essay cope with stress

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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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.

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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].

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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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• Kivimäki, M., Nyberg, S. T., Batty, G. D., Fransson, E. I., Heikkilä, K., Alfredsson, L., Bjorner, J. B., Borritz, M., Burr, H., Casini, A., Clays, E., De Bacquer, D., Dragano, N., Ferrie, J. E., Geuskens, G. A., Goldberg, M., Hamer, M., Hooftman, W. E., Houtman, I. L., … Theorell, T. (2012). Job strain as a risk factor for coronary heart disease: A collaborative meta-analysis of individual participant data. Lancet , 380 (9852), 1491–1497.
• Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping . Springer.
• Park, C. L. (2010). Making sense of the meaning literature: An integrative review of meaning making and its effects on adjustment to stressful life events. Psychological Bulletin , 136 (2), 257–301.
• Pascoe, M. C., Thompson, D. R., & Ski, C. F. (2017). Yoga, mindfulness-based stress reduction and stress-related physiological measures: A meta-analysis. Psychoneuroendocrinology , 86 , 152–168.
• Salmon, P. (2018). Effects of physical exercise on anxiety, depression, and sensitivity to stress: A unifying theory. Clinical Psychology Review , 57 , 117–131.
• Schmidt, S., Mrazek, M. D., & Haggard, M. (2019). Mindfulness in the workplace. Oxford research encyclopedia of psychology . Oxford University Press.
• Spielberger, C.D., Gorsuch, R. L., Lushene, R., Vagg, P. R., & Jacobs, G. A. (1983). Manual for the S tate–Trait Anxiety Inventory . Consulting Psychologists Press.
• Stults-Kolehmainen, M. A., & Sinha, R. (2014). The effects of stress on physical activity and exercise. Sports Medicine , 44 (1), 81–121.
• Sui, X., Ladwig, M. A., Singh, G., & Friston, K. J. (2019). Exercise and the aging brain: Fit body, fit mind? Progress in Neurobiology , 172 , 45–56.

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What is stress management?

• Identify the causes
• Replace unhealthy coping strategies
• Practice the 4 As

Avoid unnecessary stress

Alter the situation, adapt to the stressor.

• Accept the things you can't change

Move more during your day

• Time management
• Reach out and connect

Make time for fun and relaxation

Maintain balance with a healthy lifestyle.

• Reducing stress in the moment

Stress Management Techniques & Strategies to Deal with Stress

While it may seem like there’s nothing you can do about stress in your life, there are healthy steps you can take to destress and regain control.

It may seem like there’s nothing you can do about stress—no way to avoid it and no way to de-stress completely when it hits. 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 the truth is, you have a lot more control over stress than you may think. In fact, the simple realization that you’re in control of your life is the foundation of stress management.

Managing stress is all about taking charge: of your thoughts, emotions, schedule, environment, and the way you deal with problems. The ultimate goal is a balanced life, with time for work, relationships, relaxation, and fun—plus the ability to hold up under pressure and meet challenges head on.

Stress management involves using various techniques and coping strategies to improve the way you react to stressful things in your life and build resilience . But it’s not one-size-fits-all. That’s why it’s important to experiment and find out what works best for you. Whether you’re looking to reduce your overall stress levels, avoid unnecessary stressors in your life, or deal with stress in the moment, the following stress management techniques and strategies can help.

Why does stress management matter?

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.

Identify the causes of stress in your life

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.

Keep 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. As you keep a daily log, you will begin 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.

Replace unhealthy coping strategies with healthy ones

Think about the ways you currently manage and cope with stress in your life. Your stress journal can help you identify them. Are your coping strategies healthy or unhealthy? Many of us cope with stress in ways that make us feel better temporarily—but compound the problem in the long run.

Unhealthy ways of dealing with stress

• Using alcohol or drugs to relax .
• Bingeing on junk or comfort food.
• Zoning out for hours on your phone or TV.
• Withdrawing from friends, family, and social activities.
• Sleeping too much.
• Filling up every minute of the day to avoid facing problems.
• Taking out your stress on others
• Procrastinating.

If your methods of coping with stress aren’t contributing to your greater emotional and physical health, it’s time to find healthier ones. No single method works for everyone or in every situation, so experiment with different stress management techniques and strategies. Focus on what makes you feel calm and in control.

Practice the 4 As of stress management

There are many healthy ways to reduce stress or cope with its effects, but they all require change. You can either change the situation or change your reaction. When deciding which option to choose, it’s helpful to think of the four As: avoid , alter , accept , or adapt .

Not all stress can be avoided, and it’s not healthy to avoid a 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.

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.

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.

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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.

Using mindful rhythmic exercise to manage stress

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.

Learn to manage your time better

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.

Reach out and connect to people who make you feel good

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, you may not always have someone 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.

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.

Tips for reducing stress in the moment

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

• Special Health Report - Special Health Report from Harvard Medical School on Stress. (Harvard Health)
• Tolerating Distress - Workbook and information sheets to help you manage feelings of distress. (Centre for Clinical Interventions)
• How To Relax (Video) - Video to help you ease stress. (Mind)
• 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

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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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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)

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• Tools for Supporting Emotional Wellbeing in Children and Youth

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18 Effective Stress Relief Strategies

How to Relieve Stress Now and in the Future

• Short-Term Strategies
• Long-Term Strategies
• Problem-Focused Coping
• Next in How Stress Impacts Your Health Guide 5 Types of Self-Care for Every Area of Your Life

From minor challenges to major crises, stress is part of life. And while you can't always control your circumstances, you can control how you respond to them. When stress becomes overwhelming or chronic, it can affect your well-being. That's why it's essential to have effective stress relievers that can calm your mind and body. 

Some effective stress management techniques include:

• Guided imagery
• Progressive muscle relaxation
• Deep breathing
• Going for a walk
• Aromatherapy
• Healthy diet
• Stress relief supplements
• Leisure activities
• Positive self-talk
• Evaluating priorities
• Social support
• Eliminating stressors

Highly Effective Tips for Relieving Stress

There isn't a one-size-fits-all option when it comes to stress relief, however. What works for one person might not work for another.

And what works for you at home might not be an option when you're at work or in the community (dancing around your living room might be helpful but dancing in the grocery store might not be). 

So it's important to have a variety of stress relief tools at your disposal. Then, you'll be able to pick a strategy that works best for your current circumstances. 

Fast-Acting Stress Relief Strategies

What strategies can relieve stress fast? A number of helpful techniques, such as deep breathing and meditation, are fast-acting tools that you can do anywhere, anytime.

Whether you're about to be interviewed for a job or you're feeling overwhelmed by your child's behavior at the playground, it's important to have some stress reduction tools that can lower your stress right now.

The best short-term strategies:

• Can be performed anywhere
• Take very little practice to master
• Provide immediate relief

Try Guided Imagery

Guided imagery is like taking a short vacation in your mind. It can involve imagining yourself being in your "happy place"—maybe picturing yourself sitting on a beach, listening to the waves, smelling the ocean, and feeling the warm sand underneath you.

Guided imagery can be done with a recording where you listen to someone walk you through a peaceful scene. Or, once you know how to do it yourself, you can practice guided imagery on your own. 

Simply close your eyes for a minute and walk yourself through a peaceful scene. Think about all the sensory experiences you engage in and allow yourself to feel like you're really there. After a few minutes, open your eyes and return to the present moment.

Meditation brings short-term stress relief as well as lasting stress management benefits. There are many different forms of meditation to try–each one is unique and brings its own appeal.

You might develop a mantra that you repeat in your mind as you take slow deep breaths. Or, you might take a few minutes to practice mindfulness, which involves being in the moment. Simply pay attention to what you see, hear, taste, touch, and smell.

When you're focused on the here-and-now, you won't be able to ruminate about something that already happened and you can't worry about something in the future. Meditation and mindfulness take practice, but it can make a big difference in your overall stress level as it brings you back to the present.

Practice Progressive Muscle Relaxation

Progressive muscle relaxation involves relaxing all the muscles in your body, group by group. To practice, you can start with a few deep breaths.

Then, practice tightening and relaxing each muscle group, starting with your forehead and moving down to your toes. 

With practice, you'll learn to recognize tension and tightness in your muscles and you'll be able to relax more easily. Each time you practice, however, you should experience a feeling of relaxation sweeping through your body. 

Focus on Breathing

Just focusing on your breath or changing the way you breathe can make a big difference to your overall stress level. Breathing techniques can calm your body and your brain in just a few minutes.

The best news is that no one around you will know you're doing them. So whether you're in a stressful meeting or you're sitting in a crowded theater, breathing exercises could be key to reducing your stress.  

While there are many different breathing exercises, like karate breathing , a few simple ones include:

• Breathe in through your nose and watch your belly fill with air. Count slowly to three as you inhale. Hold for one second, and then slowly breathe out through your nose as you count to three again.
• Breathe in through your nose and imagine that you're inhaling peaceful, calm air. Imagine that air spreading throughout your body. As you exhale, imagine that you're breathing out stress and tension. 

Take a Walk

Exercise is a fantastic stress reliever that can work in minutes. Taking a walk allows you to enjoy a change of scenery, which can get you into a different frame of mind, and brings the benefits of exercise as well.

So whether you just need to take a stroll around the office to get a break from a frustrating task or you decide to go for a long walk in the park after work, walking is a simple but effective way to rejuvenate your mind and body.

Get a Hug From a Loved One

Physical touch can do a lot to relieve your stress. Hugging a loved one can be especially beneficial.

When you hug someone, oxytocin (also known as the "cuddle hormone") is released. Oxytocin is associated with higher levels of happiness and lower levels of stress.

Oxytocin also causes a reduction in blood pressure. It reduces the stress hormone norepinephrine and can produce a sense of relaxation. 

So don't be afraid to ask a loved one for a hug if you need it. It's good for both of you and it can be one of the simplest forms of stress relief available.

Enjoy Aromatherapy

Aromatherapy has real benefits for stress relief—it can help you to feel energized, more relaxed, or more present in the moment.

Emerging research suggests certain scents can alter brain wave activity and decrease stress hormones in the body.

So whether you enjoy candles, diffusers, or body products, consider incorporating some aromatherapy into your day. 

Create Artwork

Getting in touch with your creative side may have been easy for you during childhood, but it's not too late to pick it up again if you’ve lost touch with your penchant for artwork.

If you aren't into drawing or painting, consider coloring in a coloring book. Adult coloring books have risen in popularity, and for good reason—coloring can be a great stress reliever.

Research consistently shows that coloring can have a meditative effect. One study found that anxiety levels decline in people who were coloring complex geometric patterns, making it a perfect outlet for stress reduction.

Long-Term Stress Relief Strategies

What can you do to calm mental stress over the long term? Certain habits can promote resilience to stress and increase overall wellness. For example, those who  exercise  or meditate regularly tend to become less stressed in the face of a difficult challenge.

So it's important to create a lifestyle that will help you ward off stress and deal with challenges in a healthy way. 

Eat a Balanced Diet

A poor diet can bring greater reactivity toward stress.  Emotional eating and reaching for high-fat, high-sugar foods can provide a temporary sense of relief that adds to your long-term stress.

Refined carbs, like cookies and potato chips, can cause a spike in blood sugar. When your blood sugar crashes, you might experience more stress and anxiety.

Consuming a healthy diet can help you combat stress over the long haul. Foods like eggs, avocado, and walnuts support mood regulation and energy balance. 

Try Stress Relief Supplements

Some vitamins and supplements may have benefits for stress relief. What vitamins help with stress? A daily multivitamin may help address nutritional deficits and ensure you get the necessary vitamins and minerals to feel your best. Other supplements that may help relieve stress include:

• Melatonin : This natural hormone can help regulate your body's circadian rhythm. Improving sleep can help you feel less stressed.
• Ashwagandha : This adaptogenic herb is thought to help improve the body's resilience to mental and physical stress.
• L-theanine : This amino acid has been shown to help reduce stress, promote relaxation, and improve sleep quality.
• B vitamins : Some research indicates that B vitamins may help lower homocysteine levels, reduce stress, and improve mood.

Make Time for Leisure Activities

Leisure activities can be a wonderful way to relieve stress. Yet, many people feel as though their lives are too busy for hobbies, games, or extra fun.

But building time for leisure into your schedule could be key to helping you feel your best. And when you feel better, you'll perform better, which means leisure time may make your work time more efficient.

Whether you find joy in caring for a garden or you like making quilts, hobbies and leisure are key to living your best life.

Develop a Positive Self-Talk Habit

The way you talk to yourself matters. Harsh self-criticism, self-doubt, and catastrophic predictions aren't helpful. If you're constantly thinking things like, "I don't have time for this," and "I can't stand this," you'll stress yourself out.

It's important to learn to talk to yourself in a more realistic, compassionate manner. When you call yourself names or doubt your ability to succeed, reply with a kinder inner dialogue.

Positive self-talk can help you develop a healthier outlook. And an optimistic and compassionate conversation can help you manage your emotions and take positive action. 

Practice Yoga

Yoga combines physical movement, meditation, light exercise, and controlled breathing—all of which provide excellent stress relief.

And while you're likely to reap immediate benefits from a single yoga session, you're likely to receive long-term benefits if you incorporate it into your life in a consistent way. 

Yoga offers a variety of physical, psychological, and spiritual benefits. To get started, you might take a class, enroll in an online program, or use an app to help you begin practicing.

Express Gratitude

Gratitude helps you recognize all the things you have to be thankful for. Whether you're grateful for a sunny day or thankful you arrived at work safely, think about all the good things you have in life.

Gratitude also reminds you of all of the resources you have to cope with stress, which can be quite empowering. 

Studies  also show grateful people enjoy better mental health, lower stress, and a better quality of life.

So whether you decide to make it a habit to identify what you're grateful for as you sit around the dinner table or you decide to write down three things you're grateful for in a gratitude journal every day, make gratitude a regular habit. 

Prioritize Exercise

Physical activity is key to managing stress and improving mental health. And the best news is, there are many different kinds of activities that can reduce your stress.

Join a gym, take a class, or exercise outside. Keep in mind that there are many different ways to get more physical activity in your day too.

Walking, strength training, kayaking, hiking, and spin class are just a few different examples of ways you can get stress relief.

Problem-Focused Coping Stress Relief.

Most stress relievers focus on changing your emotions. But sometimes, you won't necessarily get relief until you change the environment. 

This is referred to as problem-focused coping (as opposed to emotion-focused coping ). Problem-focused coping involves taking steps to remove the stressor from your life (as opposed to changing how you feel about the stressor).

Reassess Your To-Do Lists

If you're trying to squeeze 20 hours worth of work into 16 hours, you're going to feel stressed. Reducing your workload could be key to helping you get through the day feeling better.

Whether that means stepping away from a committee you joined or it involves hiring someone to complete some of your household chores for you, 

Honing your time management skills can allow you to minimize the stressors that you experience, and better manage the ones you can't avoid.

When you are able to complete everything on your "to do" list without the stress of rushing or forgetting, your whole life feels easier.

Obtain Social Support

Having supportive people in your life is the key to stress management. If you lack emotional support and friendship, it's important to get it.

That may mean reaching out to your existing network. Perhaps confiding in a family member or distant friend can help you become closer and it may give you the social support you need.

You may also need to expand your network. Join an organization, attend a support group, or get professional help if you lack supportive people in your life. 

Cut out Things That Add to Your Stress

Sometimes, the best way to reduce your stress is to cut something out of your life. Get rid of the things that are adding to your stress so you can experience more peace. 

Watching the news, being constantly connected to your digital devices, drinking alcohol, and consuming too much caffeine are just a few of the things that may add more stress to your life. Making some changes to your daily habits could be instrumental in helping you feel better.

A Word From Verywell

Finding the best stress relief strategies may take some experimenting. Some strategies may take practice too.

But it's important to keep looking for the tools that will help you manage life's inevitable ups and downs in a healthy way. Keeping stress at a manageable level is important for your overall well-being.

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Novais PG, Batista Kde M, Grazziano Eda S, Amorim MH. The effects of progressive muscular relaxation as a nursing procedure used for those who suffer from stress due to multiple sclerosis. Rev Lat Am Enfermagem . 2016;24:e2789.  doi:10.1590/1518-8345.1257.2789

Russo MA, Santarelli DM, O'rourke D. The physiological effects of slow breathing in the healthy human . Breathe (Sheff) . 2017;13(4):298-309. doi:10.1183/20734735.009817

Ma X, Yue ZQ, Gong ZQ, et al. The effect of diaphragmatic breathing on attention, negative affect and stress in healthy adults. Front Psychol . 2017;8:874.  doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00874

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Uvnäs-moberg K, Handlin L, Petersson M. Self-soothing behaviors with particular reference to oxytocin release induced by non-noxious sensory stimulation . Front Psychol . 2014;5:1529. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01529

Sowndhararajan K, Kim S. Influence of Fragrances on Human Psychophysiological Activity: With Special Reference to Human Electroencephalographic Response. Sci Pharm . 2016;84(4):724-751.  doi:10.3390/scipharm84040724

Burke A, Lam CN, Stussman B, Yang H. Prevalence and patterns of use of mantra, mindfulness and spiritual meditation among adults in the United States. BMC Complement Altern Med . 2017;17(1):316. doi:10.1186/s12906-017-1827-8

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Lopresti AL, Smith SJ, Malvi H, Kodgule R. An investigation into the stress-relieving and pharmacological actions of an ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) extract: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study . Medicine (Baltimore) . 2019;98(37):e17186. doi:10.1097/MD.0000000000017186

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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.

How stress affects your health

Stress can be brief, situational, and a positive force motivating performance, but if experienced over an extended period of time it can become chronic stress, which negatively impacts health and well-being.

• Chronic Illness

Stress : We’ve all felt it. Sometimes stress can be a positive force, motivating you to perform well at your piano recital or job interview. But often—like when you’re stuck in traffic—it’s a negative force. If you experience stress over a prolonged period of time, it could become chronic—unless you take action.

A natural reaction

Have you ever found yourself with sweaty hands on a first date or felt your heart pound during a scary movie? Then you know you can feel stress in both your mind and body.

This automatic response developed in our ancient ancestors as a way to protect them from predators and other threats. Faced with danger, the body kicks into gear, flooding the body with stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol that elevate your heart rate, increase your blood pressure, boost your energy, and prepare you to deal with the problem.

These days, you’re not likely to face the threat of being eaten. But you probably do confront multiple challenges every day, such as meeting deadlines, paying bills, and juggling childcare that make your body react the same way. As a result, your body’s natural alarm system—the “fight or flight” response—may be stuck in the on position. And that can have serious consequences for your health.

Pressure points

Even short-lived, minor stress can have an impact. You might get a stomachache before you have to give a presentation, for example. More major acute stress, whether caused by a fight with your spouse or an event like an earthquake or terrorist attack, can have an even bigger impact.

Repeated acute stress may also contribute to inflammation in the circulatory system , particularly in the coronary arteries, and this is one pathway that is thought to tie stress to a heart attack. It also appears that how a person responds to stress can affect cholesterol levels.

Chronic stress

When stress starts interfering with your ability to live a normal life for an extended period, it becomes even more dangerous. The longer the stress lasts, the worse it is for both your mind and body. You might feel fatigued, unable to concentrate, or irritable for no good reason, for example. But chronic stress causes wear and tear on your body, too.

The long-term activation of the stress response system and the overexposure to cortisol and other stress hormones that come with it can disrupt almost all of your body's processes. This can put you at increased risk for a variety of physical and mental health problems, including anxiety, depression, digestive issues, headaches, muscle tension and pain, heart disease, heart attack, high blood pressure, stroke, sleep problems, weight gain, and memory and concentration impairment.

Chronic stress may also cause disease, either because of changes in your body or the overeating, smoking, and other bad habits people use to cope with stress. Job strain—high demands coupled with low decision-making latitude—is associated with increased risk of coronary disease , for example. Other forms of chronic stress, such as depression and low levels of social support, have also been implicated in increased cardiovascular risk.

Chronic stress also  suppresses the body's immune system , making it harder to recover from illnesses.

What you can do

Reducing your stress levels can not only make you feel better right now, but may also protect your health long-term. Several research studies have demonstrated, for example, that interventions to improve psychological health can have a beneficial impact on cardiovascular health . As a result,  researchers recommend boosting your positive affect—feelings like happiness, joy, contentment, and enthusiasm—by making time for enjoyable activities every day.

Other strategies for reducing stress include:

• Identify what’s causing stress. Monitor your state of mind throughout the day. If you feel stressed, write down the cause, your thoughts, and your mood. Once you know what’s bothering you, develop a plan for addressing it. That might mean setting more reasonable expectations for yourself and others or asking for help with household responsibilities, job assignments, or other tasks. List all your commitments, assess your priorities, and then eliminate any tasks that are not absolutely essential.
• Build strong relationships. Relationships can be a source of stress. Research has found that negative, hostile reactions with your spouse cause immediate changes in stress-sensitive hormones, for example. But relationships can also serve as stress buffers. Reach out to family members or close friends and let them know you’re having a tough time. They may be able to offer practical assistance and support, useful ideas, or just a fresh perspective as you begin to tackle whatever’s causing your stress.
• Walk away when you’re angry. Before you react, take time to regroup by counting to 10. Then reconsider. Walking or other physical activities can also help you work off steam. Plus, exercise increases the production of endorphins, your body’s natural mood booster. Commit to a daily walk or other form of exercise—a small step that can make a big difference in reducing stress levels.
• Rest your mind. To help ensure you get the recommended seven or eight hours of shut-eye, cut back on caffeine, remove distractions such as television or computers from your bedroom, and go to bed at the same time each night. Research shows that activities like yoga and relaxation exercises not only help reduce stress, but also boost immune functioning .
• Get help. If you continue to feel overwhelmed, consult with a psychologist or other licensed mental health professional who can help you learn how to manage stress effectively. They can help you identify situations or behaviors that contribute to your chronic stress and then develop an action plan for changing them.

Recommended Reading

Related reading

• Stress effects on the body
• Stress in America

You may also like

• Open access
• Published: 11 September 2024

Too stressed to think? A scoping review of the literature for healthcare educators utilising high acuity clinical scenarios

• Jason Betson   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-9883-8586 1 , 2 ,
• Erich C. Fein   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-4119-0130 4 ,
• David Long   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-6278-7377 2 &
• Peter Horrocks   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-0220-175X 3  

BMC Medical Education volume  24 , Article number:  990 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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The practise of paramedicine can be highly stressful particularly where urgent lifesaving decisions need to be made. Traditionally, educators have adopted the approach of placing students in simulated stressful situations as a way of learning to cope with these challenges. It is unclear from the literature whether traditional stress inoculation enhances or hinders learning. This scoping review aims to identify and examine both the peer-reviewed and grey literature reporting physiological stress responses to high-acuity scenarios in paramedicine and cognate healthcare disciplines.

Adhering strictly to JBI Evidence Synthesis Manual for conducting a scoping review, medical subject headings and areas, keywords and all other possible index terms were searched across EBSCOhost (Medline, CINAHL and APA PsycInfo), Scopus and, PubMed. English language articles both published (peer-reviewed academic papers, reports and conference proceedings) and unpublished (grey literature, Google Scholar reports) were included, and publications citing retrieved articles were also checked.

Searches performed across five electronic databases identified 52 articles where abstracts indicated potential inclusion. From this, 22 articles which reported physiological or psychophysiological responses to stressful scenario-based education were included.

This review identified that an acceptable level of stress during simulation can be beneficial, however a point can be exceeded where stress becomes a hinderance to learning resulting in underperformance. By identifying strategies to moderate the impact of acute stress, educators of paramedic and other healthcare students can utilise high-acuity clinical scenarios to their andragogical armamentarium which has the potential to improve real-world clinical outcomes.

Peer Review reports

Introduction

In many high-income countries, paramedic education has progressively moved from a post-employment vocational training model of the latter part of the 20th century to now sit firmly within the pre-employment tertiary education sector [ 1 ]. This evolution of education enables paramedics to provide high-level emergency care as new-to-practice clinicians in high pressure, time-critical environments [ 2 ]. To do this, education providers often utilise high-fidelity simulations to apply clinical or other skills in realistic environments. These simulations, are often comprised of high-acuity scenarios which are designed to depict a high severity of illness or injury [ 3 ] requiring rapid medical interventions, which can invoke increased physiological and cognitive stress. It may be the case that if these simulations are too stressful, clinical learnings from them may be lost due to the high stress load the participant is exposed to as shown by Takahashi, et al. [ 4 ] who identified higher cortisol levels post stress exposure in university students, which correlated with an increased level of memory impairment and poorer performance.

Links between physiological stress and knowledge application have also been reported in the paramedicine sector. LeBlanc, et al. [ 5 ] demonstrated that clinicians made more drug calculation errors following exposure to stressful events, whilst senior paramedics exhibited clinical and documentational vulnerabilities during high-acuity scenarios [ 6 ]. In the emerging field of undergraduate paramedicine education research, few studies have explored high-acuity scenario-based education and any associated physiological and cognitive stress. This is in contrast to Harvey, et al. [ 7 ], LeBlanc, et al. [ 6 ] and, more recently Hase, et al. [ 8 ] who have recommended that training in high-acuity areas of medicine should include challenge-promoting interventions specifically relevant to stress mitigation.

In the expanding cohort of university-trained paramedicine students, research on empathy [ 9 ], prevention of mental health and psychological disorders [ 10 ], workplace violence [ 11 ], physical characteristics [ 12 ] and pre-employment fitness testing [ 13 ] have been published. However, linkages between time critical high-acuity scenario-based education with resultant physiological stress and its potential impacts on cognitive decision-making has not been studied. A recent systematic review explored the physiological responses to acute stress in workers of several occupations, mostly within the human service industry [ 14 ]. Whilst this paper draws appropriate conclusions about acute physiological changes leading to performance decrement, possible implications for frontline healthcare workers were limited by a small number of healthcare-based studies included within the review. A gap also exists between self-awareness of one’s own physiological stress and how this may impact clinical judgement. Therefore, the purpose of this review was to better understand the physiological and cognitive stress responses observed in the participants undertaking high-acuity clinical scenarios. By appreciating the existence of contributory factors and how they influence stress, educators of paramedics and other healthcare workers can determine which elements of physiologically and mentally stressful scenario-based education can be considered in the design of their own programs.

Study design

Full systematic literature reviews (SLRs) are generally considered to be the foundation for evidence-based practice, particularly in healthcare [ 15 ]. This form of evidence synthesis relies on an extensive base of published literature and is frequently used to validate or refute current practice [ 16 ]. However, within the scope of the present study, little extant research reports on physiological changes triggered by high stress learning situations or the consequences this effect has on clinical performance. Given the inter-relationship between acute stress and the degradation of cognitive decision-making ability [ 7 , 17 ], further research is warranted to characterise this physiological response in undergraduate paramedicine students. In this paper, we employed a scoping review method to explore the extent of published and unpublished literature from cognate heath disciplines to identify key characteristics or factors related to our topic of interest.

Our final protocol was registered on the 21st March 2023, and is publicly available on the Open Science Framework platform ( https://osf.io/dxchy/ ).

Identifying the research question

This scoping review aims to identify and map the scope of current published literature related to physiological stress responses to high-acuity scenarios and, importantly, identify and analyse the knowledge gaps [ 18 ]. To achieve the aim, the following search strategy was employed:

Participants: higher education students or students in non-university training programs studying towards a recognised healthcare qualification.

Concept: any study that incorporates clinical scenarios / simulations where physiological (cardiovascular or endocrine) /or psychophysiological data is recorded.

Context: any undergraduate or postgraduate higher education setting or equivalent non-university training facility for the participants mentioned above.

Search strategy and eligibility criteria

The latest version [ 19 ] of Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) comprehensive guide for authors conducting a scoping reviews [ 20 ] has been followed step-by-step within this review. A search period restriction from 2000 onwards was applied due to the rapid expansion of wearable technology including augmented and virtual reality. To ensure the review examined the acute physiological stress response, it was necessary to focus on articles that assessed markers of stress in real-time as participants were exposed to a stress-inducing task. An initial search was conducted across three prominent databases (Medline, PubMed and Scopus) to determine key terms as a guide to developing a thorough search strategy. From this and with the assistance of a senior research librarian, the secondary search expanded all identified keywords and incorporated medical subject headings (MeSH), major subject areas, and all other possible index terms as noted in the Appendix 1 . The protocol incorporated both published (peer-reviewed academic papers, reports and conference proceedings) and unpublished (incorporating theses and dissertations, research and technical reports) evidence but did exclude non-English language articles. Sources were gathered using EBSCOhost (including Medline, CINAHL and APA PsycInfo) Scopus, and PubMed. Google Scholar was also searched as there is a small body of evidence that suggests this search engine produces highly comprehensive results [ 21 , 22 ] whilst also searching ‘grey literature’ (published informally, non-commercially or remains unpublished), a format neglected by other databases. Selection of papers for inclusion in the study were then undertaken independently by two members of the research team (DL and EF). Finally, any other articles that cited the retrieved articles were also checked using citation alert with the ISI Web of Knowledge (Appendix 1 ).

Extracting and charting the data

Data were extracted from the included studies by two reviewers (JB and PH) utilising the JBI template of evidence details, characteristics and results extraction instrument [ 19 ]. Initial piloting of the data extraction resulted in some additional data being sought from each publication to allow quality appraisal to occur. This refined data extraction gathered details about study year, study country, study aim, study setting, study design, interventions, and comparators. Additionally, the data included sample size, methods, results, and author recommendations. A third member of the review team (DL) performed an accuracy check.

Quality assessment

Methodological validity and risk-of-bias appraisal, undertaken concurrently with data charting, was performed via the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) version 2018 critical appraisal instrument designed by Hong, et al. [ 23 ]. For the purpose of this scoping review, an overall score was calculated from mean values of each section to determine methodological quality of each reviewed study (Appendix 4 ). The authors agreed that no cut-off scores would be applicable as the use of the MMAT was not for inclusion or exclusion purpose, but rather to describe the quality of the of publications reported in this review.

Synthesis of results

The first author performed narrative synthesis of identified themes and discussed these with the review team for validation. Descriptive results are subsequently reported which align with the intended scope and objectives of this review.

Ethics statement

Ethical approval was not required for this scoping review.

The search strategy yielded 1427 results, of which 52 remained after title and abstract proofing and duplicate removal (Level 1). Consensus was not reached on seven papers with resolution sought from a third member of the review team (PH) (Appendix 2 ). Of the 52 studies, 30 were excluded for reasons outlined in Appendix 3 . In addition, reference lists of three excluded review articles were checked, although nil additional suitable articles were identified. Unpublished (grey) literature was also assessed with no additional studies deemed suitable for inclusion. Figure  1 illustrates a Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) flow diagram [ 24 ] of the process and Table  1 lists the 22 studies deemed eligible for inclusion.

PRISMA flow diagram findings

From the twenty-two studies identified that met the inclusion criteria, the majority originated from Europe and North America. Only one study [ 25 ] involved paramedics or paramedicine students. Twelve studies involved medical or surgical trainees [ 7 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 ], five studied nursing or nurse anaesthetist students [ 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 ], three studies involved physiotherapy students [ 42 , 43 , 44 ], and one study examined psychology students [ 45 ].

No studies were identified that warranted exclusion based on major methodological flaws on any significant risk of bias. However, study design flaws and lower levels of evidence were common. Of most concern were poorly described methodologies and under-powered sample sizes incapable of producing statistically significant results (see Appendix 4 for tabulated quality assessment results). Examining the methodology used, sixteen studies adopted a mixed methods approach and six utilised a quantitative method. Randomised controlled trials were reported in seven papers and a battery of different metrics were recorded across the studies. Heart rate variability and salivary cortisol levels were the most frequently reported objective data, whilst the state trait anxiety inventory was the most common subjective measure (see Table  2 ).

In general terms, the twenty-two included studies had similar aims centring around determining how successful high stress simulation could be at replicating clinical experience. Most studies involved both male and female participants with samples sizes ranging from n  = 8 to n  = 166, with a mean of n  = 53 and a median of n  = 33. Multiple studies assessed and compared stress levels of participants in different situations, and then used these results to determine if stress had affected clinical performance. Other studies used similar data to improve education or training with the aim of ultimately increasing student confidence and performance. The key outcomes from the included studies are summarised in Table  3 .

This review identified studies exploring physiological responses of participants undertaking high stress scenario-based education or training. While acknowledging much of the evidence was of low methodological quality [ 46 ] and therefore limits generalisability, the results still provide some useful insights that may be used to inform educators of future paramedics and other healthcare workers.

One of the key findings from this review was the identification of pre-performance or anticipatory anxiety exhibited across multiple studies [ 37 , 38 , 45 ]. This is an area where simulation may not replicate clinical work. Students aware of an upcoming scenario well in advance have ample time to prepare and mount a physiological stress response. This could be controlled if students were given little notice, however this was not commonly reported in the studies. Healthcare educators utilising scenario-based education may choose to restrict prior notification as a means of assessing any changes in the stress response amongst their students. In high-acuity clinical work, paramedics usually have little time to prepare, which may reduce the anticipatory stress response. Potentially this may be seen as positive, as stress has been demonstrated to lead to poorer performance is some paramedic research [ 5 , 6 ]. However, the evident stress of attending high-acuity cases must also be considered and its impact on performance. In the context of anticipatory anxiety predicting future performance, little research has examined its immediate effect on motor task performance.

The reviewed publications also provide contradictory support for simulation as a tool to replicate the psychophysiological stress of high-acuity clinical work. Baker, et al. [ 37 ], in a study with trainees in the highly specialised field of anaesthetics, found simulation was able to replicate the physical and procedural forms of clinical work, however it was unable to replicate the intrinsic level of stress the trainees exhibited when working with a real patient in an operating theatre. These results are potentially influenced by small participant numbers ( n  = 8) and may also be applicable to highly specialised and highly technical fields such as anaesthesia. For paramedicine, contemporary literature [ 47 ] highlights simulation allowing for the training of skills that are rarely needed or rarely practiced in the field and supports recommendation made by O’Meara, et al. [ 2 ]. For educators of paramedics and other healthcare workers, simulating high-acuity situations is a crucial way to expose students to potential clinical scenarios they may face early in their career. In designing programs of study, careful use of stress-inducing high-acuity simulation can be a beneficial but can also lead to continued underperformance if the stress is chronically too high.

Barbadoro, et al. [ 26 ] and Judd, et al. [ 43 ] found simulation provided a higher level of stress in their participants when compared to equitable clinical work, whilst Demaria, et al. [ 28 ] found that high stress situations can be beneficial for learning. This benefit of high stress learning was also supported by the work of Keitel, et al. [ 32 ], who found increased levels of the key stress hormone cortisol correlated with improved memory retention and medical performance amongst medical trainees. An increased stress response was also reported when supervisors or assessors were present within the simulation [ 30 , 31 ] and, unsurprisingly, vital signs as a measure of physiological stress, increased when the simulation itself was exertive [ 25 , 27 , 36 ]. The stress placed on students involved in high-acuity simulation must be further studied to allow educators to determine what level of anxiety may enhance learning without impeding performance.

Performance ability or academic standing was also found to correlate with stress. McKay, et al. [ 38 ] found low performers increased stress and performed poorly, whereas high performers also increased stress but performed superbly in a cohort of student nurses. Paramedicine courses may show similar trends, with students likely to self-assess their academic abilities and stress tolerance. Educators could potentially use real-time learning analytics to offer tailored support and guidance based on live biometric data, proactively aiding students. This would be resource intensive for academics with large student numbers; but in smaller cohorts, the individual feedback around acceptable stress to achieve simulated clinical success may enhance the education program.

Lacking from the literature is a detailed discussion of a variety of variables related to student stress responses from the level of acuity of a scenario. These confounding variables, such as pre-established coping styles and perceived stress intensity within participants, need to be quantified to accurately gauge the success of any interventions aimed at alleviating the stress response, and in examining what levels of anxiety may enhance learning without impeding performance.

Limitations

Whilst the systematic approach to this scoping review explored multiple electronic bibliographic repositories, there is potential some contemporary conference proceedings, dissertations and theses, along with grey literature not readily available in electronic databases or Google Scholar, may have been missed. Non-English literature may have added value to this review and we attempted to seek translated papers where possible, but we accept that some results may have been missed through this process.

Directions and recommendations for future research

This scoping review identified inconsistencies and varying methodologies for the assessment of participant stress response in scenario-based education. Recommendations should be developed to identify gold standard quantification of psychophysiological stress responses during high stress scenarios. This would then allow meta-analysis or other systematic synthesis of data to be undertaken to accurately determine any inter-relationship between acute stress and the degradation of cognitive decision-making for healthcare education programs. In addition, variables related to student stress responses from the level of acuity of a scenario should be investigated. For example, individual differences in participants such as pre-established coping styles and strategies, perceived stress intensity, perceived control of stress or coping skill, as well as context specific stressors such as the outcomes associated with scenario performance (e.g., high stakes versus low stakes outcomes) may all be important variables for future research.

The studies identified in this scoping review have shown high-acuity simulation can induce stress comparable with paramedicine clinical practice. For educators, understanding the factors or elements which contribute to an acceptable level of stress can allow participants the opportunity to fail and learn from their errors during simulation. This further provides opportunities to improve student outcomes in paramedicine and other healthcare education by facilitating high-acuity clinical scenarios that challenge students without inducing stress levels that hinder performance. As educational and wearable technology further evolves, utilisation of real-time biofeedback through passive measurement devices also hold promise as an intervention to reduce the negative effects of acute physiological stress during training scenarios.

Data availability

Data supporting Fig.  1 ; Tables  1 , 2 and 3 and available within the Supplementary Information (Appendices).

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JB, DL, EF and PH conceived the study. JB and DL equally designed the study approach. DL, EF and PH undertook the review. JB and PH undertook data extraction and quality control. JB interpreted the data. JB, DL and EF drafted the manuscript and circulated to authors for contribution. All authors edited drafts and approved the current manuscript for publication. JB as the corresponding author is responsible for the overall content.

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Betson, J., Fein, E.C., Long, D. et al. Too stressed to think? A scoping review of the literature for healthcare educators utilising high acuity clinical scenarios. BMC Med Educ 24 , 990 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05949-3

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How to Manage Stress at Work Essay

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Introduction

Stress is among the major costly and significant cause of health troubles and mental agony. Stress at work place is considered the major primary stressor. Work stress is thought to affect individuals psychological and physical health as well as the organizations effectiveness in adverse manner. Work stress is one of the ailments that are acknowledged worldwide to be affecting the healthiness of the organization and the health or workers.

Workers who are stressed out will probable have a low motivation towards their work. In addition, stress can be detrimental to such member of staff as it possesses potential danger to their safety at work and in generally their efficiency is extremely low.

Pressures at workplace and at home can cause stress. Sometimes it may be beyond employees mandate to protect the staff against the stress caused by external factors for instance domestic strife but they can protect them from the stress that arises from work (Mandler, 2008).

Stress has proved to be a major challenge in the realization of the organization objectives. It may have adverse effects on the organization and the workers. Effective and good management and an aspect of good organizational structure and culture play a vital role in stress prevention.

In case the staffs are already stressed, the management should be aware of the situation and possibly devise a mechanism of addressing the challenge. There is generally low or minimal stress when one is adorned with resources, time, and experience to manage the challenges in any given situation.

Stress can be viewed as a negative experience that deprives the organization of the productivity potential and it is an inevitable consequence of an occurrence. Stress depends on the peoples perceptions and attitudes towards a given situation and this determines how they will cope with the situation.

To be able to develop stress management strategy for any organization, it will be essential to understand the causes of the stress in any given organization (Davis, Eshelman, McKay & Fanning, 2006).

Causes of Stress and Solutions

There are many possible causes of stress in any work set-up. It is vital to recognize and identify the main causes of stress in any organization and be able to develop mechanism of coping up with the challenges that stress at work is likely to present.

Among the typical stress, inducers include the cases of excess workload which most of them do not have realistic deadlines to deliver, this is likely to make people rush, and this puts the employees under pressure. Most of the people are overwhelmed in these situations. On the contrary having insufficient workloads may also result in stress as the individuals feel underemployment and their skills are not being maximized.

In such scenarios, one feels the organizations may not appreciate the potential at their disposal. It would be important to define clearly the tasks to be done in any given timeframe and both the interested parties to be involved in the generation of the work plan that will guide the operations or the activities to be done at any given time.

Another possible cause of stress is when one lacks control of the work he or she is in charge. The lack of control of the activities at work may result in one being stressed since the individuals cannot plan or organize the work according to his or her wish. Poor working relationship and lack of interpersonal support is likely to affect ones performance in any organization.

Such scenarios make staff feel isolated and their general lack of coordination of the activities in the organization. In such cases, it is very important to define the line of command and the individual’s area of jurisdiction to minimize conflicts (Davis, Eshelman, McKay & Fanning, 2006).

The demands on individuals to do the job that they do not have experience on may also expose one to stress conditions. Having insufficient training in most of the tasks one is involved in is likely to frustrate one in carrying out their responsibilities at the organization. Here most individuals are not able to deliver and are at risk as a result of fear of not being able to deliver the expected outputs in a given task assigned to them.

It is important that the right people are employed for the right job. During hiring, it would be important for the supervisor of any individuals to go through the job descriptions and evaluation to be done to identify the training needs that the staff may need to be able to perform the given task effectively.

There are also challenges associated with promotion into a new position. Most people find it difficult to settle when given a new position especially when it comes to promotions.

The requirements for adapting to a new office contribute to such pressure. Such challenges come with the more demands that the position presents and the changes in the possible relationship and associations with colleagues. The organization should have clearly defined rules governing promotions and pay increment procedures that are transparent where every due recognition must be given t9o the deserving individual

There are concerns related to job security, most people feel under pressure to deliver in order to be guaranteed their job. Such scenarios lead to people working extra hours and sometimes out themselves under unnecessary pressure with an aim to impress. This can be said to be caused by lack of other career opportunities, which leads individuals to stick to the job they may not be comfortable with.

People also get stress as they strive to get pay rise or attain a certain level of pay level. Most of the jobs pay individuals based on the output and most of the jobs are such that the more you work the more the possible returns. It will be essential to cultivate the culture where individuals explore mechanisms of working smart rather than working hard. Working harder has shown to detrimental to people physical and health situation.

There are also cases of harassment and bullying that is reported in most organization. This usually happens in all levels of work. The causes for the bullying and harassment are believed to be varied from the racial factors, gender, age, and affiliation in the organization. Cases of sexual harassment have gone unattended because the victims fear the stigmatization that may result.

Such cases have been reported in most organization where men and women have been sexually exploited at the expense of their ethical believes and subscriptions and this has led to many suffering in silence (Muchinsky, 2009). It will be essential for the system to have in place an amicable mechanism that is able to address such cases without making the fuss on the victims.

Most of the racial cases will require the cultivation of the spirit of team work where all the players in organization feel being part of the organization. Such situations will require the top management team lead by example and have an open system where the members work together as a team and not like a gang where consultation is not allowed.

The system must also be open in such a way that appropriate consultation is carried out when any major decision is made that is likely to impact on the life of any staff in the organization to reduce the cases of uncertainty and rise of informal organization.

There are incidences of blame culture where no one wants to be accountable for the action or mistake. The existence of blame culture within any business set up arise when people in the organization are not willing to take responsibility for any action or mistake that has occurred in the organization.

This has resulted in rise in temperature especially when the mistake is likely to have serious effects on the organizations performance or image. It is essential that everybody be trained to take responsibility for his or her actions.

The organizations must clearly define the job profiles for all staff members. Furthermore, the chain of command must be developed and who is in charge of which department be clearly stipulated to reduce uncertainty when it comes to who takes responsibility or credit for any happenings in the department.

Existence of weak and ineffective management in any organization is likely to stress most of the good staff. Such scenarios mostly leave the staff with a sense of absence or lack of direction and this mostly frustrates their effort in pursuing their individuals and organizations goals.

The lack of direction has such far-reaching effect to the organizations performance. On the reverse, there are cases where there is over-management and here we see the employees feeling undervalued in the organization and this may affect their self-esteem. It is very essential for the management to be able to clearly define the lines of command and have an all-inclusive decision making structure in all levels of management.

The organization must have clear organs at the various levels of management. The set up should be in such that the decisions made at operational level are binding. The same should be the case with decisions made at the tactical management level and the strategic management level. The organizations should have an effective decision support system at all levels that are informed of the decisions being made.

All the staff would like to play their role in various levels, the ability of the organizations to delegate the decisions to various levels of management would cultivate the culture of collectiveness, and this would promote the inclusiveness of all the stakeholders in the running of the organization (Hackman, 2007).

In such cases the staff will be motivated and their contribution in various consultative meetings is likely top boost their value to the organizations and their self-esteem.

Another evident cause of stress is the existence of different levels of reporting and mostly with different goals and objectives. This can result in conflict, as each manager would like his or her work to be treated as urgent and important. This is likely to put a lot of pressure on the individuals and forced to treat every work on table as very urgent and important.

Operating in such a quadrant may result to individual breakdown and there are tendencies of poor performance. It will be essential for all the managers to be consulted when drafting the work plan of the staff to minimize the conflict of interest when carrying out the work when one is reporting to multiple managers. This is likely to be achieved when the time allocated for serving each manager is well documented as specified.

There must be a working mechanism put in place to addressing the possible conflicts that may arise in such circumstances. The staff must be advised on how to plan the work and be able to given promises on what he or she can realistically deliver.

Planning your work is likely to reduce the last minute rush to meet every deadline. Having ones, priority right is likely to productively, guide individual’s performance in such cases (Muchinsky, 2009).

The failure by the management to inform the employees of any impending changes is likely to result in stress. Decisions that are likely to have a long term effect on the future of the employees must be communicated clearly to the staff and there should be a reliable conflict address system in place to act as mediators in case such decisions are likely to affect the operations in the organizations (Hackman, 2007).

Determination of the stress causes and addressing the challenges is very important in the survival of any organization. The procedure will always take into account the job analysis of the staff, the psychological assessment of the employees and the management, the legal issues related with the personnel selection and hiring procedures.

All these must be factored when determining the effective program to address the already stressed staff or reduce the likelihood of the situation from deteriorating.

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Mandler, G. (2008). Thought, memory and learning: Effects of emotional stress . New York, NY: Free Press.

Muchinsky, P.M. (2009). Psychology applied to work. 9th Ed. Summerfield, NC: Hypergraphic Press.

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IvyPanda . (2019) 'How to Manage Stress at Work Essay'. 6 June.

IvyPanda . 2019. "How to Manage Stress at Work Essay." June 6, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/stress-management-in-the-workplace/.

1. IvyPanda . "How to Manage Stress at Work Essay." June 6, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/stress-management-in-the-workplace/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "How to Manage Stress at Work Essay." June 6, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/stress-management-in-the-workplace/.