Stress

• COVID-19: Managing Anxiety

  It's normal to feel worried during times of stress. Many people struggle with anxiety in the best of times. Here are some steps you can take to manage anxiety and lower your stress. Get the facts. Go to trusted sources. Check the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website at cdc.gov...

• Give Yourself a Break: Practicing Self-Compassion

  Learn about ways to show care and compassion to yourself.

• Staying Active at Home During the Pandemic

  Learn ways to exercise at home during the pandemic.

• Taking Steps Toward a Less Stressed Life

  Learn tips for coping better with stress and finding balance in your life.

• Change Your Outlook to Lower Your Stress

  Learn how changing the way you think about stress can influence how you feel.

• Rethink How You Respond to Stress

  This article helps you prepare for responding to stress before stress hits.

• Stress Management: Managing Your Time

  Discusses using time management to help reduce stress. Covers prioritizing tasks, controlling procrastination, and managing commitments. Offers interactive tool to help test what you've learned. Provides links to more info on stress management.

• Ways To Reduce Stress

  In addition to meditation, progressive muscle relaxation, and breathing exercises, you might try these other ways to relieve stress. Mindfulness-based stress reduction can calm your mind and body to help you cope with illness, pain, and stress....

• COVID-19: Coping With Cabin Fever

  This is a very stressful time. You may be worried about getting COVID-19 or afraid that someone you care about will get it. If you've lost your job, you may be anxious about your finances. On top of that, you're probably stuck at home. Cabin fever can set in. You may feel trapped, bored, and irritable. Cabin fever...

• Tips to Help You Cope When Things Feel Out of Control

  Learn about strategies for how to cope during stressful times.

• What Is Mindfulness?

  Learn what mindfulness is and how it can help reduce stress.

• Mindfulness: Breathing Practice

  Practice mindfulness to help reduce stress.

• Stress and Coping: Mindfulness Can Help

  Learn how two people practice mindfulness to help them cope with stress or a health problem.

• How Your Mind and Body React to Stress

  Learn how your mind and body respond to stress, and find out some things you can do to help care for yourself.

• Relaxation Exercise: Deep Breathing

  Learn a deep-breathing exercise to reduce your stress.

• Symptoms of Stress and Sleep Problems

  If you are having ongoing sleep problems, consider whether you may be under a lot of stress. Stress is a normal part of everyday life, but an increase in stress can cause physical and emotional problems. Symptoms of stress include: Problems sleeping or a change in your sleep pattern. Headache, stiff neck, or nagging...

• Stress and Back Pain

  Stress is what you feel when you have too much to handle. You may have too much work to do, or you may be having trouble with children or a spouse. If stress happens too often or lasts too long, it can affect your health. Where do you hold your stress? We all "hold" stress in different ways. Some people hold stress in...

• Stress Management

  What happens when you are stressed? Stress is what you feel when you have to handle more than you are used to. When you are stressed, your body responds as though you are in danger. It makes hormones that speed up your heart, make you breathe faster, and give you a burst of energy. This is called the fight-or-flight...

• Progressive Muscle Relaxation

  The body responds to stress with muscle tension, which can cause pain or discomfort. In turn, tense muscles relay to the body that it's stressed, which keeps the stress–muscle-tension cycle going. Progressive muscle relaxation helps break this cycle by reducing muscle tension and general mental anxiety. Progressive...

• Healthy Eating to Decrease Stress

  You can handle stress better when you are as healthy as possible, so eating nutritiously is a good defense against stress. The tips below focus on using nutrition to reduce the symptoms of stress. For more information about eating right, see the topic Healthy Eating. Avoid or limit caffeine. Coffee, tea...

• How to Track Your Stress

  You may not know what is causing your stress , exactly how your body responds to stress, or how you cope with stress. To find out, keep a record to track the times you feel stressed. Write down: What may have triggered the stress. Guess, if you aren't sure. How you felt and behaved in response to the stressful...

• Signs of Stress

  The signs of stress can be physical or mental. Some people call this "storing" stress in the body (physical) or in the mind (mental). Common physical symptoms of stress include: Rapid heartbeat. Headache. Stiff neck and/or tight shoulders. Backache. Rapid breathing. Sweating and sweaty palms. Upset stomach...

• Examining Your Beliefs to Manage Stress

  When your beliefs conflict with the way you are living your life, stress may result. It may be helpful to examine your belief systems so you can better manage your stress. World view Your world view is your basic beliefs about human nature, how the world works, and what life is about. Your views about religion make...

• Common Coping Responses for Stress

  We all find ways of coping with stress. Some coping strategies are not as helpful as others. For example, negative coping responses often make your stress worse, because they wear you down over time or are temporary distractions. On the other hand, positive coping responses keep you in the present moment and give you...

• Stress Management: Imagery Exercises

  The methods described here help you relax, relieve stress, and feel better. Imagery for releasing muscle tension Close your eyes and imagine one of the following: Wax softening and melting. A tight, twisted rope slowly unwinding. Tension swirling out of your body and down the drain. You holding a remote control...

• How Do You Cope With Stress?

  There are many ways to deal with stress. The table below (reprinted from Wellness: Concepts and Applications*) lists positive ways to cope. See how many you use to deal with stress. If you have trouble filling out this chart, you may want to track your stress for a few days and then try again. Positive ways to...

• Interactive Tool: How Well Do You Bounce Back?

  Interactive tool measures your ability to bounce back from stressful situations. Discusses what your score means from being very resilient to not very resilient. Includes next steps and a link to more information on stress management.

• Manage Stress for Your Heart

  Why is it important to manage stress? Stress is the way we all react to change. It includes our mental, emotional, and physical responses to the pressures of everyday life. Because change is a natural and normal part of life, everyone has some stress. But stress can be bad for your heart. If you have heart...

• Importance of Personal Relationships for Lowering Stress

  Developing and nurturing your personal relationships can help you lower your stress level. The following suggestions can benefit both your relationships and your mental health: Visit with friends and family. Take time to make a phone call, send an email, or write a quick note. Make "date" time with your spouse, even...

• Stress Management: Breathing Exercises

  The way you breathe affects your whole body. Full, deep breathing is a good way to reduce tension, feel relaxed, and reduce stress. Roll breathing (also called abdominal breathing) The object of roll breathing is to develop full use of your lungs and get in touch with the rhythm of your breathing. It can be...

• Stress Management: Relaxing Your Mind and Body

  Looks at how relaxing your mind and body can relieve stress, anxiety, or depression. Offers how-to tips, including practicing mindful meditation, using guided imagery, yoga, or massage. Includes interactive tool to test what you've learned.

• Stress Management: Doing Progressive Muscle Relaxation

  Explains what progressive muscle relaxation is and how it can help reduce stress and anxiety. Walks you through doing relaxation exercises on various muscle groups. Links to info on other relaxation methods, including meditation, guided imagery, and yoga.

• Stress Management: Doing Meditation

  Discusses the use of mindful meditation to manage stress. Explains what mindful meditation is and reasons people meditate. Offers tips for successful meditation. Includes step-by-step instructions for meditation.

• Stress Management: Breathing Exercises for Relaxation

  Looks at how breathing exercises can help with stress relief. Includes step-by-step instructions for exercises like belly breathing, 4-7-8 breathing, and morning breathing. Offers links to more info on managing stress with guided imagery and meditation.

• Stress Management: Doing Guided Imagery to Relax

  Looks at how guided imagery can help to manage stress. Explains what guided imagery is and its uses in healing, creativity, and reducing stress. Lists step-by-step instructions for guided imagery.

• Stress Management: Practicing Yoga to Relax

  Yoga is a mind and body practice that involves movement, breathing exercises, and a focus on thoughts and feelings as they happen (mindfulness). It began in ancient India as a spiritual practice, based on the idea that the mind and body are one. But today, more people practice yoga for overall health, including...

• Interactive Tool: What Is Your Stress Level?

  Interactive tool gauges your stress level based on the number of life changes you have had recently. Discusses what your score means from low to high stress. Includes next steps and links to more information on managing stress.