of injustices, changes in teaching techniques and the role of technology, and the disruption of higher learning and scholarship are among the […]
• The DSM-5 Criteria for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder The inference is backed by the fact that Victor’s traumatic situation is persistently manifesting intrusion symptoms such as nightmares, flashbacks, unwanted upsetting memories, and a lack of willingness to share previous hurtful events. Victor displays […]
• Early Life Stress: Resilience Development in Children For their own and the children’s sake, school counselors may be assigned to a particular institution in primary schools. An attempt to harness the unique qualities and capabilities that evolve in a high-stress setting is […]
• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Treatment Research Therefore, the advantage of qualitative research, in this case, relates to the ability to investigate patients’ PTSD treatment experiences and uncover their meanings.
• Coping with Stress in Clinical Neuropsychiatry Joseph should be able to identify what is stressing him most, which in this case it is financial issues and the fact that his wife is always annoyed with him because he is always around, […]
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Misapprehension A significant proportion of civilians are affected by post-traumatic stress but ignore the symptoms and fail to seek early interventions influenced by misconceptions about how PTSD develops and its symptoms.
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Opioid Use in Veterans This study examined the proportion of United States veterans who had PTSD and engaged in the use of illegal opioids to cope with it or had done so in the past.
• The Impact of Chronic Stress on Pathological Conditions Long-term stress is hazardous, as it damages the mechanisms of self-regulation of the body, leading to constant fluctuations in the level of hormones and unhealthy rhythms of breathing and heartbeat.
• Toxic Stress and Its Negative Effects The experience of toxic stress in the early years of life also negatively affects school performance and the physical development of children.
• Sex-Specific Effects of Music Listening on Couples’ Stress in Everyday Life Wuttke-Linnemann et al.also highlight the presence of gender-specific differences as to how specifically music listening can impact stress among men and women.
• Stress as an Important Psychological Issue The ability to complete work on time, learn new skills at the first request of the bosses, and the need to work overtime – all this is among the constant needs of a modern working […]
• Traumatic Stress Disorders & Treatment It will be based on the hypothesis that trauma has a detrimental impact on a person’s identity and is likely to result in adverse consequences in the future.
• Smoking and Stress Among Veterans The topic is significant to explore because of the misconception that smoking can alleviate the emotional burden of stress and anxiety when in reality, it has an exacerbating effect on emotional stress.
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in A Journal for Jordan Considering the loss of her husband in the war, Dana had not recovered, and the expression of irate reaction is a symptom of PTSD.
• Stress Management Benefits for Health Therefore, stress management strategies are crucial to eliminating the adverse impact of tension and anxiety. Physical activity and socializing are the techniques I have successfully applied to manage stress.
• Nurses’ Mental Health and Stress at Workplace This is the first research to present the viewpoints of mental health nurses on a resilience program. Theoretical ideas of resilience and understanding of mental health nurses’ resilience emerged through constant comparative study and integration […]
• The Relationship Between Stress and Health: Article Summary The implications of the study allow for stating that the increased exposure to stress at work leads to worsened health of the stressed individuals.
• Improving Nurses’ Stress Response During the COVID-19 The article is dedicated to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the overall health of nurses. It is necessary to study the mental health of nurses further and develop ways to level the negative […]
• Coping with Stress and Physical Health Problems In this regard, Julie, first of all, needs to accept the situation as it is, to appreciate the things and the context that she is no longer able to change.
• A Theorist View of Stress, Human Body and Mind As one can see, both K bler-Ross and Frankl focus on human stress as a form of suffering in the face of insurmountable life troubles, such as death or suffering.
• Employee Stress and Burnout at the Workplace This is done by giving outbreaks to those actively involved in the manufacture of the products and giving leaves for some time; the company has also created shift sessions that allow specified workers to take […]
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Development Avoidance of objects that remind you of the traumatic incident is another symptom of PTSD. Identifying erroneous and unreasonable beliefs about the incident and replacing them with a more balanced image is also part of […]
• Stress Management Techniques for Students: Yoga Yoga’s most major benefits are its capacity to relieve stress and exhaustion, to stimulate and revive, and to be used for anti-aging and calming treatment.
• Sexual Aversion and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder This aspect causes difficulties in prescribing therapy, since the latter requires a thorough study of the psychological nature of the problems. In the treatment of sexual aversion disorder, a doctor needs to investigate a complex […]
• Thoughts on Stress Management and Happiness Although she has all her financial needs met overwhelmingly, her failure to proceed with her studies and get employment makes her feel unsatisfied.
• Workplace Stress Among American Nurses During the Coronavirus Pandemic In this systematic review paper, the researcher seeks to discuss workplace stress among American nurses during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic in the country.
• Secondary Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in Children The relationship between parents’ experiences and interactions with the onset of PTSD in children will be explored. There is vast information on the management of treatment and prevention of PTSD in children.
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Parenting Style On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being lowest and 10 being highest, how much do you believe that kids need to learn early who the boss is in the family?
• Heat Stress at Provincial, Federal, and International Levels It formulates the purpose of the report, namely the comparison of norms and regulations for safe work at the provincial, federal and international levels.
• Durations of Vowels: Effect of Stress, Lexical Focus, and Segmental Focus The article in question addresses the correlation between the duration of a vowel and the type of focus or stress. De Jong and Zawaydeh address this phonetic issue on the basis of the Arabic language, […]
• Healthcare Workers’ Stress Coping Strategies This is especially relevant for the mental health domain, as the major flows of resources in the healthcare sectors all over the globe are directed towards combating the main adverse physical consequences of the infection.
• Stress and Depression Among Nursing Students The study aims to determine how different the manifestations of stress and depression are among American nursing students compared to students of other disciplines and what supports nursing students in continuing their education.
• The Stress of Working with Families There is an intricate shared history that is interpreted in different ways by different members, and the boundaries, psychological distances, and roles within and between family subsystems are constantly shifting.
• Coping with Stress: Stress and Health In terms of physical, emotional, and behavioral signs, Julia is experiencing severe stress, which requires the help of specialists and the introduction of various techniques that contribute to the normalization of all aspects of life.
• “Poverty, Toxic Stress, and Education…” Study by Kelly & Li Kelly and Li are concerned with the lack of research about poverty and toxic stress affecting the neurodevelopment of preterm children.
• Prefrontal Cortex and Effects of Stress Exposure However, the inability to control the stressor can reduce the prefrontal cortex’s capacity to regulate stress responses. Exposure to stress noticeably weakens the effectiveness of the prefrontal cortex while stimulating more primitive responses of the […]
• Stress as a Result of Combining Work and Family At the same time, it is difficult to say that such a life on a constant clear schedule contributes to the psychological health of a person.
• Analysis of Stress Management Aspects In the science of stress management, there are a number of practices aimed at strengthening the mental health of the student, thus improving their response to potentially stressful events.
• Phonetics and Phonology of English Word Stress People have trouble pronouncing some words in their L2 due to the influence of their L1 accent. Many students find it challenging to accurately pronounce words in their second language due to the influence of […]
• Adaptation to Stress of Endocrine and Sympathetic Nervous System Stress is a non-specific body reaction that occurs under the action of various extreme factors that threaten the violation of homeostasis and is characterized by stereotypical changes in the function of the nervous and endocrine […]
• The Resilience Handbook: Approaches to Stress and Trauma I was surprised to learn that music is not just the words but also the lyrics in the heart and mind.
• Assessing the Personal Stress Levels To ascertain the levels of stress in my everyday life, I have used several assessment tools. Implementing the “Symptoms of Stress” methodology, I have discovered that the occurrence of stress in my life is quite […]
• Stress Management Techniques The proposed strategies and examples should help students to understand different situations and overcome stress disregarding settings and external factors.
• Occupational Health: Workplace Stress To avoid noise-related stress, Ruth handles her job with a positive attitude and this makes it easy to enjoy work. In conclusion, work-related stress is a major cause of poor performance by employees due to […]
• Humor as the Leading Strategy of Stress Relief The purpose of this paper is to discuss the importance of humor as one of the leading stress management strategies. In other words, it does not suffice to know the sources of stress, as the […]
• Workplace Stress and Absenteeism in the Ship-Repair Industry: A Case Study This qualitative exploratory case study sought to discover techniques that production and project managers of a ship-repair company in the maritime industry use to minimize.
• Stress Patterns in Police Work: A Longitudinal Study The research problem identified by the investigator relates to the prevalence of distress in the police occupation. The primary variable of the study was the mean stress measure, which was derived from the Langner-22 list […]
• Occupational Stress: Patient Teaching Plan Physical exercise is helpful for the patients with work-related stress and anxiety. Physical exercise helps alleviate work and stress-related pains in different parts of the body.
• Stress Among Secondary and Tertiary Students The results of the study by Pascoe et al.demonstrate that the majority of students report high levels of stress and negative effects on their mental and physical health.
• Stress Reduction Among College Students In conclusion, “Calm” is useful in mindfulness meditation to decrease stress and enhance self-compassion and mindfulness among students. However, there is constrained information regarding the palatability and effectiveness of delivering mindfulness meditation interventions through mobile […]
• Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in the Workplace What are the weakness of the study and how can it be improved. According to I/O psychologist work is done to obtain productivity and to improve the quality of life of the clients.
• Free Radicals, Oxidative Stress, and Antioxidants The presence of ROS in excess causes oxidative stress in the body, leading to the oxidation of proteins and lipids and the transformation of their structures and roles in the body.
• Stress From a Biblical Perspective The Bible, in that case, provides a sense of hope and relief which leads to relaxation. In 1 Samuel 30:1-31, Amalekites exploited the opportunity of David and his men’s absence in the south city of […]
• Dealing With Stress: What Makes One’s Life Complete Carrying the burden of stress, I became rather reserved and unwilling to socialize, which led to certain misconceptions among my friends and me.
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Pathophysiology Sakellariou and Stefanatou, further link threat responsiveness and fear regulation with the signalling of 5-HT within the amygdala; this is an area within the brain deemed essential in comprehending the reaction to fear and aetiology […]
• Workplace Yoga Reducing Stress in Employees Since the key idea of a project is to sell the yoga and meditation practice program to the other departments of a firm, it is important to understand the expected benefits.
• Cross-National Job Stress: A Quantitative and Qualitative Study That is why, in order to fill the substantial research gap, the exploratory study of Liu et al.examines the perceptions of job stress in two culturally dissimilar countries the United States and China using both […]
• The Effectiveness of Occupational Stress Management However, as it relates to analyzing the shipbuilding and ship-repair industries, the level of occupational stress is higher in comparison to other sectors of the economy, and the effectiveness of managing the problem is lower.
• Coping With Stress in Breast Cancer Patients Therefore, it is important for research experts to ensure and guarantee adherence to methodologies and guidelines that define scientific inquiry. However, various discrepancies manifest with regard to the initiation and propagation of research studies.
• Changes in Life and Psychological Stress Assessment The vagueness of the evaluation system and the lack of precision in terms of results assessment, however, beg the question whether psychological assessments can be trusted.
• Nursing Work Stress Level During Pandemics In the case of this project, the DNP student was able to review at length the issue of occupational stress in nursing.
• Stress Management Through Transcendental Meditation Thus, to improve productivity and the general wellbeing of its employees, a company ought to offer stress management program. However, transcendental meditation seems to be the most beneficial as it enables people to deal with […]
• Stress Analysis of Thin Walled Structures and Results This consideration takes the priority of the passengers’ safety to ensure they do not experience the effects of either deformation or heat dissipated by the parts involved in the impact.”At the same time other structural […]
• Advanced Stress Analysis – Characteristic of Model The choice of approach is done in the preliminary stages of structural design of shapes. 893Kg/mm3 The density of the envelope is 1.
• The Unified Trauma Theory of High-Stress Level Fatigue a Case of Loyola University The steps of this process are outlined, concluding with definitions and a description of the middle range theory of unified trauma theory of high-stress fatigue, which was developed.
• Stress Sources in a Detective’s Life One of the morale issues that can result from the behavior of the detective is the segregation of the detective by his workmates and none of them might want to work with him.
• Effects of Obesity on Neuroendocrine, and Immune Cell Responses to Stress All the participants of the experiment including obese and non-obese women were scheduled to days one to ten by their menstrual cycle. Statistic and comparative analyses were performed to compare the results of obese and […]
• Health and Wellness: Stress, Diabetes and Tobacco Related Problems Emotional health and well being refers to our ability to deal with our emotions as well as the emotions of those around us.
• Effective Use of Prazosin for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder All the traditional agents have shown to have several side effects and cannot be fully relied on in treatment of PTSD.
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Diagnostics and Screening Do you observe a headache from the early morning? Do you have a headache when you sleep well?
• Effect of Stress Hormones on Brain Cells Cortisol hormone is responsible for the shrinking of the hippocampal volume that controls the formation of new neurons in the brain cells, and it may lead to depression.
• BMI and Stress Levels Among Students in the US The study is significant since it seeks to explore the differences in BMI and stress levels among domestic and international students in the US.
• Conger’s Stress and Family With Children The causes and effects of stress in the family is a diverse observable fact that results in different effects to the family.
• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
• Dealing With Grief – Stress Factors
• Stress at Work: Creating Healthy Organisations
• Wholeness Meeting to Deal With Stress in School
• Family Nursing and Stress Theory
• Adult Life Stress: Assessment Tools Analysis
• Personal Stress Management and Relaxation Techniques
• Relation Work – Stress – Health
• Stress, Emotional Intelligence, and Job Performance Correlation in Nursing
• Managing Stress Through Communication Skills in Nursing
• The Effectiveness of ICU Nurses in Reducing Stress among Family Members
• Mindfulness-Based Stress and Burnout Reduction in Nurses
• Stress-Strain Relation of Stainless Steel After Exposure to Fire
• Identifying Causes of Stress among Nurses
• Definition and Concept of Stress in Nursing
• Nursing Burnout: Increased Stress Experienced by Nurses
• Emotions and Stress on the Job
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Among Vets
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Overview
• Nurses and Stress: Mindfulness Meditation Program
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Treatment in Intellectually Disabled Patients: The Promise of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy
• Stress Management in University Students
• Women in the West Who Are Put Under Stress Due to Social Media
• Stress in the Teaching Fraternity
• Work Related Stress: Symptoms and Management
• Stress at Work: Main Aspects, Globalization Influence
• Client Diagnosis: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
• Stress Test Process to a Community Issue
• Employees’ Stress and Burnout
• Disaster Crisis: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms
• Yoga and Stress Reduction
• Managing Stress: A Reflection of Personal Experience
• Personal & Professional Development: Managing Stress
• Stress Symptoms and Management
• How Stress Affects Learning in Middle School
• Motivation, Emotion, Stress, Health and Work
• The Role of Stress in Our Everyday Life
• Employee Stress Causes in Different Countries
• Socio-Cultural and Stress Models in Diagnosis
• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder After Rape Attempt
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: Causes and Consequences
• Posttraumatic Stress Symptom Disease
• Stress, Depression and Psychoneuroimmunology
• How Can College Students Cope With Stress
• Stress, Its Effects on Health
• Causes and Effects of Marital Stress on the Health of Women
• Academic Related Sicknesses: Stress in Medical Students
• Stress Management and Wellness Programs by Corporate Sector
• Work Stress: Coping Through Work-Life Programs
• The Relationship Between Emotion Regulation Suppression and the Academic and Life Stress Levels
• Health and Stress in College Students
• Stress: Causes, Sources and Symptoms
• Sources of Stress Among African American Students
• Stress and Medical Students’ Lifes
• Impact of Stress on Intimate Relationship
• Stress of Police Officers and How They Cope With It
• Educational Psychology: Student Learning and Stress
• Acute and Post Traumatic Stress Disorders
• Impacts of High Stress Levels on Teachers
• Stress Management Under Organizational Psychology
• Stress and Higher Education Student: A Critical Review
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: German Researches
• Preventing Burnout in Preschool Teachers
• Can Stress Be Fattening: Discussion
• Sports Demands and Stress Management in Athletics
• Holmes and Rahe Stress Test and Coping Strategies
• Reducing Nurses’ Stress: A Web-Based Management Program
• Depression and Anxiety Due to School and Work-Related Stress
• Mental Healthcare in Louisiana: Growth in Stress Rates
• Student Loans and Financial Stress
• How Nurses Cope with Job Stress
• Family Stress and Crisis: We Got Through It
• Stress Among African American College Students
• Stress Can Affect Future Generations’ Genes
• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Veteran Community
• Evidence-Based Procedures That Reduce Stress and Promote Health
• UAE: Stress Management and Organizational Performance
• Organizational Concern: Job Stress and Burnout
• “Emotional Freedom Technique and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder” by Rebecca L. Fahey
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Treatment Effectiveness
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Missouri Veterans
• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Management in Children
• College Student Work Habits, Interruptions, and Stress
• Stress Factors in the Queer Community
• Chronobiology and Stress in Horses
• Horse Transportation and Stress-Reducing Strategies
• Newly Graduated Nurses and Stress: Study Analysis
• Heat Stress in Flight Cockpits in the Desert Climate
• Employment and Stress Management
• Spiritual Life: Avoiding Stress Burnout
• Interviewing the Patient: Stress and Anxiety Reasons
• Productivity and Work-Related Stress in the UAE
• Workplace Stress and Labor Law in the United Kingdom
• Stress Management: Personal Success Plan
• Does Locus of Control and Motivation Predict Occupational Stress?
• Modern Workplace Issues: Stress, Conflict, Quality
• Occupational Stress in the Maritime Industry
• Racial Disparities in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Treatment
• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Hispanic Teenager
• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Treatment in Soldier
• Stress Impact on Self-Esteam and Personal Growth
• Employee Motivation, Termination, and Work Stress
• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Modality Treatment Plan
• Anxiety Disorder: Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction
• Crisis Intervention Model and Critical Stress Management
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Its Theories
• Emotion Regulation and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
• Workplace Stress and Mitigating Measures
• Stress Factors in the Fire Service
• Early-Life Stress and Adult Inflammation
• Stress, Conflict and Misunderstandings in the Workplace
• Stress Increases the Desire to Eat Sweets
• How Coffee Affects Stress?
• Burnout, Compassion Fatigue and Stress at Workplace
• Stress Assessment Questionnaire Ethical Usage
• Stress in Policing: Reasons and Effects
• Meditation as a Way to Alleviate Stress
• Stress Management for Life
• Sexual Harassment and Psychological Stress
• Prenatal Maternal Stress Outcomes
• Discretion, Job Stress, and Other Policing Issues
• Workplace Stress Management Programs
• Kant’s and Mill’s Ideas for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
• Intimate Partner Violence and Maternal Stress
• Stress Statistics, Definition, and Perception
• Physiological Mechanism of Stress
• Post-Traumatic Stress and Evidence-Based Practice
• Stress as a Risk Factor for Inflammation
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Assets and Facilities
• Minority Stress and Health: Societal Issues
• Housewives’ Compensation and Stress Factors
• Stress and Eating Behavior
• Ways to Manage Stress and Enhance Well-Being for Students
• Police Stress Within Law Enforcement
• Exam Stress: Effective Management
• To Better Cope With Stress, Listen to Your Body
• “Stress” Video and “A Natural Fix for ADHD” Article
• Organizational Stress and Job Satisfaction Relationships
• The Effect Job Stress on Satisfaction with Life
• Ethics Code for Human Participation in Stress Reduction
• Office 2010 Transformation: Stress Management Plan
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or Combat Fatigue
• Genentech Inc.’s Workplace Stress Management
• Stress, Depression, and Responses to Them
• Stress Management in the Adulthood
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: Caucasian Girl’ Case
• Students’ Stress Levels in Kean University
• Acute Stress Disorder: Cynthia’s Treatment Case
• Food and Stress Relationship: Psychological Factor
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Soldiers
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Gender Variations
• Stress Impacts on the Human Development
• Stress Levels and Stress Management Methods
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: Joseph Wolpe Treatment Theory
• Reducing Stress: Cognitive Patterns and Behaviors Changing
• Stress: Effects and Management Proposal
• Health Psychology: Eating and Stress’ Relations
• Stress and Recovery After Rape
• The Holmes-Rahe Life Stress Inventory – Psychology
• Mood and Stress Psychology: Causes, Effects and Treatments
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder – Psychology
• Managing Stress and Depression at Work Places – Psychology
• Job’ Stress and Depression
• Stress and Burnout in Law Enforcement
• Police and Corrections Officers’ Stress – Psychology
• Stress and Strains in the Renaissance Society
• Infidelity as a Cause of Divorce and Stress Disorder
• Stress Reduction at Work
• Stress’ Definition and Effects
• Suggestions on Stress Management
• Correlation Study of the Relationship Between Individual Resilience, Hope, Stress and Humour
• Stress & Its Effects on the Brain and Body
• Ability to Manage Stress as the Most Important Skill of Effective Communicators
• Stress Management and Work Performance in the UK
• The Relationship Between Employee Productivity and Work Related Stress
• The Caregiver Burnout and Long-Term Stress
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Principles and Types
• Solutions for Students to Reduce Stress in University Life
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Veterans
• The Effects of Forgiveness Therapy on Depression, Anxiety and Posttraumatic Stress for Women After Spousal Emotional Abuse
• Critical Evaluation of Stress Management Approaches
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Causes, Symptoms and Treatments
• Critical Review of a Mental Disorder: The Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in DSM-IV-TR
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Its Treatment
• Stress Management and Work Performance in the United Kingdom
• Underlying Issues Associated with Sleep Disorders and Stress
• How College Athletes Deal with Stress and Manage Time
• Impact and Strategies of Fiscal Stress on States and Municipalities
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Abused Women
• Acute Stress Reaction and Acute Stress Disorder
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: History and Symptoms
• Biological Factors Involved in Stress
• Posttraumatic stress. The Case of Mary
• Stress Management among Customer Service Employees: Antecedents & Interventions
• Depression: Law Enforcement Officers and Stress
• The Impact of Stress & Unpleasant Feelings on People
• The Causes of Stress in the Contemporary Society
• Earthquakes as a Cause of the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
• Workplace Stress Problem
• Reducing Stress in Al-Khobar
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Developed in Repeated War Zones Deployment
• Towards Understanding Stress-Related Issues Affecting First Year Students on Their Transition Into University Culture
• Stress and Injury in Sports
• Family, Stress and Delinquency among Adolescent
• Effects of stress on physical health
• Stresses of Being a Student
• Stress at the Workplace for Correctional Officers
• Human Stress and Dale Carnegie
• “Denial: A Memoir” a Book by Jessica Stern
• The Relationship Between Self-Efficacy and Perceived Stress
• Adjustment in Psychology: Stress
• Stress and Burnout in the Workplace
• Reaction to Stress: Flight or Fight
• Conflict and Stress: Their Potential Impact on a Project
• Abnormal Psychology: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
• Diverse Effects of the Work Related Stress
• Problems of the Employee Stress in Organizations
• Managing Time and Stress
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Tim O’Brien’s “In the Lake of Woods”
• Randomized Trial of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Chronic Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders in Adult Female Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse
• How Stress Affects Your Physical Health?
• The Experiment to Prove the Fact That Psychological Stress Causes Headache
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: Assessment and Treatment Strategies
• Controlling Stress and Tension
• Research Application of How College Athletes Deal with Stress and Manage Time
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in Veterans and How Family Relationships Are Affected
• Self Efficacy, Stress & Coping, and Headspace Program
• Characteristics and Treatments of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
• Analysis of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Military Personnel
• Work-Related Stress: Impeding Organization’s Success
• Does Cardiorespiratory Fitness Buffer Stress Reactivity and Stress Recovery in Police Officers?
• What Does Stress Really Stress?
• Where Does Stress Come From and How Does It Affect a Pregnant Mother and Her Unborn Child?
• Can Stress Cause Severe Headache?
• Does Compressing High School Duration Affect Students’ Stress and Mental Health?
• Does Regular Exercise Reduce Stress Levels?
• How Long Does Birth Trauma Last?
• Does Telework Stress Employees Out?
• Can Detox Tea Relieve Stress?
• Are Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms and Avoidant Coping Inhibitory Factors?
• What makes Stress and Burnout?
• Can Stress Cause Coronary Heart Disease?
• Can Local Stress Enhancement Induce Stability in Fracture Processes?
• What Cause Students Stress?
• Does Practical Parenting Stress You Out?
• What Does Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Truly Mean?
• Does Elevated Job Stress Affect Smoking Levels?
• What Causes Psychological Stress?
• Does Prolonged Stress Increase the Likelihood of a Stroke?
• Can Music Therapy Improve Stress Anxiety?
• Does Emotional Intelligence Buffer the Effects of Acute Stress?
• Whether Stress Have Any Effect on the Productivity of Employees in an Organization?
• Can Simulated Green Exercise Improve Recovery From Acute Mental Stress?
• Can Social Support Alleviate Stress While Shopping in Crowded Retail Environments?
• Can the Attention Training Technique Reduce Stress in Students?
• Are Certain Personalities More Prone to Stress?
• Can Stress Trigger Diseases?
• Does Acute Stress Impact Declarative and Procedural Learning?
• Does Prenatal Stress Shape Postnatal Resilience?
• Are Quebecers More Stressed Out at Work Than Others?
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

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