Some of the most useful stress management skills you can learn are healthy coping strategies. Many of these can be done with little or no instruction. No one strategy is preferable-you need to find what works best for you. Using these techniques regularly until they become habits that are part of your lifestyle is the key. Use this coping strategies evaluation form(What is a PDF document?) to see how you respond to stress.

Ways to work through your emotions and relax your mind

• Writing. There is evidence that writing about stressful events and circumstances may help relieve stress and improve diseases linked to stress.¹ Write for 10 to 15 minutes a day about stressful events and how you felt. One way to use writing to deal with stress is to keep a stress journal. This can really help you identify the sources of stress in your life so that you can find better ways to cope with them.
• Expressing your feelings. Discussing how you feel with friends, family members, or a counselor is an important way of coping with and relieving stress. Laughing and crying are also natural ways to release tension and frustration. They are both part of a normal emotional healing process.
• Mindfulness activities. Mindfulness activities help relax your mind and are often combined with body-centered relaxation exercises.
  • Autogenic training consists of six standard exercises that make the body relax. For each exercise, you use visual imagination and verbal cues to relax your body in some specific way.
  • Self-hypnosis can open your mind to suggestions that can relieve stress or change the way you respond to stress.
  • Meditation focuses your attention on feeling calm and having a clear awareness about your life.
  • Guided imagery (visualization) is a method of using your imagination to help you relax and release tension caused by stress. Your body responds to the images in your mind. Use these simple imagery exercises for relaxing or renewing your energy when you need to relax.
  • Music therapy can relax your body, improve your mood, and change the pace of your day.
  • Humor therapy is becoming widely accepted as a tool for reducing stress and boosting the body's immune system.

Ways to relax your body

• Physical activity. Exercise can reduce stress and the stress response. Aerobic exercise-the kind that increases your heart rate, such as walking, running, bicycling, or swimming-is especially useful for counteracting the harmful effects of stress. Even everyday activities such as house cleaning or yard work can reduce your stress level if you do them vigorously. Stretching is also a good way to relieve muscle tension. Regular, moderate physical activity may be the single best approach to managing stress. For more information about becoming more active, see the topic Fitness.
• Doing something you enjoy. A meaningful activity helps relieve tension. This can be a hobby, such as gardening; a creative activity, such as writing, crafts, or art; or doing volunteer work for a cause that benefits others. Playing with and caring for pets also can help you relax. Although you may feel that you are too busy, making time to do something you like can help you relax and make you more productive in other areas of your life.
• Body-centered relaxation. Body-centered relaxation skills are especially useful for people who experience physical symptoms of stress. These skills include:
  • Breathing exercises, such as roll breathing, a type of deep breathing.
  • Progressive muscle relaxation, which reduces muscle tension by relaxing individual groups of muscles one by one.
  • Massage, such as a shoulder and neck massage. You can see a massage therapist, have a friend or family member give you a massage, or even give yourself a massage.
  • Aromatherapy, which uses the aroma-producing oils (essential oils) from plants to promote relaxation.
  • Yoga, tai chi, and qi gong, which are forms of exercise and meditation. They generally require initial instruction. Books and videos are available, and these activities can be done at home.
• Magnetic field therapy. Researchers believe treatment with magnetic fields may be useful for a number of health conditions, including problems related to stress. But not everyone agrees on this treatment. Some claims of how well it works are not based on science.