Stress Management Tools and Resources

Take steps to care for your mental and emotional well-being and manage the stress in your life so you can feel and function at your best. Experiment with different approaches until you find something that works for you. A variety of resources are offered here for you to try.

Stress Relieving Strategies

Take Care of Yourself

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Are you taking good care of yourself—body, mind, and spirit? Do you pay attention to your own health, not just physical but also social, emotional, and spiritual? Your lifestyle--including your eating habits, exercise patterns, sleep, recreational activities, social relationships and more-- can have a major impact on how you feel and function, and how well your mind and body respond to stress.

Here are some resources you can use to help you take good care of yourself, so you can feel your best:

Connect with Others

"Other people matter. Period." - Chris Peterson

A network of supportive friends can help reduce your stress. Cultivate your friendships and make new ones. Take time to build camaraderie at work and elsewhere. Try to acknowledge others and their work. Be friendly and make a connection. This may seem self-evident, but a smile may make someone’s day. Try to find something in common: all of us want to have close connections with our fellow humans. One way to start is to try and eat lunch or dinner with a friend.

Self-Compassion and Helpful Thinking

"Be gentle first with yourself if you wish to be gentle with others." -Lama Yeshe

What we say to ourselves radically affects the quality of our lives, and our ability to do things effectively. You can't change the fact that highly stressful events happen, but you can change how you interpret and respond to these events. When difficulties arrive in life, you can practice being kind and understanding rather than self-critical.  You can give yourself support and encouragement rather than being harsh and judgmental.

  • When you are under stress, what messages do you send yourself? Are they alarming ("Oh no, this is horrible!") or reassuring ("I can handle this")?
  • When bad things happen, how do you explain them to yourself? Do you generalize ("Life sucks, it’s always this way.") or localize ("That was rough, but it’s over now.")?
  • When good things come your way, what do you tell yourself? Do you chalk it up to chance ("Well at least something went right, this time.") or give yourself some credit ("I’m really getting the hang of this.")?

You can decrease your stress by learning to talk to yourself in a positive, self-compassionate, and reassuring way. This takes practice, but the results are worth the effort. Here are some strategies from VeryWell Mind that you can try:

  • Use Milder Wording: Turning powerful negative words to more neutral ones can actually help neutralize your experience. Instead of using words like ‘hate’ and ‘angry’ (as in, "I hate traffic! It makes me so angry!"), you can use words like ‘don’t like’ and ‘annoyed’ ("I don’t like traffic; I’m so annoyed"). Sounds much milder, doesn’t it?

  • Change Negative to Neutral or Positive: As you find yourself mentally complaining about something, rethink your assumptions. See if you can come up with a neutral or positive interpretation. For example, having your plans canceled at the last minute can be seen as a negative, but what you do with your newly-freed schedule can be what you make of it.

  • Change Statements to Questions: Self-limiting statements like "I can’t handle this!" or "This is impossible!" are particularly damaging because they increase your stress and they stop you from searching for solutions. Instead, try a question: "How can I handle this?" or "How is this possible?”"

Learn more strategies to practice self-compassion, based on the research of Dr. Kristin Neff.

Breathe

"If you yourself are at peace, then there is at least some peace in the world." - Thomas Merton

Whenever you start to feel overwhelmed by your to-do list or your worries, a few deep breaths can steady and calm you. Breathe in slowly and deeply through your nose, hold the breath for a moment, then exhale slowly through your mouth. Repeat until you feel better! Slow, deep, controlled breathing is a simple yet powerful way to stop the stress response in its tracks and help you regain your focus and energy. Breathing is a wonderful way to relieve stress anytime and anywhere. You can even repeat a calming phrase in your mind as you breathe, such as "inhale peace" and "exhale stress".

Practice Mindfulness

“Be present in all things and thankful for all things.” —Maya Angelou

The practice of mindfulness means intentionally bringing your attention to the present moment, without judgment, and with an attitude of curiosity and kindness. Mindfulness includes awareness of your thoughts and feelings as they come up. By practicing mindfulness and paying attention to your emotions, you will be better able to handle them in a thoughtful way rather than reacting automatically or out of habit. And Mindfulness provides a set of skills to cultivate wisdom and encourage actions that are more healthy and kind, both to yourself and those around you.

Try a variety of mindfulness practices (offered in many different languages) with these guided meditations from the UCLA Mindful Awareness and Research Center.

Be Thankful

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow." - Melody Beattie

The more you focus on and appreciate what is good in your life, the better you will feel. For an instant boost whenever you want one, just think of something or someone you are grateful for in your life. As you go about your daily activities, bring your attention to pleasant experiences–for example, flowers blooming, gentle wind or warmth of sun on your skin, enjoyable foods or aromas. At a get-together, express your gratitude to a friend, coworker, or family member by thanking them for something they have done to help you, or telling them what you enjoy most about them.

When you notice yourself grumbling, make gentle reminders to yourself about things for which you are grateful. When you are feeling stressed about work try to think about several things you like about your job.

Laugh

"What soap is to the body, laughter is to the soul." ~Yiddish Proverb

Humor and laughter have many benefits—and it’s fun!

  • People with a developed sense of humor typically have a stronger immune system.

  • People who laugh heartily on a regular basis have a lower standing blood pressure than the average person. When people have a good laugh, initially the blood pressure increases but then decreases to levels below normal. Breathing then becomes deeper which sends oxygen-enriched blood and nutrients throughout the body.

  • Laughter can be a great workout for your diaphragm, abdominal, respiratory, facial, leg, and back muscles. It massages abdominal organs, tones intestinal functioning, and strengthens the muscles that hold the abdominal organs in place. It is estimated that hearty laughter can burn calories equivalent to several minutes on the rowing machine or the exercise bike.

  • Laughter stimulates both sides of the brain to enhance learning. It eases muscle tension and psychological stress, which keeps the brain alert and allows people to retain more information. Laughing also elevates moods.

Sprinkle some more humor & laughter into your daily life. Watch funny movies or television shows, watch funny YouTube videos, listen to funny radio shows, read funny books. Spend time with people who help you laugh and see the bright side. Make time for play!

For a good laugh right now, try this site: Reader’s Digest Jokes and Cartoons. 

Resources to Support Our Diverse Community

In addition to U-M resources, many national organizations offer information and resources on culturally-informed care for specific communities. Please note that these external organizations and websites maintain their own content. 

  • Asian Mental Health Collective aspires to make mental health easily available, approachable, and accessible to Asian communities worldwide.

  • Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective (BEAM) is a national training, movement building, and grant making institution that is dedicated to the healing, wellness, and liberation of Black and marginalized communities.

  • Interfaith Network on Mental Illness seeks to increase awareness and understanding of mental illness among clergy, staff, lay leaders, and members of faith communities.

  • LGBTQ+ Mental Health Resource Center from Mental Health America provides a variety of resources to support the mental health of LGBTQ+ communities.

  • Melanin & Mental Health connects individuals with culturally competent clinicians committed to serving the mental health needs of Black & Latinx/Hispanic communities.

  • National Alliance For Hispanic Health works to ensure that health incorporates the best of science, culture, and community. Resources are available for mental health and many other health topics.

  • Therapy for Black Girls is an online space dedicated to encouraging the mental wellness of Black women and girls.

  • TherapyForBlackMen.org is dedicated to the mental well-being of Black men and boys.

  • We R Native is a comprehensive health resource for Native youth, by Native youth, striving to promote holistic health and positive growth in local communities and nation at large.

Other Resources

Explore Online Programs to Support Mental and Emotional Well-Being

Download Apps for Your Mobile Device

  • Happify mobile app - Free, science-based activities and practices drawn from positive psychology and cognitive behavioral practices to support emotional well-being.

  • Healthy Minds Program mobile app - A free app that offers guided practices and podcast-style lessons to support mindfulness and meditation practice.

  • Insight Timer mobile app - This free app features a meditation timer and a large repository of guided meditations, music tracks, and other recorded and live events for relieving stress, improving sleep, coping with challenges, and addressing many other facets of well-being and flourishing.

  • Nature Rx mobile app - Free U-M app that fosters taking breaks in nearby nature for well-being.