essay on how to relieve stress

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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What is stress management?

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

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

Tip 4: Get moving

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Start a stress journal

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Avoid unnecessary stress

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

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

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

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

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

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

Alter the situation

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

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

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

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

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

Adapt to the stressor

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

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

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

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

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

Accept the things you can’t change

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Deal with stress with mindful rhythmic exercise

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

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

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

[Read: Social Support for Stress Relief]

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

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

Tips for building relationships

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[Read: Quick Stress Relief]

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

More Information

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

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How Stress Impacts Daily Life and What We Can Do About It

Stress, anxiety, and overwhelm disrupt our daily lives but we can find balance..

Posted April 21, 2024 | Reviewed by Jessica Schrader

• What Is Stress?
• Find a therapist to overcome stress
• An honest assessment can help us to identify places where our daily lives are negatively impacted by stress.
• How we function on a daily basis provides valuable insight into how we are handling stress and anxiety.
• Envisioning what ideal daily functioning would look like can help us formulate a plan for stress reduction.

Anxiety and stress are disruptors. They get in the way of our ability to live our lives and to successfully fulfill our daily obligations and responsibilities. Worse, they take us out of present moments of joy, contentment, and peace and replace them with future thoughts, suppositions, and inaccurate conclusions. When we are overcome with worry, our minds attach to “what if” rather than to “what is.” This type of thinking serves to distract us, disturb our daily lives, and rob us of a sense of stability and equilibrium.

In psychological terms, daily functioning and activities of daily living are essentially the things we would ideally and healthily be able to accomplish on a daily basis when we are unimpeded by worry, stress, or overwhelm. However, when stress and worry get in the way, we can find it difficult to complete even the most necessary and basic tasks. This is due not to laziness or lack of accountability but, rather, to the feeling of paralysis and fatigue that can come with overwhelming worry and stress. Some areas of daily functioning that can be negatively affected by anxiety include:

• Personal hygiene and self-care.
• Fulfillment of work duties and obligations.
• Fulfillment of family/ parenting / caregiving duties.
• Attention to financial responsibilities/household obligations.
• Attention to physical well-being/health/exercise/sleep/ diet .
• Ability to engage in pleasurable activities/hobbies/interests/rest and relaxation.

When any of all of these areas of daily living are impacted by anxiety, we narrow our lives and experiences and, in a sense, live incompletely, as certain elements of our daily lives fall by the wayside. We focus inordinately on our worries, which obscures these other important parts of our lives.

This begs the question of what we can do when we recognize that our daily functioning is being negatively affected by worry and anxiety.

• Honestly assess what is happening in our lives (work, family, personal relationships, physical health, financial strain, etc.). Paying attention to the specific elements that are causing us to stress and worry is an integral step in formulating a plan for reducing the negative impact of overwhelm.
• Envision what restored daily functioning might look like. Think about how we would like our lives to look if we were at optimal functioning. Perhaps this means we would have time to spend with our families, to exercise and engage in personal interests, and to leave work “at the door” when we leave the office. Having a sense of what restored functioning would look like can help us to think pragmatically about how to implement positive changes.
• Identify areas where we need support. If, for instance, we are struggling with how many hours we are working, we may consider using a personal day, speaking to a supervisor, or thinking about how to implement stronger boundaries with our jobs. When we look honestly at how much time and energy are devoted to different areas of our lives, we can acknowledge where help is needed.
• Implement a plan for stress reduction. As a new therapist, I routinely saw upwards of 30 clients a week, often seeing eight or nine consecutively without a break. I reached a point where I had to make a change, as it became clear that this type of schedule was unsustainable and was disrupting my daily functioning. My plan started small: begin scheduling a break in the middle of the day to eat lunch and take a break. From there, I worked to reduce my caseload to a more manageable number. It was only through an honest self-assessment of my stress level that I was able to envision how my life could be bettered by making changes to reduce my susceptibility to burnout .

When we are able to adequately reduce anxiety, stress, and overwhelm, our daily functioning reaches a level of restoration in which we are able to fulfill obligations, be present in our experiences, and devote time and energy to the things we want to do without undue focus on worries, stressors, or future potentialities. Signs of restored daily functioning might include:

• More time to devote to interests, hobbies, and self-care.
• Reduced time focusing on work-related worries and anxiety.
• Stronger boundaries with work communication and working after-hours.
• Better focus on personal hygiene, physical activity, and physical well-being.
• More balance between work, family, and self.
• Less focus and fixation on future scenarios (“what-ifs”) and more attention to the present moment (“what is").

Phil Lane, MSW, LCSW, is a psychotherapist in private practice and the author of the book, Understanding and Coping with Illness Anxiety.

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How to relieve stress, robert m. sapolsky explains why stress can become a chronic problem—and how we can reduce the toll it takes on our lives..

This month, we feature videos of a Greater Good presentation by Robert M. Sapolsky, one the country’s foremost experts on stress. In this excerpt from his talk, the best-selling author and Stanford University professor explains the difference between bad stress and good stress, and how we can manage the effects of chronic stress on our lives.

In 1900, what do you think were the leading causes of death in this country? 

If you were 20 to 40 years old and a woman, the single riskiest thing you could do was try to give birth. TB, Pneumonia, influenza killed a lot of other people. But few people under the age of 100 die of the flu anymore. Relatively few women die in childbirth. Instead, we die of these utterly bizarre diseases that have never existed before on the planet in any sort of numbers—diseases like heart disease, cancer, adult-onset diabetes, and Alzheimer’s.

Now, some of this has to do with nuts and bolts biology. But some of it has to do with issues that nobody ever had to think about before in medicine—totally bizarre questions like, “What’s your psychological makeup?” or “What’s your social status?” or “How do people with your social status get treated in your society?”

And this one: “Why is it that when we’re feeling unloved, we eat more starch?” Figure that out, and you’ve cured half the cases of diabetes in this country

Indeed, when you look at the diseases that do us in, they are predominantly diseases that can be caused, or made worse, by stress. As a result, most of us in this room will have the profound Westernized luxury of dropping dead someday of a stress-related disease. That’s why it’s so urgent that we understand stress—and how to better manage it.

How stress kills

Do you remember “homeostasis,” a term I guarantee you heard in ninth grade biology? Homeostasis is having an ideal body temperature, an ideal level of glucose in the bloodstream, an ideal everything. That’s being in homeostatic balance.

A stressor is anything in the outside world that knocks you out of homeostatic balance. If you’re some zebra and a lion has ripped your stomach open and your innards are dragging in the dust and you still need to get out of there—well, that counts as being out of homeostatic balance.

So to reestablish that balance, you secrete adrenaline and other hormones. You mobilize energy and you deliver it where it’s needed, you shut off the inessentials like the sex drive and digestion, you enhance immune defenses, and you think more clearly. You’re facing a short-term physical crisis, and the stress response is what you do with your body. For 99 percent of the species on this planet, stress is three minutes of screaming terror in the savannah, after which either it’s over with or you’re over with. That’s all you need to know about the subject if you’re a zebra or a lion. 

If you’re a human, though, you’ve got to expand the definition of a stressor in a very critical way. If you’re running from a lion, your blood pressure is 180 over 120. But you’re not suffering from high blood pressure—you’re saving your life. Have this same thing happen when you’re stuck in traffic, and you’re not saving your life. Instead you are suffering from stress-induced hypertension.

We humans turn on the stress response with memories, with emotions, with thoughts, and the whole punch line is: That’s not what it evolved for. Do it regularly enough, and you’re going to damage your cardiovascular system. Increased blood flow hammers on the walls of your blood vessels, causing inflammation. Fat and glucose and cholesterol glom on and begin to clog your arteries. That’s bad news. You are more at risk for chronic fatigue, sleep disruption, muscle atrophy, and probably most importantly, adult-onset diabetes, this once obscure disease that’s just on the edge of being the number one killer in this country.

Chronic stress also does bad things to the nervous system. Stress kills neurons in the part of the brain called the hippocampus and weakens the cables between neurons, so they can’t talk to each other. This impairs the formation and retrieval of long-term memory. The opposite thing happens in the amygdala, which is where we see fear in a brain scanner. In the hippocampus, stress causes stuff to shrivel up. But stress feeds the amygdala. It actually gets bigger. Chronic stress creates a hyper-reactive, hysterical amygdala, and this tells us tons about what stress has to do with anxiety disorders.

Another domain: the mesolimbic dopamine system. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is about reward and pleasure. Cocaine works on the dopamine system. All the euphorians do. What are the effects of chronic stress on this part of the brain? Those pathways get depleted of dopamine, and this takes away your ability to feel pleasure. So if stress depletes your dopamine, what have you just set yourself up for? Major depression.

What about the frontal cortex? It’s the most human part of the brain; we’ve proportionally got more of it than any other species does. And what does the frontal cortex do? It does gratification postponement, self-discipline, long-term planning, emotional regulation. It’s the last part of the brain to fully mature—that doesn’t happen until you’re 25 years old, which explains a lot about the freshmen year of college.

This has a very interesting implication. If this is the last part of the brain to fully develop, by definition, then, it is the part of the brain least constrained by genes and most sculpted by experience. What does chronic stress do to the frontal cortex? Atrophy of neurons, disconnecting circuits. As a result, you make the most idiotic decisions, which are going to haunt you for the rest of your life, and yet you think they’re brilliant at the time. That’s another effect of chronic stress: Your judgment goes down the tubes.

How to manage stress

We’ve just gone on a quick tour of all the things that can go wrong from chronic stress. If you study the subject for a living, it’s amazing to you that anybody is still alive, that we haven’t just collapsed into puddles of stress-related disease.

Despite that, most of us do decent jobs at coping, and a subset of us is spectacular at coping. And thus from day one, stress researchers have wondered why some bodies and some psyches deal better with stress than others. In making sense of individual differences, what we’re essentially asking is, “What is it that makes psychological stress stressful”? And a huge elegant literature by now has shown precisely what the building blocks are.

The literature is built on experiments like this one: You have a lab rat in a cage, and every now and then, you give it a shock. Nothing major, but nonetheless, the rat’s blood pressure goes up and so do stress hormone levels. Up goes the risk of an ulcer. You are giving this rat a stress-related disease.

Now, in the second cage, there’s another rat. Every time the first rat gets a shock, so does the second. Same intensity, same duration, both of their bodies are being thrown out of homeostatic balance to exactly the same extent. 

But there’s a critical difference: Every time the second rat gets a shock, it can go over to the other side of its cage, where there’s another rat that it can bite the crap out of. And you know what? This guy’s not going to get an ulcer, because he has an outlet for his frustrations. He has a hobby.

There are other stress experiments that involve torturing rats, which suggest ways for humans to manage stress. We can give the rat a warning 10 seconds before each shock, and we find it doesn’t get an ulcer. That tells us that you are less vulnerable to a stress-related disease if you get predictive information.

Another experiment: If we give the rat a lever to press, and that rat thinks he’s in control of the shocks, that helps—a sense of control decreases the stress response.

More on Stress

Take this quiz to learn how stressed you are.

Watch Dr. Sapolsky's presentation on stress and how to overcome it.

Check out this essay on men, stress, and sex, which draws on Sapolsky's research.

Christine Carter provides tips on "How Not to Have a Nervous Breakdown."

Are you an educator? You might be interested in "Stopping Teacher Burnout" and "A Training to Make Teachers Less Stressed."

Yet another experiment tells us it helps to have friends: If a rat getting shocks has a friend it likes in the cage, and they are able to groom each other, the rat doesn’t get the ulcer. So social affiliation helps control stress.

In short, you are more likely to get a stress response—more likely to subjectively feel stressed, more likely to get a stress-related disease—if you feel like you have no outlets for what’s going on, no control, no predictability, you interpret things as getting worse, and if you have nobody’s shoulder to cry on.

Okay, these are very powerful observations. They’re helpful. But please don’t assume that if you get as much control in your life and as much predictive information in your life as possible, you will be protected from stress. To understand why, let me share some of the subtleties of this field.

Look at the rat that got a warning. Timing is everything. He didn’t get an ulcer when he got a 10-second warning. But if the warning light goes on one second before the shock occurs, it has no positive effect whatsoever, because there isn’t time for the rat to adjust anything. Or suppose, instead, the warning light comes two minutes before. That will make the ulcers worse, because the rat is sitting there, ulcerating away, thinking, “Here it comes, here it comes, here it comes.” When it comes to predictive information, there’s only a narrow window where it works.

When does a sense of control work? When you’re dealing with a mild to moderate stressor, because in those circumstances you know how much worse it could have been and can imagine, rightly or wrongly, that you had control over that improvement. But if it’s a major disastrous stressor, the last thing you want is an inflated sense of control, because that sets you up to think that the disaster is all your fault. In the case of a major disaster, we tend to minimize people’s sense of control—by saying, for example, “It wouldn’t have mattered if you had gotten him to the doctor a month ago, it wouldn’t have made a difference.” And one of the worst things we do, societally, is attribute more control to victims: “Well, what’s she going to expect if she dresses that way?” or “Well, what are they going to expect if they choose not to assimilate?”

In short, a sense of control is protective for mild to moderate stressors, but it’s a disaster for major ones. In that domain, the most humane thing you can do is foster denial and rationalization rather than a sense of responsibility.

When is stress good?

Just as not all stress management techniques work, not all stress is bad. In fact, we love stress. We pay good money for it in a scary movie or on a roller coaster ride. We love stress when it’s the right amount of stress.

When is it optimal? When it’s only moderately stressful, at the most. And good stress is transient—it’s not for nothing that you don’t have roller coaster rides going for three weeks! The stress also has to be happening in a context that feels safe overall. Moderately stressful at most, transient, safe—what does that define? 

That defines stimulation. That defines what play is. What is play about? 

It’s when a higher rank dog says to a lower ranking dog: “I am willing to suspend our dominance relations right now and allow all sorts of unpredictable interactions. To show how much I’m doing that, I’m going to give you access to my throat or my genitals, and we’re just having a great time here playing.” In play, you feel safe, and as a result, you are willing to give up some control and predictability. We say, “Surprise me!” That’s good stress.

There’s another lesson we can learn from dogs and other hierarchical mammals, like baboons: Social rank can cause stress, especially where rankings are unstable and people are jockeying for position. But social rank is not as important as social context. What patterns of social affiliation do you have? How often do you groom, how often does somebody groom you? How often do you sit in contact and play with kids?

What’s clear by now is if you have a choice between being a high-ranking baboon or a socially affiliated one, the latter is definitely the one that is going to lead to a healthier, longer life. That’s the baboon we want to be—not the one with power, but the one with friends, neighbors, and family.

About the Author

Robert M. Sapolsky

Robert M. Sapolsky, Ph.D., is the John A. and Cynthia Fry Gunn Professor of Biological Sciences and a professor of neurology and neurological sciences at Stanford University. His most recent book is Monkeyluv: And Other Essays on Our Lives as Animals. A longer version of this essay appeared in Foreign Affairs.

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And the evidence for dominance as a function of canine relationships is…....?

Far as I can see dominance can be a property of a social interaction between domestic dogs. No evidence of dominance hierarchies or persistent social dominance within domestic dogs far as I’m aware but would stand to be corrected.

Sorry, devil in the detail

K9 Kommenter | 1:29 pm, May 11, 2012 | Link

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Essays About Stress: 5 Examples and 7 Helpful Prompts

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

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

5 Essay Examples 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

7 Writing Prompts for Essays About Stress

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Stress relievers: Tips to tame stress

Stress getting to you? Try some of these tips for stress relief.

Is stress making you angry and grouchy? Stress relievers can help bring back calm and peace to your busy life. You don't have to put a lot of time or thought into stress relievers. If your stress is getting out of control and you need quick relief, try one of these tips.

Almost any form of physical activity can act as a stress reliever. Even if you're not an athlete or you're out of shape, exercise can still be a good stress reliever.

Physical activity can pump up your feel-good endorphins and other natural neural chemicals that boost your sense of well-being. Exercise also can refocus your mind on your body's movements. This refocus can improve your mood and help the day's irritations fade away. So go on a walk, take a jog, work in your garden, clean your house, bike, swim, weight train, vacuum or do anything else that gets you active.

Eat a healthy diet

Eating a healthy diet is an important part of taking care of yourself. Aim to eat many fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

Avoid unhealthy habits

Some people may deal with stress with unhealthy habits. These may include drinking too much caffeine or alcohol, smoking, eating too much, or using illegal substances. These habits can harm your health and increase your stress levels.

During meditation, you focus your attention and quiet the stream of jumbled thoughts that may be crowding your mind and causing stress. Meditation can give you a sense of calm, peace and balance that can help both your emotional well-being and your overall health. Meditation can empower us to enhance our well-being.

You can practice guided meditation, guided imagery, mindfulness, visualization and other forms of meditation anywhere at any time. For example, you could meditate when you're out for a walk, riding the bus to work or waiting at your health care provider's office. Try an app to show you how to do these exercises. And you can try deep breathing anywhere.

A good sense of humor can't cure all ailments. But it can help you feel better, even if you have to force a fake laugh through your grumpiness. When you laugh, it lightens your mental load. It also causes positive physical changes in the body. Laughter fires up and then cools down your stress response.

So read some jokes, tell some jokes, watch a comedy or hang out with your funny friends. Or give laughter yoga a try.

Connect with others

When you're stressed and irritable, you may want to isolate yourself. Instead, reach out to family and friends and make social connections. Even one good friend who listens can make a difference.

Social contact is a good stress reliever because it can offer distraction, give support, and help you put up with life's up and downs. So take a coffee break with a friend, email a relative or visit your place of worship.

Got more time? Try volunteering for a charity and help yourself while helping others.

Assert yourself

You might want to do it all, but you can't, at least not without paying a price. Learning to say no or being willing to delegate can help you manage your to-do list and your stress. Healthy boundaries are important in a wellness journey. Everyone has physical and emotional limits.

Saying yes may seem like an easy way to keep the peace, prevent conflicts and get the job done right. But instead, it may cause you inner conflict because your needs and those of your family come second. Putting yourself second can lead to stress, anger, resentment and even the wish to take revenge. And that's not a very calm and peaceful reaction. Remember, you're a priority.

With its series of postures and breathing exercises, yoga is a popular stress reliever. Yoga brings together physical and mental disciplines that may help you reach peace of body and mind. Yoga can help you relax and ease stress and anxiety.

Try yoga on your own or find a class — you can find classes in many areas. Hatha yoga, especially, is a good stress reliever because of its slower pace and easier movements.

Get enough sleep

Stress can cause you to have trouble falling asleep. When you have too much to do — and too much to think about — your sleep can suffer. But sleep is the time when your brain and body recharge. Most adults need about 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night.

And how well and how long you sleep can affect your mood, energy level, focus and overall functioning. If you have sleep troubles, make sure that you have a quiet, relaxing bedtime routine. For example, listen to soothing music, make sure the area you sleep in is cool, dark and quiet, put phones and tablets away, and stick to a regular schedule.

Keep a journal

Writing down your thoughts and feelings can be a good release for otherwise pent-up feelings. Don't think about what to write — let it happen. Write anything that comes to mind. No one else needs to read it. So don't aim for perfect grammar or spelling.

Let your thoughts flow on paper, or on the computer screen. Once you're done, you can toss out what you wrote or save it to think about later.

Get musical and be creative

Listening to or playing music is a good stress reliever. It can provide a mental distraction, lessen muscle tension and lower stress hormones. Turn up the volume and let your mind be absorbed by the music.

If music isn't one of your interests, turn your attention to another hobby you enjoy. For example, try gardening, sewing, reading or sketching. Or try anything that makes you focus on what you're doing rather than what you think you should be doing.

Seek counseling

If new stressors are making it hard for you to cope or if self-care measures aren't relieving your stress, you may want to think about therapy or counseling. Therapy also may be a good idea if you feel overwhelmed or trapped. You also may think about therapy if you worry a great deal, or if you have trouble carrying out daily routines or meeting duties at work, home or school.

Professional counselors or therapists can help you find the sources of your stress and learn new coping tools.

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• How stress affects your health. American Psychological Association. http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/stress.aspx. Accessed Jan. 24, 2023.
• Relaxation techniques: What you need to know. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. https:// www.nccih.nih.gov/health/relaxation-techniques-what-you-need-to-know. Accessed Jan. 23, 2023.
• Meditation and mindfulness: What you need to know. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/meditation-and-mindfulness-what-you-need-to-know. Accessed Jan. 23, 2023.
• Yoga: What you need to know. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/yoga-what-you-need-to-know. Accessed Jan. 23, 2023.
• Stress and your health. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. https://www.womenshealth.gov/mental-health/good-mental-health/stress-and-your-health. Accessed Jan. 23, 2023.
• I'm so stressed out! Fact sheet. National Institute of Mental Health. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/so-stressed-out-fact-sheet. Accessed Jan. 24, 2023.
• Seaward BL. Essentials of Managing Stress. 5th ed. Jones & Bartlett Learning; 2021.
• Creagan ET (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic. Feb. 8, 2023.
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Top 10 Stress Management Techniques for Students

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

Akeem Marsh, MD, is a board-certified child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist who has dedicated his career to working with medically underserved communities.

Most students experience significant amounts of stress. This can significantly affect their health, happiness, relationships, and grades. Learning stress management techniques can help these students avoid negative effects in these areas.

Why Stress Management Is Important for Students

A study by the American Psychological Association (APA) found that teens report stress levels similar to adults. This means teens are experiencing significant levels of chronic stress and feel their stress levels generally exceed their ability to cope effectively .

Roughly 30% of the teens reported feeling overwhelmed, depressed, or sad because of their stress.

Stress can also affect health-related behaviors. Stressed students are more likely to have problems with disrupted sleep, poor diet, and lack of exercise. This is understandable given that nearly half of APA survey respondents reported completing three hours of homework per night in addition to their full day of school work and extracurriculars.

Common Causes of Student Stress

Another study found that much of high school students' stress originates from school and activities, and that this chronic stress can persist into college years and lead to academic disengagement and mental health problems.

Top Student Stressors

Common sources of student stress include:

• Extracurricular activities
• Social challenges
• Transitions (e.g., graduating, moving out , living independently)
• Relationships
• Pressure to succeed

High school students face the intense competitiveness of taking challenging courses, amassing impressive extracurriculars, studying and acing college placement tests, and deciding on important and life-changing plans for their future. At the same time, they have to navigate the social challenges inherent to the high school experience.

This stress continues if students decide to attend college. Stress is an unavoidable part of life, but research has found that increased daily stressors put college-aged young adults at a higher risk for stress than other age groups.

Making new friends, handling a more challenging workload, feeling pressured to succeed, being without parental support, and navigating the stresses of more independent living are all added challenges that make this transition more difficult. Romantic relationships always add an extra layer of potential stress.

Students often recognize that they need to relieve stress . However, all the activities and responsibilities that fill a student’s schedule sometimes make it difficult to find the time to try new stress relievers to help dissipate that stress.

10 Stress Management Techniques for Students

Here you will learn 10 stress management techniques for students. These options are relatively easy, quick, and relevant to a student’s life and types of stress .

Get Enough Sleep

Blend Images - Hill Street Studios / Brand X Pictures / Getty Images

Students, with their packed schedules, are notorious for missing sleep. Unfortunately, operating in a sleep-deprived state puts you at a distinct disadvantage. You’re less productive, may find it more difficult to learn, and may even be a hazard behind the wheel.

Research suggests that sleep deprivation and daytime sleepiness are also linked to impaired mood, higher risk for car accidents, lower grade point averages, worse learning, and a higher risk of academic failure.

Don't neglect your sleep schedule. Aim to get at least 8 hours a night and take power naps when needed.

Use Guided Imagery

David Malan / Getty Images

Guided imagery can also be a useful and effective tool to help stressed students cope with academic, social, and other stressors. Visualizations can help you calm down, detach from what’s stressing you, and reduce your body’s stress response.

You can use guided imagery to relax your body by sitting in a quiet, comfortable place, closing your eyes, and imagining a peaceful scene. Spend several minutes relaxing as you enjoy mentally basking in your restful image.

Consider trying a guided imagery app if you need extra help visualizing a scene and inducting a relaxation response. Research suggests that such tools might be an affordable and convenient way to reduce stress.

Exercise Regularly

One of the healthiest ways to blow off steam is to get regular exercise . Research has found that students who participate in regular physical activity report lower levels of perceived stress. While these students still grapple with the same social, academic, and life pressures as their less-active peers, these challenges feel less stressful and are easier to manage.

Finding time for exercise might be a challenge, but there are strategies that you can use to add more physical activity to your day. Some ideas that you might try include:

• Doing yoga in the morning
• Walking or biking to class
• Reviewing for tests with a friend while walking on a treadmill at the gym
• Taking an elective gym class focused on leisure sports or exercise
• Joining an intramural sport

Exercise can help buffer against the negative effects of student stress. Starting now and keeping a regular exercise practice throughout your lifetime can help you live longer and enjoy your life more.

Take Calming Breaths

When your body is experiencing a stress response, you’re often not thinking as clearly as you could be. You are also likely not breathing properly. You might be taking short, shallow breaths. When you breathe improperly, it upsets the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide in your body.

Studies suggest this imbalance can contribute to various physical symptoms, including increased anxiety, fatigue, stress, emotional problems, and panic attacks.

A quick way to calm down is to practice breathing exercises . These can be done virtually anywhere to relieve stress in minutes.

Because they are fast-acting, breathing exercises are a great way to cope with moments of acute stress , such as right before an exam or presentation. But they can also help manage longer-lasting stress such as dealing with relationships, work, or financial problems.

Practice Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR)

Another great stress management technique for students that can be used during tests, before bed, or at other times when stress has you physically wound up is progressive muscle relaxation ( PMR ).

This technique involves tensing and relaxing all muscles until the body is completely relaxed. With practice, you can learn to release stress from your body in seconds. This can be particularly helpful for students because it can be adapted to help relaxation efforts before sleep for a deeper sleep.

Once a person learns how to use PMR effectively, it can be a quick and handy way to induce relaxation in any stressful situation, such as bouts of momentary panic before a speech or exam, dealing with a disagreement with your roommate, or preparing to discuss a problem with your academic advisor.

Listen to Music

A convenient stress reliever that has also shown many cognitive benefits, music can help relieve stress and calm yourself down or stimulate your mind depending on what you need in the moment.

Research has found that playing upbeat music can improve processing speed and memory. Stressed students may find that listening to relaxing music can help calm the body and mind. One study found that students who listened to the sounds of relaxing music were able to recover more quickly after a stressful situation.

Students can harness the benefits of music by playing classical music while studying, playing upbeat music to "wake up" mentally, or relaxing with the help of their favorite slow melodies.

Build Your Support Network

Halfpoint Images / Getty Images

Having emotional support can help create a protective buffer against stress. Unfortunately,  interpersonal relationships can also sometimes be a source of anxiety for students. Changes in friendships, romantic breakups, and life transitions such as moving away for college can create significant upheaval and stress for students.

One way to combat feelings of loneliness and make sure that you have people to lean on in times of need is to expand your support network and nurture your relationships.

Look for opportunities to meet new people, whether it involves joining study groups or participating in other academic, social, and leisure activities.

Remember that different types of relationships offer differing types of support . Your relationships with teachers, counselors, and mentors can be a great source of information and resources that may help you academically. Relationships with friends can provide emotional and practical support.

Widening your social circle can combat student stress on various fronts and ensure you have what you need to succeed.

Eat a Healthy Diet

Niedring/Drentwett / Getty Images

You may not realize it, but your diet can either boost your brainpower or sap you of mental energy. It can also make you more reactive to the stress in your life. As a result, you might find yourself turning to high-sugar, high-fat snacks to provide a temporary sense of relief.

A healthy diet can help combat stress in several ways. Improving your diet can keep you from experiencing diet-related mood swings, light-headedness, and more.

Unfortunately, students are often prone to poor dietary habits. Feelings of stress can make it harder to stick to a consistently healthy diet, but other concerns such as finances, access to cooking facilities, and time to prepare healthy meals can make it more challenging for students.

Some tactics that can help students make healthy choices include:

• Eating regularly
• Carrying a water bottle to class
• Keeping healthy snacks such as fruits and nuts handy
• Limiting caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol intake

Find Ways to Minimize Stress

One way to improve your ability to manage student stress is to look for ways you cut stress out of your life altogether. Evaluate the things that are bringing stress or anxiety into your life. Are they necessary? Are they providing more benefits than the toll they take on your mental health? If the answer is no, sometimes the best option is just to ditch them altogether.

This might mean cutting some extracurricular activities out of your schedule. It might mean limiting your use of social media. Or it might mean learning to say no to requests for your time, energy, and resources. 

While it might be challenging at first, learning how to prioritize yourself and your mental well-being is an important step toward reducing your stress.

Try Mindfulness

When you find yourself dealing with stress—whether it's due to academics, relationships, financial pressures, or social challenges—becoming more aware of how you feel in the moment may help you respond more effectively.

Mindfulness involves becoming more aware of the present moment. Rather than judging, reacting, or avoiding problems, the goal is to focus on the present, become more aware of how you are feeling, observe your reactions, and accept these feelings without passing judgment on them.

Research suggests that mindfulness-based stress management practices can be a useful tool for reducing student stress. Such strategies may also help reduce feelings of anxiety and depression.

A Word From Verywell

It is important to remember that stress isn't the same for everyone. Figuring out what works for you may take some trial and error. A good start is to ensure that you are taking care of yourself physically and emotionally and to experiment with different stress relief strategies to figure out what works best to help you feel less stressed.

If stress and anxiety are causing distress or making it difficult to function in your daily life, it is important to seek help. Many schools offer resources that can help, including face-to-face and online mental health services. You might start by talking to your school counselor or student advisor about the stress you are coping with. You can also talk to a parent, another trusted adult, or your doctor.

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

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

American Psychological Association. Stress in America: Are Teens Adopting Adults' Stress Habits?

Leonard NR, Gwadz MV, Ritchie A, et al. A multi-method exploratory study of stress, coping, and substance use among high school youth in private schools . Front Psychol. 2015;6:1028. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01028

Acharya L, Jin L, Collins W. College life is stressful today - Emerging stressors and depressive symptoms in college students . J Am Coll Health . 2018;66(7):655-664. doi:10.1080/07448481.2018.1451869

Beiter R, Nash R, McCrady M, Rhoades D, Linscomb M, Clarahan M, Sammut S. The prevalence and correlates of depression, anxiety, and stress in a sample of college students . J Affect Disord . 2015;173:90-6. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2014.10.054

Hershner SD, Chervin RD. Causes and consequences of sleepiness among college students . Nat Sci Sleep . 2014;6:73-84. doi:10.2147/NSS.S62907

Gordon JS, Sbarra D, Armin J, Pace TWW, Gniady C, Barraza Y. Use of a guided imagery mobile app (See Me Serene) to reduce COVID-19-related stress: Pilot feasibility study . JMIR Form Res . 2021;5(10):e32353. doi:10.2196/32353

Cowley J, Kiely J, Collins D. Is there a link between self-perceived stress and physical activity levels in Scottish adolescents ? Int J Adolesc Med Health . 2017;31(1). doi:10.1515/ijamh-2016-0104

Paulus MP.  The breathing conundrum-interoceptive sensitivity and anxiety .  Depress Anxiety . 2013;30(4):315–320. doi:10.1002/da.22076

Toussaint L, Nguyen QA, Roettger C, Dixon K, Offenbächer M, Kohls N, Hirsch J, Sirois F. Effectiveness of progressive muscle relaxation, deep breathing, and guided imagery in promoting psychological and physiological states of relaxation . Evid Based Complement Alternat Med . 2021;2021:5924040. doi:10.1155/2021/5924040.

Gold BP, Frank MJ, Bogert B, Brattico E.  Pleasurable music affects reinforcement learning according to the listener .  Front Psychol . 2013;4:541. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00541

Thoma MV, La Marca R, Brönnimann R, Finkel L, Ehlert U, Nater UM.  The effect of music on the human stress response .  PLoS ONE . 2013;8(8):e70156. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0070156

American Psychological Association. Manage stress: Strengthen your support network .

Nguyen-rodriguez ST, Unger JB, Spruijt-metz D.  Psychological determinants of emotional eating in adolescence.   Eat Disord . 2009;17(3):211-24. doi:10.1080/10640260902848543

Parsons D, Gardner P, Parry S, Smart S. Mindfulness-based approaches for managing stress, anxiety and depression for health students in tertiary education: A scoping review . Mindfulness (N Y) . 2022;13(1):1-16. doi:10.1007/s12671-021-01740-3

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.

Home — Essay Samples — Life — Pressure — How To Reduce Your Stress Levels

How to Reduce Your Stress Levels

• Categories: Pressure Psychotherapy Stress

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Published: Apr 11, 2019

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Table of contents

Surround yourself with loved ones, works cited.

• American Psychological Association. (2019). Stress: The Different Kinds of Stress. https://www.apa.org/helpcenter/stress-kinds
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021). Coping with Stress.
• Cohen, S., Janicki-Deverts, D., & Miller, G. E. (2007). Psychological stress and disease. JAMA, 298(14), 1685-1687.
• Exercise and Stress Relief. (n.d.). American Heart Association.
• Harris, A. (2018). How to Use Exercise to Relieve Stress. Healthline.
• HelpGuide. (n.d.). Stress Symptoms, Signs, and Causes. https://www.helpguide.org/articles/stress/stress-symptoms-signs-and-causes.htm
• National Institute of Mental Health. (2021). Anxiety Disorders.
• Selye, H. (1936). A syndrome produced by diverse nocuous agents. Nature, 138(3479), 32.
• Smith, A. (2019). Can exercise help anxiety? Harvard Health Publishing. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/can-exercise-help-treat-anxiety-2019102418096
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2019). Treatments for Mental Disorders.

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

Yekta said can.

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

Heather Iles-Smith

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

Niaz Chalabianloo

Javier fernández-Álvarez.

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

Claudia Repetto

Giuseppe riva.

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

1. Introduction

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

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

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

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

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

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

The major research contributions of this study are the following:

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

2. Background

2.1. emotion regulation in the context of stress management.

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

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

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

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

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

2.2. Yoga and Mindfulness: As Tools for Emotion Regulation

2.2.1. yoga.

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

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

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

2.2.2. Mindfulness

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

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

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

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

2.2.3. Mobile Mindfulness Inspired By Tai-Chi—Pause

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

3. Related Work

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

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

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

4. Methodology

4.1. unobtrusive stress detection system with smart bands.

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

4.1.1. EDA Preprocessing Artifact Detection and Removal Methods

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

4.1.2. EDA Feature Extraction Methods

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

EDA features and their definitions.

Tonic Component Features

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

Phasic Component Features

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

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

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

HRV features and their definitions [ 32 ].

4.1.4. Accelerometer Feature Extraction Methods

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

ACC features and their definitions.

4.1.5. Skin Temperature

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

4.1.6. Machine Learning Classifier Algorithms

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

4.1.7. Dimensionality Reduction

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

4.1.8. Insights from the Feature Selection Process

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

Top-ranking features selected for the HRV signal.

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

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

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

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

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

4.3. Description of the Data Collection Procedure

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

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

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

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

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

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

4.3.1. Physiological Stress Data

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

4.3.2. Ethics

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

4.3.3. Questionnaire Self-Report Stress Data

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

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

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

4.3.4. Stress Management Scheme Using Yoga and Mindfulness

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

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

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

5. Experimental Results and Discussion

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

5.2.1. Effect of Different Physiological Signals on Stress Detection

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

6. Conclusions

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

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

Acknowledgments

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

Author Contributions

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

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

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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How to manage and reduce stress

This content discusses depression, anxiety and alcohol or drug use, which some people may find triggering.

This guide provides you with tips on how to manage and reduce stress

Stress is a feeling of being under abnormal pressure, whether from an increased workload, an argument with a family member, or financial worries.

You can read the guide below, download it as a PDF or buy printed copies in our online shop .

What is stress?

Stress affects us in lots of ways, both physically and emotionally, and in varying intensities.

Research has shown that stress can sometimes be positive. It makes us more alert and helps us perform better in certain situations. However, stress has only been found to be beneficial if it is short-lived. Excessive or prolonged stress can lead to illnesses such as heart disease and mental health problems such as anxiety and depression .

During situations that make you feel threatened or upset, your body creates a stress response. This can cause a variety of physical symptoms, change the way you behave, and lead you to experience more intense emotions.

Physical symptoms of stress

People react differently to stress. Some common symptoms of stress include sleeping problems, sweating, or a change in appetite.

Symptoms like these are triggered by a rush of stress hormones in your body which, when released, allow you to deal with pressures or threats. This is known as the ‘fight or flight’ response. Hormones called adrenaline and noradrenaline raise your blood pressure, increase your heart rate and increase the amount you sweat. This prepares your body for an emergency response. These hormones can also reduce blood flow to your skin and reduce your stomach activity. Cortisol, another stress hormone, releases fat and sugar into your system to boost your energy.

As a result, you may experience headaches, muscle tension, pain, nausea, indigestion and dizziness. You may also breathe more quickly, have palpitations or suffer from various aches and pains. In the long term, you may be putting yourself at risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Humans have inherited these things from our ancient ancestors, who needed to be able to either run away from danger or stay and fight. Once the pressure or threat has passed, your stress hormone levels usually return to normal. However, if you’re constantly under stress, these hormones remain in your body, leading to the symptoms of stress. If you’re stuck in a busy office or on an overcrowded train, you can’t run away, so you can’t use up the chemicals your own body makes to protect you. Over time, the build-up of these chemicals and the changes they produce can be damaging to your health.

Behavioural and emotional effects of stress

When you are stressed you may have lots of different feelings, including anxiety, irritability or low self-esteem, which can lead you to become withdrawn, indecisive or tearful.

You may have periods of constant worry, racing thoughts, or repeatedly going over the same things in your head. Some people experience changes in their behaviour. They may lose their temper more easily, act irrationally or become more verbally or physically aggressive. These feelings can feed on each other and produce physical symptoms, which can make you feel even worse. For example, extreme anxiety can make you feel so unwell that you then worry you have a serious physical condition.

Identifying the signs of stress

Everyone experiences stress. However, when it affects your life, health and well-being, it’s important to tackle it as soon as possible. While stress affects everyone differently, there are common signs and symptoms for you to look out for:

• Feelings of constant worry or anxiety
• Feelings of being overwhelmed
• Difficulty concentrating
• Mood swings or changes in mood
• Irritability or having a short temper
• Difficulty relaxing
• Low self-esteem
• Eating more or less than usual
• Changes in sleeping habits
• Using alcohol, tobacco or illegal drugs to relax
• Aches and pains, particularly muscle tension
• Diarrhoea and constipation
• Feelings of nausea or dizziness
• Loss of sex drive

If you experience these symptoms for a prolonged period of time, and feel they are affecting your everyday life or making you feel unwell, speak to your GP. Ask them for information about the support services and treatments available to you.

What causes stress?

All sorts of situations can cause stress. The most common involve work, money matters and relationships with partners, children or other family members.

Stress can be caused either by major upheavals and life events such as divorce, unemployment, moving house and bereavement, or by a series of minor irritations such as feeling undervalued at work or arguing with a family member. Sometimes, there are no obvious causes. As a result, you may experience headaches, muscle tension, pain, nausea, indigestion and dizziness. You may also breathe more quickly, have palpitations or suffer from various aches and pains. In the long term, you may be putting yourself at risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Relationships and stress

Relationships are a great support in times when we feel stressed. However, from time to time the people close to you, be it a partner, parent, child, friend or colleague, can increase your stress levels.

Events such as ongoing minor arguments and disagreements, to larger family crises, such as an affair, illness or bereavement are likely to affect the way you think, feel and behave. This may consequently have an impact on your stress levels. Find out more about investing in healthy relationships .

Work-life balance and stress

The pressure of an increasingly demanding work culture in the UK is one of the biggest contributors to stress among the general population.

While current, average full-time working hours are 37 hours a week, a recent and dramatic rise in Britain’s working hours suggests this is already on the increase. 20.1% of the UK working population work 45 hours or more each week.

The human costs of unmanaged work-related stress is extensive. Feeling unhappy about the amount of time you spend at work and neglecting other aspects of life because of work may increase your vulnerability to stress. Increased levels of stress can, if not addressed early enough, lead to burnout or more severe mental health problems.

Mental health problems such as anxiety and depression are thought to be the leading cause of work absences, accounting for up to 40% of sick leave. In 2008, mental health accounted for 442,000 cases of work-related illness with a related estimated cost of £13.5 million. As a result, mental ill-health now accounts for a significant proportion of long-term sickness and early retirement, cited as the leading cause of illness for 20% of NHS employees.

Money and stress

Money and debt concerns place huge pressure on us, so it comes as no surprise that they have a marked effect on our stress levels.

The effects of the cost-of-living crisis in 2022 has affected everyone in some capacity. A survey of 3000 adults commissioned by the Mental Health Foundation in November 2022 found that one in ten UK adults was feeling hopeless about their financial circumstances. More than one-third were feeling anxious and almost three in ten were feeling stressed.

The combination of chronic stress and debt can result in depression and anxiety and has been highlighted as a factor linked to suicidal thoughts and attempts. It’s important if you are worried about your finances and debts that you do not try to deal with them alone. There’s a lot of help and support available to you through organisations such as StepChange and Citizens Advice .

You could also talk to your GP or a trusted health professional if you are worried about how debt is affecting your mental and physical health.

Smoking, drinking and drug use and stress

Some people smoke, drink alcohol and use recreational drugs to reduce stress. But, this often makes problems worse.

Research shows that smoking may increase feelings of anxiety. Nicotine creates an immediate, temporary, sense of relaxation, which can then lead to withdrawal symptoms and cravings.

Similarly, people may use alcohol as a means to manage and cope with difficult feelings, and to temporarily reduce feelings of anxiety. But, alcohol can make existing mental health problems worse. It can make you feel more anxious and depressed in the long run. It’s important to know the recommended limits and drink responsibly.

Prescription drugs , such as tranquillisers and sleeping tablets, which may have been prescribed for very good reasons, can also cause mental and physical health problems if used for long periods of time. Street drugs , such as cannabis or ecstasy, are usually taken for recreational purposes. For some people, problems start as their bodies get used to repeated use of the drug. This leads to the need for increased doses to maintain the same effect

How can you help yourself with stress?

Stress is a natural reaction to difficult situations in life, such as work, family, relationships and money problems.

We mentioned earlier on that a moderate amount of stress can help us perform better in challenging situations, but too much or prolonged stress can lead to physical problems. This can include lower immunity levels, digestive and intestinal difficulties such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), or mental health problems such as depression. So, it’s important that we manage our stress and keep it at a healthy level to prevent long-term damage to our bodies and minds.

When you are feeling stressed, try to take these steps:

• Realise when it is causing you a problem. You need to make the connection between feeling tired or ill, with the pressures you are faced with. Don’t ignore physical warnings such as tense muscles, over-tiredness, headaches or migraines.
• Identify the causes. Try to identify the underlying causes. Group the possible reasons for your stress into those with a practical solution, those that will get better anyway given time, and those you can’t do anything about. Try to let go of those in the second and third groups – there’s no point in worrying about things you can’t change or things that will sort themselves out.
• Review your lifestyle. Are you taking on too much? Are there things you are doing which could be handed over to someone else? Can you do things in a more leisurely way? You may need to prioritise things you are trying to achieve and reorganise your life so that you are not trying to do everything at once.

You can also help protect yourself from stress in a number of ways:

• Eat healthily. A healthy diet will reduce the risks of diet-related diseases. Also, there is a growing amount of evidence showing how food affects our mood. Feelings of well-being can be protected by ensuring that our diet provides adequate amounts of brain nutrients such as essential vitamins and minerals, as well as water.
• Be aware of your smoking and drinking . Even though they may seem to reduce tension, this is misleading as they often make problems worse.
• Exercise. Physical exercise can be very effective in relieving stress. Even going out to get some fresh air and doing some light physical exercise, like walking to the shops, can help.
• Take time out. Take time to relax. Saying ‘I just can’t take the time off’ is no use if you are forced to take time off later through ill health. Striking a balance between responsibility to others and responsibility to yourself is important in reducing stress levels.
• Be mindful. Mindfulness meditation can be practised anywhere at any time. Research has suggested that it can reduce the effects of stress, anxiety and other related problems such as insomnia, poor concentration and low moods, in some people. The ‘Be Mindful’ website features a specially-developed online course in mindfulness, as well as details of local courses in your area.
• Get restful sleep. Sleeping problems are common when you’re suffering from stress. Try to make sure you get enough rest. For more tips on getting a good night’s sleep, read our guide ‘How to...sleep better’ .
• Don’t be too hard on yourself. Try to keep things in perspective. After all, we all have bad days.

Seeking help for stress

It’s okay to ask for professional help if you feel that you are struggling to manage on your own. It’s also important to get help as soon as possible so you can begin to get better.

The first person to approach is your GP . They should be able to give you advice about treatment, and may refer you to another local professional. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Mindfulness -based approaches are known to help reduce stress. There are also a number of voluntary organisations which can help you to tackle the causes of stress and advise you about ways to get better.

• Every Mind Matters - The Mental Health Foundation supported the development of the Every Mind Matters stress resource, it offers advice on how to cope with stress.
• Anxiety UK - runs a helpline staffed by volunteers with personal experience of anxiety.
• Citizens Advice - provides free, independent and confidential advice for a range of problems as well as providing information on your rights and responsibilities.
• StepChange - provides help and information for people dealing with a range of debt problems.
• Samaritans - offer emotional support 24 hours a day - in full confidence.
• Specialist mental health services - there are a variety of specialist services that provide a range of treatments, including counselling and other talking therapies . These different services are often coordinated by a community mental health team (CMHT), which is usually based either at a hospital or a local community mental health centre.

Some teams provide 24-hour services so that you can contact them in a crisis. You should be able to contact your local CMHT through your local social services or social work team.

101 tips from you

We’d like to thank everyone who contributed some brilliant tips on how to manage stress. Everybody is different and what works for one person might not work for another. Here are 101 tips, find what works for you and give them a try.

• Meeting a friend
• Setting aside 10 minutes a day to relax and collect my thoughts
• Watching late night TV debates that deal with the realities of the world
• Listening to relaxing music
• Watching funny movies
• Taking a walk in the countryside
• Going to the gym
• Soaking in the bath with lavender oil
• Talking to someone just to vent a little
• Walking the dog
• Getting more sleep
• Reading a book to distract yourself from stressful thoughts
• Do something good for someone else
• Writing a letter to someone to get your feelings across and vent, but not actually sending it
• Painting or drawing
• Book a massage or spend time in a spa with a friend
• Write a list of things to do and cross them off as you do them
• Try putting things into perspective
• Switch off the phone and get some time to yourself
• Do something you like with family or friends like going to a show
• Dancing around in your room to your favourite music
• Going to your friend’s house with another friend and putting the world to rights
• Have a change of scenery
• Go out and meet new people
• Go to a yoga class
• Express your feelings and emotions
• Spend time with positive people around you
• A hot cup of something wonderful, a journal and a pen
• Eat a healthy meal and avoid caffeine
• Getting closer with nature e.g. have a walk on the beach, observing the sunset
• Watch your favourite programme on TV
• Give yourself ‘me time’ just a few minutes to think about pleasant things
• Ask yourself what would other people do
• Thinking of the work you HAVE achieved in a day, rather than what you haven’t done
• Relaxing with reflexology
• Go to uplifting plays, operas and concerts that make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up
• Go to bed with a great book 40
• Host a dinner party
• Cheer up someone who is feeling down
• Spend some time doing something you enjoy, like gardening
• Writing down my thoughts
• Play games on the computer
• Avoid putting things off
• Find a quiet place and try to visualise a happy memory
• Do something creative like knitting
• Play a musical instrument
• Play with your pet
• Get some fresh air
• Be gentle to yourself
• Go window shopping
• Write short stories
• Call a loved one
• Talk to a stranger
• Practice CBT (Cognitive behavioural therapy)
• Chat to your friends on Skype or Facebook
• Take a break, even a short one can make a difference
• Going for a walk at lunchtime
• Write poetry
• Eat or drink something you enjoy
• Cuddle a baby (ideally one you know - cuddles with my niece or nephew are amazing for destressing)
• Spend time with children – they really put things in perspective, like ‘Wow there’s a cool cloud’, and remind you of simple things that used to amaze you
• Go out to a Karaoke night
• Imagine living in a different era, maybe wartime or before cars and trains were invented and how much harder life would be
• Bake a cake
• Sitting in a café with a cup of tea and a magazine
• Go for a relaxing swim
• Sit on a park bench and watch the world go by
• Tidy a room or cupboard (other people might find this stressful, but I find it relaxing!)
• Challenge a friend to a game of Scrabble
• Breathe deeply for two minutes, and focus on your breaths
• Make something – knit a scarf, build an Airfix model
• Write a list of the reasons you have to be happy with life
• Take a minute to stretch your body
• Use a relaxing room fragrance or scented candle to create a sense of sanctuary
• Practicing Tai Chi
• Looking at photos of happy memories.
• Have a cup of tea
• Thinking of something you’re looking forward to or something that was fun
• Go to the cinema
• Aquafit classes at lunchtime
• Go for a bike ride
• Listen to the birds singing
• Reminding yourself it could be worse and count your blessings
• Playing board games with your family
• Playing my favourite song and singing it out loud
• Practising calligraphy
• I find moving furniture around the house very soothing
• Write a letter to a loved one
• Play with my children
• Watch some programs on TV
• Go out for a run in the park
• Volunteer at the local homeless shelter, it helps put my worries into perspective
• Play Sudoku or crosswords
• Read some gossip magazines
• Go to a salsa class
• Get a cuddle

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5 Characteristics of Stress-Resilient People (and How to Develop Them)

• Kandi Wiens

Focus on what you can control.

It’s not unusual for our stress levels to spike during career transitions like moving from school into the workforce, taking on a new role, or switching fields. Even when we know high stress is a part of the job and understand it will be temporary, our stress can become debilitating if we lack the tools to manage it. Here are the top five characteristics and behaviors stress-resilient leaders practice, along with tips for how to develop each one.

• They have a positive, optimistic outlook. When people with an optimistic outlook experience setbacks and challenges, they believe it’s a temporary state. The idea is to maintain a level of emotional equilibrium when reacting to high-stress events at work.
• They take a problem-solving approach to stress. The key to developing this approach involves regulating your instinctual emotions (not just your thoughts). If you’re caught up in strong emotion and need to quickly calm down, deep, diaphragmatic breathing can help.
• They focus on what they can control. In stressful moments, look for what you can control, then pause and give it your full attention. This will lead you towards a thoughtful response rather than an immediate reaction.
• They are adaptable and flexible. When you’re faced with a big change, instead of defaulting to narrow, self-limiting thinking, ask: What new opportunities will this change present?
• They have strong relationships. To strengthen the quality of your relationships, listen to others with your full attention, provide positive feedback, and express appreciation to others.

Devon was hired into a director-level position at a global financial services firm immediately upon earning her MBA. A star former student, she completed her leadership training before her first day and was confident in her ability to hit the ground running. Six months later, however, she worried she had made a big mistake. The stress of the job was weighing her down. She found it difficult to focus most days and lay awake during the nights, second-guessing her decisions.

• Kandi Wiens , EdD, is a senior fellow at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education and the author of the book Burnout Immunity : How Emotional Intelligence Can Help You Build Resilience and Heal Your Relationship with Work (HarperCollins, 2024). A nationally known researcher and speaker on burnout, emotional intelligence, and resilience, she developed the Burnout Quiz to help people understand if they’re at risk of burning out.

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Some people don’t experience stress. Are they happier?

Research shows that some types of stressors—and the way we react to them—can actually be beneficial to our overall health and well-being. Here’s how.

Susan Charles loves figuring out what keeps people happy. Throughout her career studying emotional processes across the adult life span, the professor of psychological science at University of California, Irvine has returned to this research focus again and again. Most emotions are experienced in a social context, so “what keeps us happy is often what keeps us safe,” she says. “What keeps us enjoying the people … that add meaning to our lives.” And quantifying daily stressors is part of unlocking the key to that happiness.

Much of her data come from a treasure trove of information known as the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) series, a groundbreaking longitudinal study based at the University of Wisconsin–Madison that tracks participants’ health and well-being through daily diaries and surveys conducted over the phone. There have been three major waves of data collection every 10 years—in 1995, 2005, and 2015—with a special fourth survey in 2012 to capture the effects of the Great Recession, a collective stressor. The researchers are now also collecting special data tracking the effects of the pandemic.

For eight days in a row, participants at each wave of the midlife study spoke to a researcher over the phone about their day. Respondents shared whether or not they experienced any stressors, such as getting into an argument with a friend or having a problem at work—the kinds of stressors that aren’t life-threatening but can be disruptive. Charles dug into these surveys, wanting to learn from the answers how different people react to and handle stress. But she kept having to throw out a small portion of the data.

Throughout every wave of the MIDUS study, 10 percent of respondents answered “no” to every question researchers asked about whether they experienced stress in some form that day. In other words, for eight days straight, these participants did not experience one iota of everyday, normal life stress. At first these outliers were meaningless to Charles, because a person who didn’t perceive or experience stress couldn’t help her figure out how people manage under stress. But then she thought, Wait a minute, who are these people?

Mixed blessing  

A life devoid of stress, and stressors, might sound idyllic, but don’t be fooled. There’s a reason Charles decided to call her 2021 study of these miraculously unbothered outliers “The Mixed Benefits of a Stressor-Free Life.”

Charles and her colleagues found that without stress, a person would report higher levels of happiness than the general population and lower levels of other chronic health issues, but they also displayed signs of cognitive decline, such as lowered attention and concentration, worse short- and long-term memory, worse problem-solving, and a lowered ability to focus or inhibit unwanted behavior.

The message of this type of work isn’t that we should all learn to cherish every stressor we encounter. Not all moments of stress response are created equal. When researchers talk about the ones that do benefit people, “we’re not talking about really negative things like trauma-type stressors, we’re talking about things that are very normative in people’s lives,” says Jeremy Jamieson, a stress researcher at the University of Rochester.

He wasn’t involved in Charles’s study, but he, like Charles, studies the benefits of certain types of stress, an experience that usually gets a bad rap across the board. “Doing a hard assignment or taking on a difficult task at work—these are things that we all do all the time, and they’re not necessarily negative, but oftentimes they’re presented as such,” says Jamieson.

As with pain, the general experience of stress is universal, but what sets off this system is highly subjective. Two people, both capable of experiencing stress, can face the same relative stressor, say performing in the school play, and each handle it differently. One person may clam up under the spotlight, and the other may feel totally at home on the stage.

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Also like pain, not experiencing stress may help a person avoid one problem, but it can summon others. While people who don’t feel pain may avoid one of life’s more unpleasant sensations, they are also prone to injury, since pain triggers a reflex that keeps us safe—it’s what tells us to take our hand off a hot stove. Someone who doesn’t feel pain could end up burning off their skin.

For its part, the stress response allows us to experience the full spectrum of life and facilitates learning. The hippocampus—the part of the brain that helps promote learning through memory—loves novelty. Successfully overcoming a small daily life stressor presents novelty in droves, and the opportunity for growth. Without these non-life-threatening challenges, the brain starts to suffer. This is likely what’s behind the lower memory and problem-solving skills Charles noted in the unstressed participants of the MIDUS cohort.

“When people feel the first sense of being overwhelmed, the response is to disengage, to back off and go away, but you don’t need to do that all the time,” says Jamieson. “To actually learn to be resilient, and persevere through challenges or difficulties, that’s an important skill set. That’s not just something that we either do or don’t do, it’s something that we can learn how to do.”

Charles will never fully be able to answer the question of who these stress-free people are. The identities of the survey takers are closely guarded by Carol Ryff, a psychologist at the University of Wisconsin–Madison who runs the MIDUS study.

But Charles does know the general profile of a stress-free person: They tend to be older, unmarried men with lower levels of education than those who reported at least one daily stressor during the eight days of surveys. The unstressed also reported many fewer daily activities than the rest of the cohort, except for watching TV, which they did with higher frequency than those who reported experiencing daily stressors.

For Charles, the most interesting tidbit is that it would seem on the surface that having fewer social interactions lowers a person’s daily stress—but that likely isn’t the whole story. Of the daily activities the MIDUS data capture, the unstressed reported spending fewer hours than the stressed on only the activities that typically include interacting with other people—working, volunteering, and both providing and receiving emotional support.

But Charles notes the paradox here: Having more social support is also an effective buffer against stress. “We know that people are our source of stress often in life,” Charles says with a warm laugh, but adds: “They’re absolutely necessary for us; we’re social creatures.”

There seems to be a sweet spot, an ideal amount of social support that keeps us thriving cognitively before too much time with other people becomes its own source of stress. The role of social networks, like so many aspects of the stress experience, is something researchers are continually exploring.

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420 Stress Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

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

📑 Aspects to Cover in a Stress Essay

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

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

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

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

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

• Stress management techniques and their significance

The effects of stress on the body

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• Time Management and Its Effect in Reducing Stress among Students One of the causes of stress among high school students and college students is the difficulty in interacting with a completely new set of students and an even larger social group within the body of […]
• Effects of Stress on Human Health There are numerous theories and researches on stress and health, they all agree that stress has an adverse effect on human health; the statement goes “a stressed man is an unhealthy man”.
• How to Manage Stress at Work Essay Work stress is one of the ailments that are acknowledged worldwide to be affecting the healthiness of the organization and the health or workers.
• Stress Management While undertaking the survey on management of stress in organizations, I came to realize that the sources of stress to employees are many and vary from one employee to another.
• Stress Among College Students: Causes, Effects and Overcomes Due to stress, college students may experience such adverse outcomes as the decreased levels of cognitive functioning, the impaired ability to study, and, consequently, lower academic performance.
• Yoga for Stress Management For instance, Karma yoga, which is one of Yoga types, aids in controlling stress through the development of appropriate attitudes in relation to work environment coupled with enhancing the ability to respond positively to professional […]
• Work Stress and Its Effects on Individuals Managers of leading companies have long realized that this phenomenon is dangerous to both employees and companies, and one of their priorities is to remove the causes of work stress and or at least minimize […]
• Factors and Consequences of a Plane Crash: Traumatic Stress The effects from air crash are determined by among other things, the cause of the crash, the altitude and its speed at the time of crash.
• Stress: Definition and Different Types of Stress Many believe that individual or team performance is susceptible to the effects of stress as there is a requirement for teams to maintain acceptable performance.
• How to Beat Stress? Stress seems to follow us everywhere and every minute, so that it is not always possible for people to find the time and think of the ways to beat stress and live quietly with no […]
• Frustration and Stress Managing The stress that is a result of waiting and anticipation is a kind of stress that can be controlled. Humor is one of the many forms that can be used to blow up stress.
• Improving Stress Resistance in Agricultural Crops The biotechnology involved in producing such crops faces many difficulties and there are a lot of considerations of the methods used to improve the crop’s resistance that need to be assessed.
• Comparison of Stress Level Among Traditional Learning and Online Learning College Students The distance learners have been perceived to be enjoying a suitable environment of learning as opposed to the traditional classroom learners who experience high levels of stress.
• Emotions, Stress and Ways to Cope with Them This means that strong emotions will trigger complex brain patterns and physiological responses due to the nature of hormones the body releases.
• How Does Stress Affect the Body? Especially after the pandemic of COVID-19 has made the levels of stress in people worldwide skyrocket, the significance of studying the levels of stress on the human body has grown tremendously.
• People Should Consider Owning a Pet Because Doing So Can Relieve Stress These are great techniques, but the issue of having a pet as a best friend is unique and one of the recently discovered best practices of relieving work-related strains or stress.
• How to Cope with Stress Essay The identification of the stressor also opens a window for an individual to explore other adaptation methods, which can be of help in the future such as avoidance.
• The Relationship between Stress Management and Criminal Recidivism Employment tends to increase the social capital of individuals, what is usually referred to as the networks of shared norms and values, which augments the access to the much-needed necessities.
• Positive Psychology and Academic Stress With the rising cases of academic stress among students in the United States, the federal government has introduced positive psychology programs in schools across the country.
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Case Conceptualization Samuel, an 8-year-old black male, lives in an adopted white family consisting of the father, incarcerated for domestic violence charges, the mother, the primary caretaker and the only home provider, and the older sibling.
• Working Conditions That Lead to Stress at Amazon For example, among the methods for evaluating the efficiency of warehouse employees is the indicator of the number of processed packages per hour.
• Stress and Its Effects on Health The effects of stress on the cardiovascular system are explained in a review by Kivimaki & Steptoe to determine the impact of stress on the development and progression of cardiovascular diseases.
• Burnout Stress in Nursing Related With Lazarus and Folkman’s Theory According to Lazarus and Folkman, stress is the relationship existing between a person and the environment that compels the individual beyond resources and consequently endangering life. The theory of stress and coping helps individuals to […]
• Transactional Model of Stress and Coping in Intravenous Drug Users The purpose of this paper is to explain how the transactional model of stress and coping can be used to explain and assess the process of coping in a group of intravenous users at risk […]
• Teen Stress: How to Help Them Manage It? The physiologic changes of the body, the first steps are taken in search of the individuality, examinations, and tests in school or college, the pressure from the parent’s side, the issues in the relationships, diffidence, […]
• Problem Solving: What Can We Do About Our Stress? Since we can decide on what to believe or think, we posses the aptitude on how we can respond to the exigent events and circumstances in our daily lives.
• Stress Management in the Hospitality Industry In the event of such aspects the body tries to bring its system to a balance by building adequate energy as well as staying alert to face any possibility of the threat happening.
• Posttraumatic Stress Disorders: Psychological Assessment PTSD was adopted by experts in the third revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders to replace terms like “shell shock, nervous shock, and combat fatigue” that described the response to traumatic […]
• Stress Management in Work Environment Leka, Griffiths and Cox are of the opinion that work related stress arises from the disparity between the demands of the job and the pressure on the employee on one hand and the mismatch between […]
• Academic Stress and Its Impact on Teenagers Another possible solution is raising awareness about the harms of stress to human health to educate students and their parents on the risks associated with stress.
• Social Impact of Stress in Childhood Stress in childhood can profoundly affect the cognitive and social development of a person. They can have a life-long impact on the behavior and identify of a person.
• Time and Stress Management for Better Productivity Procrastination is the forwarding of events that have to be done at a specific time to another time in the future.
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as a Health Issue in the Society The treatment is aimed at relieving the symptoms that the patient seems to be experiencing so that the individual can be able to deal with the traumatic experience.
• Defining The Stress Response Across Scientific Disciplines To capture the varying levels of stress among different patients, Holmes and Rahe use percentages to explain the different degrees of a person’s stress level.
• Stress: causes and effects This is due to the research methods used in the process of analyzing and finding solutions to the global psychological challenges and problems.
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Substance Use Disorder The hypothesis of self-medication is one of the mechanisms that can expound the comorbidity between post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety illness.
• A Healthy Way To Cope With Stress According to Seaward, stress is “the experience of a perceived threat to one’s mental, physical or spiritual well-being, resulting from a series of physiological responses and adaptations”.
• Stress in College Students, Its Causes and Effects Recognizing the cause and effect of stress in college students is an important aspect in college management and leadership as it will lead to a better understanding and development of the appropriate methods for intervention.
• Stress, Its Causes and Effects Relationship Understanding the diverse nature of the causes of the stress is crucial to the effective elimination of its effects, as these two factors heavily depend on each other.
• Definition of Fiscal Stress The state government and local authorities may use different services they provide to the public to measure the level of fiscal stress.
• Acute Stress and Attachment Theory At the point of stress, the person will feel vulnerable or in danger and will need something to offer them security.
• Walmart Company: Reducing Employee Stress The first function of this programme is “to encourage more employees to identify their sources of stress”. In conclusion, the above strategy will train more employees and clients in order to deal with their sources […]
• Stress Among Criminal Justice Workers The criminal justice system is aware of the seriousness of the current problem and is trying to adapt to the emerging trend.
• Understanding and Addressing Family Stress: Parental Responses and Impact on Children The spousal relationship, employment, a lack of structure in the household, and psychological suffering all contribute to stress. They are regarded as potent mediators, and therefore, offending elders indicates disrespecting the father and may lead […]
• Stress Management for Patients With Arthritis The study’s primary objectives were to substantiate the hypothesis of the relation between RA activity and stress and find the evidence for the basis of further decisions.
• ANOVA Analysis: The Influence of Physical Activity on Stress Levels The independent variable of this research is the degree of physical activity, while the independent variable is the level of stress.
• “Stress: How It Affects Us”: Critical Analysis As the name suggests, the article is related to stress and how it affects our day-to-day workings as well as our health in general.
• Organisational Stress and Its Possible Transformations The main problem is the inability to understand how organisational stress could influence the work of teachers and if it is necessary to cope with it or neglect its possibility.
• Anger, Stress and Aggression in Violent Offenders The intentions of the aggressor and the nature of the aggression offer the description of that form of aggression. Thus, understanding the relationship between anger, stress and aggression is important to the practitioners involved in […]
• Effect of Stress on Relations and Marriage Therefore, this paper had the aim of discussing the effects of stress on a marriage and relationships and how the stress can be reduced and controlled.
• Stress and Burnout in Organizations Stress may refer to a state of psychological and physical discomfort of an individual, which is derivative of the interaction of external and biological factors. This paper discusses the organizations’ and workers’ challenges related to […]
• Stress related to workplace conditions Physical factors are those related to the ability of the body to function correctly in the work environment. Unpredictability and uncertainty of work situations are recognized as the main causes of stress in the workplace.
• Pre-Stressed Concrete The aim of this paper is to discuss the historical developments of pre-stressed concrete, the basic concepts of pre-stressed concrete, and the manufacturing of the pre-stressed concrete.
• Meditation Effects on Anxiety and Stress My goal in this exercise was to use meditation to manage anxiety and stress and improve my general mental well-being. I am not accustomed to meditation and had to turn to YouTube for guidance.
• Stress Management Skills of Student-Athletes Their responses will then be categorized as “low perceived stress,” “moderate perceived stress,” and “high perceived stress”. The students will then be qualified as possessing superior, above-average, average, or below-average stress management skills.
• Living With Post Traumatic Stress Disorder This can be achieved by making efforts to keep away from the people and also the places that act as a reminder of the events.
• Great Recession Impact on Workplace Stress The recent recession directly increased the level of stress that people experienced in the US and other countries in the following ways. The responses of businesses to the recession affected employees’ stress levels in the […]
• Stress Management Strategies in Applied Psychology It is possible to note that the development of applied psychology was a natural stage of the evolution of psychology as a field of study.
• How Stress Affects Different Personality Types Type B Personality Type B personality is regarded as the inverse of Type A since people with this type lack the Type A attributes of competitiveness and time orientation.
• The Problem of Workplace Stress Stress at work can be defined as “the harmful physical and emotional responses that occur when the requirements of a job do not match the capabilities, resources or needs of the worker”. A variety of […]
• Stress Reduction Programs in an Organization There are different approaches to reducing stress levels in an organization. To choose the appropriate program, it is necessary to assess the available options based on a range of criteria.
• The Effect of Stress on the Immunity With an increase in the concentration of glucocorticoids, the thymus decreases in size and the formation of immune cells is disrupted.
• Mindfulness Meditation to Reduce Nursing Stress Levels This project will discuss nurse stress and the implementation of mindfulness meditation sessions as a main intervention for its reduction. Nurse stress should no longer be ignored, and the effect of mindfulness meditation may be […]
• Relationship Between Stress and Greying of the Hair The main topic of this study was the study of the influence of a negative psychological state of a person on the increase in the number of gray hairs.
• Stress and Its Influence on Human Body Prolonged exposure to stress worsens the body’s resistance and the immune and vegetative systems of a person and disrupts the functioning of hormonal glands and metabolism.
• Aspects of the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder They include direct or indirect exposure to stressors, intrusion symptoms, the persistent avoidance of trauma-related stressors, negative alterations in mood and the development of mental health comorbidities, aggression, and self-destructive behavior, the duration for not […]
• Family Health Assessment: Child Poverty, Toxic Stress Because of the nature of their work, and the fact that the two were working even during the pandemic, the father was at one point exposed to Covid-19. The model that will help the family […]
• Dogs: The Stress Coping Mechanisms When the arousal level increases, it helps the body prepare for action and deal with the cause of the stress. The hormone helps them to cope with the stress and to recover from it more […]
• Self-Reported PTSD (Posttraumatic Stress) Symptoms and Social Support At the same time, multiple authors prove that social support and connectedness with family members, relatives, friends, and other members of the community contribute to PTG and the minimization of the signs of PTSD in […]
• Coronary Heart Disease Caused by Stress It is essential to study the degree of influence of stress on the development of coronary heart disease since, in this way, it will be possible to prevent it more successfully.
• Self SWOT: Stress Resistance as the Main Strength However, the irrationality of my organization of time and schedule is a big threat that I will begin to lose control over my studies, which may affect my future career and its trajectory.
• Stress and Its Adverse Health Effects The article’s topic is Stress and Health: A Review of Psychobiological Processes. For instance, when stress increases or is prolonged, the dangers of mental health challenges and medical complications arise.
• Stress Management in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients The study also covered the epidemiological and pathophysiology of RA and looked at data linking psychological trauma to the emergence and aggravation of the clinical disease.
• The Effect of Emotional Freedom Techniques on Nurses’ Stress The objectives for each of the three criteria are clearly stated, with the author explaining the aims to the reader well throughout the content in the article’s title, abstract, and introduction.
• Pathophysiology of Stress, Processed Foods, and Risky Alcohol Consumption The body starts to see the fats, sugars, and salt in ultra-processed foods as rewards, which leads to increased cravings and overeating.
• Teachers Wellbeing: Becoming Aware of Work-Relate Stress Teachers who are aware of these stressors early in their careers may be able to minimize their risk of burnout and experience a sense of well-being.
• The Traumas from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Measuring the prevalence and incidence of PTSD requires excellent knowledge of epidemiology and biostatistics. The prevalence and incidence of PTSD have increased since 2000.
• Stress and Related Risks in Vulnerable Communities The case study family is between the ages of five and thirty-five years and consists of a father, a mother, and two male children. My rationale behind the ranking is the impact of the risks […]
• COVID-19, Secondary Traumatic Stress and Burnout The second part of the hypothesis states that the levels of STS and BO among caretakers during the pandemic will be higher than before it.
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Preliminary Care Coordination The personal character of trauma and how the patient reacts to it justifies the need to design patient-centered interventions to address this healthcare problem.
• Circumstances Causing Stress in Adolescence Hold one’s breath for many seconds and gently exhale via the mouth to evacuate the lungs, hence easing the body of stress. The more one is stressed, the more difficult and nervous it is to […]
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Causes and Symptoms The article by Smith entitled Posttraumatic Stress Disorder is valuable because it offers important information on the causes and symptoms of PTSD and ways of recognizing and treating the condition.
• Mishele’s Theory Applied to Pediatric Medical Traumatic Stress In other words, the theory addresses the problem of the subjective perception of the treatment outcomes and diseases under the prism of uncertainty.
• Major Depressive Disorder and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Her sleep is turbulent, she has rape nightmares, her mood is depressed, and her affect is congruent and constrained. Her mental process is rational and linear, and her mental faculties are largely intact.
• Stress and Deviance in College Education The other concept of the connection between deviance and stress is the stress factors. Management of stressors and the consequent effects on deviance among college students is yet to be investigated.
• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Case Presentation Report Date of initial assessment: N/A PSEUDO Name: Ana Ana is a self-referred and re-occurring client who entered counseling after the case of domestic violence. As a result, Ana expressed feelings of anxiety and fear […]
• Panel: Women’s Stress and COVID-19 It is vital to examine what is known about the connection of women’s stress to COVID-19. Overall, the link between COVID-19 and women’s stress is apparent.
• Effects of Support on Stress in School Principals Threats to living standards and wellbeing, the strain on families and the escalation of injustices, changes in teaching techniques and the role of technology, and the disruption of higher learning and scholarship are among the […]
• The DSM-5 Criteria for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder The inference is backed by the fact that Victor’s traumatic situation is persistently manifesting intrusion symptoms such as nightmares, flashbacks, unwanted upsetting memories, and a lack of willingness to share previous hurtful events. Victor displays […]
• Early Life Stress: Resilience Development in Children For their own and the children’s sake, school counselors may be assigned to a particular institution in primary schools. An attempt to harness the unique qualities and capabilities that evolve in a high-stress setting is […]
• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Treatment Research Therefore, the advantage of qualitative research, in this case, relates to the ability to investigate patients’ PTSD treatment experiences and uncover their meanings.
• Coping with Stress in Clinical Neuropsychiatry Joseph should be able to identify what is stressing him most, which in this case it is financial issues and the fact that his wife is always annoyed with him because he is always around, […]
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Misapprehension A significant proportion of civilians are affected by post-traumatic stress but ignore the symptoms and fail to seek early interventions influenced by misconceptions about how PTSD develops and its symptoms.
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Opioid Use in Veterans This study examined the proportion of United States veterans who had PTSD and engaged in the use of illegal opioids to cope with it or had done so in the past.
• The Impact of Chronic Stress on Pathological Conditions Long-term stress is hazardous, as it damages the mechanisms of self-regulation of the body, leading to constant fluctuations in the level of hormones and unhealthy rhythms of breathing and heartbeat.
• Toxic Stress and Its Negative Effects The experience of toxic stress in the early years of life also negatively affects school performance and the physical development of children.
• Sex-Specific Effects of Music Listening on Couples’ Stress in Everyday Life Wuttke-Linnemann et al.also highlight the presence of gender-specific differences as to how specifically music listening can impact stress among men and women.
• Stress as an Important Psychological Issue The ability to complete work on time, learn new skills at the first request of the bosses, and the need to work overtime – all this is among the constant needs of a modern working […]
• Traumatic Stress Disorders & Treatment It will be based on the hypothesis that trauma has a detrimental impact on a person’s identity and is likely to result in adverse consequences in the future.
• Smoking and Stress Among Veterans The topic is significant to explore because of the misconception that smoking can alleviate the emotional burden of stress and anxiety when in reality, it has an exacerbating effect on emotional stress.
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in A Journal for Jordan Considering the loss of her husband in the war, Dana had not recovered, and the expression of irate reaction is a symptom of PTSD.
• Stress Management Benefits for Health Therefore, stress management strategies are crucial to eliminating the adverse impact of tension and anxiety. Physical activity and socializing are the techniques I have successfully applied to manage stress.
• Nurses’ Mental Health and Stress at Workplace This is the first research to present the viewpoints of mental health nurses on a resilience program. Theoretical ideas of resilience and understanding of mental health nurses’ resilience emerged through constant comparative study and integration […]
• The Relationship Between Stress and Health: Article Summary The implications of the study allow for stating that the increased exposure to stress at work leads to worsened health of the stressed individuals.
• Improving Nurses’ Stress Response During the COVID-19 The article is dedicated to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the overall health of nurses. It is necessary to study the mental health of nurses further and develop ways to level the negative […]
• Coping with Stress and Physical Health Problems In this regard, Julie, first of all, needs to accept the situation as it is, to appreciate the things and the context that she is no longer able to change.
• A Theorist View of Stress, Human Body and Mind As one can see, both K bler-Ross and Frankl focus on human stress as a form of suffering in the face of insurmountable life troubles, such as death or suffering.
• Employee Stress and Burnout at the Workplace This is done by giving outbreaks to those actively involved in the manufacture of the products and giving leaves for some time; the company has also created shift sessions that allow specified workers to take […]
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Development Avoidance of objects that remind you of the traumatic incident is another symptom of PTSD. Identifying erroneous and unreasonable beliefs about the incident and replacing them with a more balanced image is also part of […]
• Stress Management Techniques for Students: Yoga Yoga’s most major benefits are its capacity to relieve stress and exhaustion, to stimulate and revive, and to be used for anti-aging and calming treatment.
• Sexual Aversion and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder This aspect causes difficulties in prescribing therapy, since the latter requires a thorough study of the psychological nature of the problems. In the treatment of sexual aversion disorder, a doctor needs to investigate a complex […]
• Thoughts on Stress Management and Happiness Although she has all her financial needs met overwhelmingly, her failure to proceed with her studies and get employment makes her feel unsatisfied.
• Workplace Stress Among American Nurses During the Coronavirus Pandemic In this systematic review paper, the researcher seeks to discuss workplace stress among American nurses during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic in the country.
• Secondary Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in Children The relationship between parents’ experiences and interactions with the onset of PTSD in children will be explored. There is vast information on the management of treatment and prevention of PTSD in children.
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Parenting Style On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being lowest and 10 being highest, how much do you believe that kids need to learn early who the boss is in the family?
• Heat Stress at Provincial, Federal, and International Levels It formulates the purpose of the report, namely the comparison of norms and regulations for safe work at the provincial, federal and international levels.
• Durations of Vowels: Effect of Stress, Lexical Focus, and Segmental Focus The article in question addresses the correlation between the duration of a vowel and the type of focus or stress. De Jong and Zawaydeh address this phonetic issue on the basis of the Arabic language, […]
• Healthcare Workers’ Stress Coping Strategies This is especially relevant for the mental health domain, as the major flows of resources in the healthcare sectors all over the globe are directed towards combating the main adverse physical consequences of the infection.
• Stress and Depression Among Nursing Students The study aims to determine how different the manifestations of stress and depression are among American nursing students compared to students of other disciplines and what supports nursing students in continuing their education.
• The Stress of Working with Families There is an intricate shared history that is interpreted in different ways by different members, and the boundaries, psychological distances, and roles within and between family subsystems are constantly shifting.
• Coping with Stress: Stress and Health In terms of physical, emotional, and behavioral signs, Julia is experiencing severe stress, which requires the help of specialists and the introduction of various techniques that contribute to the normalization of all aspects of life.
• “Poverty, Toxic Stress, and Education…” Study by Kelly & Li Kelly and Li are concerned with the lack of research about poverty and toxic stress affecting the neurodevelopment of preterm children.
• Prefrontal Cortex and Effects of Stress Exposure However, the inability to control the stressor can reduce the prefrontal cortex’s capacity to regulate stress responses. Exposure to stress noticeably weakens the effectiveness of the prefrontal cortex while stimulating more primitive responses of the […]
• Stress as a Result of Combining Work and Family At the same time, it is difficult to say that such a life on a constant clear schedule contributes to the psychological health of a person.
• Analysis of Stress Management Aspects In the science of stress management, there are a number of practices aimed at strengthening the mental health of the student, thus improving their response to potentially stressful events.
• Phonetics and Phonology of English Word Stress People have trouble pronouncing some words in their L2 due to the influence of their L1 accent. Many students find it challenging to accurately pronounce words in their second language due to the influence of […]
• Adaptation to Stress of Endocrine and Sympathetic Nervous System Stress is a non-specific body reaction that occurs under the action of various extreme factors that threaten the violation of homeostasis and is characterized by stereotypical changes in the function of the nervous and endocrine […]
• The Resilience Handbook: Approaches to Stress and Trauma I was surprised to learn that music is not just the words but also the lyrics in the heart and mind.
• Assessing the Personal Stress Levels To ascertain the levels of stress in my everyday life, I have used several assessment tools. Implementing the “Symptoms of Stress” methodology, I have discovered that the occurrence of stress in my life is quite […]
• Stress Management Techniques The proposed strategies and examples should help students to understand different situations and overcome stress disregarding settings and external factors.
• Occupational Health: Workplace Stress To avoid noise-related stress, Ruth handles her job with a positive attitude and this makes it easy to enjoy work. In conclusion, work-related stress is a major cause of poor performance by employees due to […]
• Humor as the Leading Strategy of Stress Relief The purpose of this paper is to discuss the importance of humor as one of the leading stress management strategies. In other words, it does not suffice to know the sources of stress, as the […]
• Workplace Stress and Absenteeism in the Ship-Repair Industry: A Case Study This qualitative exploratory case study sought to discover techniques that production and project managers of a ship-repair company in the maritime industry use to minimize.
• Stress Patterns in Police Work: A Longitudinal Study The research problem identified by the investigator relates to the prevalence of distress in the police occupation. The primary variable of the study was the mean stress measure, which was derived from the Langner-22 list […]
• Occupational Stress: Patient Teaching Plan Physical exercise is helpful for the patients with work-related stress and anxiety. Physical exercise helps alleviate work and stress-related pains in different parts of the body.
• Stress Among Secondary and Tertiary Students The results of the study by Pascoe et al.demonstrate that the majority of students report high levels of stress and negative effects on their mental and physical health.
• Stress Reduction Among College Students In conclusion, “Calm” is useful in mindfulness meditation to decrease stress and enhance self-compassion and mindfulness among students. However, there is constrained information regarding the palatability and effectiveness of delivering mindfulness meditation interventions through mobile […]
• Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in the Workplace What are the weakness of the study and how can it be improved. According to I/O psychologist work is done to obtain productivity and to improve the quality of life of the clients.
• Free Radicals, Oxidative Stress, and Antioxidants The presence of ROS in excess causes oxidative stress in the body, leading to the oxidation of proteins and lipids and the transformation of their structures and roles in the body.
• Stress From a Biblical Perspective The Bible, in that case, provides a sense of hope and relief which leads to relaxation. In 1 Samuel 30:1-31, Amalekites exploited the opportunity of David and his men’s absence in the south city of […]
• Dealing With Stress: What Makes One’s Life Complete Carrying the burden of stress, I became rather reserved and unwilling to socialize, which led to certain misconceptions among my friends and me.
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Pathophysiology Sakellariou and Stefanatou, further link threat responsiveness and fear regulation with the signalling of 5-HT within the amygdala; this is an area within the brain deemed essential in comprehending the reaction to fear and aetiology […]
• Workplace Yoga Reducing Stress in Employees Since the key idea of a project is to sell the yoga and meditation practice program to the other departments of a firm, it is important to understand the expected benefits.
• Cross-National Job Stress: A Quantitative and Qualitative Study That is why, in order to fill the substantial research gap, the exploratory study of Liu et al.examines the perceptions of job stress in two culturally dissimilar countries the United States and China using both […]
• The Effectiveness of Occupational Stress Management However, as it relates to analyzing the shipbuilding and ship-repair industries, the level of occupational stress is higher in comparison to other sectors of the economy, and the effectiveness of managing the problem is lower.
• Coping With Stress in Breast Cancer Patients Therefore, it is important for research experts to ensure and guarantee adherence to methodologies and guidelines that define scientific inquiry. However, various discrepancies manifest with regard to the initiation and propagation of research studies.
• Changes in Life and Psychological Stress Assessment The vagueness of the evaluation system and the lack of precision in terms of results assessment, however, beg the question whether psychological assessments can be trusted.
• Nursing Work Stress Level During Pandemics In the case of this project, the DNP student was able to review at length the issue of occupational stress in nursing.
• Stress Management Through Transcendental Meditation Thus, to improve productivity and the general wellbeing of its employees, a company ought to offer stress management program. However, transcendental meditation seems to be the most beneficial as it enables people to deal with […]
• Stress Analysis of Thin Walled Structures and Results This consideration takes the priority of the passengers’ safety to ensure they do not experience the effects of either deformation or heat dissipated by the parts involved in the impact.”At the same time other structural […]
• Advanced Stress Analysis – Characteristic of Model The choice of approach is done in the preliminary stages of structural design of shapes. 893Kg/mm3 The density of the envelope is 1.
• The Unified Trauma Theory of High-Stress Level Fatigue a Case of Loyola University The steps of this process are outlined, concluding with definitions and a description of the middle range theory of unified trauma theory of high-stress fatigue, which was developed.
• Stress Sources in a Detective’s Life One of the morale issues that can result from the behavior of the detective is the segregation of the detective by his workmates and none of them might want to work with him.
• Effects of Obesity on Neuroendocrine, and Immune Cell Responses to Stress All the participants of the experiment including obese and non-obese women were scheduled to days one to ten by their menstrual cycle. Statistic and comparative analyses were performed to compare the results of obese and […]
• Health and Wellness: Stress, Diabetes and Tobacco Related Problems Emotional health and well being refers to our ability to deal with our emotions as well as the emotions of those around us.
• Effective Use of Prazosin for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder All the traditional agents have shown to have several side effects and cannot be fully relied on in treatment of PTSD.
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Diagnostics and Screening Do you observe a headache from the early morning? Do you have a headache when you sleep well?
• Effect of Stress Hormones on Brain Cells Cortisol hormone is responsible for the shrinking of the hippocampal volume that controls the formation of new neurons in the brain cells, and it may lead to depression.
• BMI and Stress Levels Among Students in the US The study is significant since it seeks to explore the differences in BMI and stress levels among domestic and international students in the US.
• Conger’s Stress and Family With Children The causes and effects of stress in the family is a diverse observable fact that results in different effects to the family.
• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
• Dealing With Grief – Stress Factors
• Stress at Work: Creating Healthy Organisations
• Wholeness Meeting to Deal With Stress in School
• Family Nursing and Stress Theory
• Adult Life Stress: Assessment Tools Analysis
• Personal Stress Management and Relaxation Techniques
• Relation Work – Stress – Health
• Stress, Emotional Intelligence, and Job Performance Correlation in Nursing
• Managing Stress Through Communication Skills in Nursing
• The Effectiveness of ICU Nurses in Reducing Stress among Family Members
• Mindfulness-Based Stress and Burnout Reduction in Nurses
• Stress-Strain Relation of Stainless Steel After Exposure to Fire
• Identifying Causes of Stress among Nurses
• Definition and Concept of Stress in Nursing
• Nursing Burnout: Increased Stress Experienced by Nurses
• Emotions and Stress on the Job
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Among Vets
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Overview
• Nurses and Stress: Mindfulness Meditation Program
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Treatment in Intellectually Disabled Patients: The Promise of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy
• Stress Management in University Students
• Women in the West Who Are Put Under Stress Due to Social Media
• Stress in the Teaching Fraternity
• Work Related Stress: Symptoms and Management
• Stress at Work: Main Aspects, Globalization Influence
• Client Diagnosis: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
• Stress Test Process to a Community Issue
• Employees’ Stress and Burnout
• Disaster Crisis: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms
• Yoga and Stress Reduction
• Managing Stress: A Reflection of Personal Experience
• Personal & Professional Development: Managing Stress
• Stress Symptoms and Management
• How Stress Affects Learning in Middle School
• Motivation, Emotion, Stress, Health and Work
• The Role of Stress in Our Everyday Life
• Employee Stress Causes in Different Countries
• Socio-Cultural and Stress Models in Diagnosis
• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder After Rape Attempt
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: Causes and Consequences
• Posttraumatic Stress Symptom Disease
• Stress, Depression and Psychoneuroimmunology
• How Can College Students Cope With Stress
• Stress, Its Effects on Health
• Causes and Effects of Marital Stress on the Health of Women
• Academic Related Sicknesses: Stress in Medical Students
• Stress Management and Wellness Programs by Corporate Sector
• Work Stress: Coping Through Work-Life Programs
• The Relationship Between Emotion Regulation Suppression and the Academic and Life Stress Levels
• Health and Stress in College Students
• Stress: Causes, Sources and Symptoms
• Sources of Stress Among African American Students
• Stress and Medical Students’ Lifes
• Impact of Stress on Intimate Relationship
• Stress of Police Officers and How They Cope With It
• Educational Psychology: Student Learning and Stress
• Acute and Post Traumatic Stress Disorders
• Impacts of High Stress Levels on Teachers
• Stress Management Under Organizational Psychology
• Stress and Higher Education Student: A Critical Review
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: German Researches
• Preventing Burnout in Preschool Teachers
• Can Stress Be Fattening: Discussion
• Sports Demands and Stress Management in Athletics
• Holmes and Rahe Stress Test and Coping Strategies
• Reducing Nurses’ Stress: A Web-Based Management Program
• Depression and Anxiety Due to School and Work-Related Stress
• Mental Healthcare in Louisiana: Growth in Stress Rates
• Student Loans and Financial Stress
• How Nurses Cope with Job Stress
• Family Stress and Crisis: We Got Through It
• Stress Among African American College Students
• Stress Can Affect Future Generations’ Genes
• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Veteran Community
• Evidence-Based Procedures That Reduce Stress and Promote Health
• UAE: Stress Management and Organizational Performance
• Organizational Concern: Job Stress and Burnout
• “Emotional Freedom Technique and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder” by Rebecca L. Fahey
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Treatment Effectiveness
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Missouri Veterans
• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Management in Children
• College Student Work Habits, Interruptions, and Stress
• Stress Factors in the Queer Community
• Chronobiology and Stress in Horses
• Horse Transportation and Stress-Reducing Strategies
• Newly Graduated Nurses and Stress: Study Analysis
• Heat Stress in Flight Cockpits in the Desert Climate
• Employment and Stress Management
• Spiritual Life: Avoiding Stress Burnout
• Interviewing the Patient: Stress and Anxiety Reasons
• Productivity and Work-Related Stress in the UAE
• Workplace Stress and Labor Law in the United Kingdom
• Stress Management: Personal Success Plan
• Does Locus of Control and Motivation Predict Occupational Stress?
• Modern Workplace Issues: Stress, Conflict, Quality
• Occupational Stress in the Maritime Industry
• Racial Disparities in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Treatment
• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Hispanic Teenager
• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Treatment in Soldier
• Stress Impact on Self-Esteam and Personal Growth
• Employee Motivation, Termination, and Work Stress
• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Modality Treatment Plan
• Anxiety Disorder: Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction
• Crisis Intervention Model and Critical Stress Management
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Its Theories
• Emotion Regulation and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
• Workplace Stress and Mitigating Measures
• Stress Factors in the Fire Service
• Early-Life Stress and Adult Inflammation
• Stress, Conflict and Misunderstandings in the Workplace
• Stress Increases the Desire to Eat Sweets
• How Coffee Affects Stress?
• Burnout, Compassion Fatigue and Stress at Workplace
• Stress Assessment Questionnaire Ethical Usage
• Stress in Policing: Reasons and Effects
• Meditation as a Way to Alleviate Stress
• Stress Management for Life
• Sexual Harassment and Psychological Stress
• Prenatal Maternal Stress Outcomes
• Discretion, Job Stress, and Other Policing Issues
• Workplace Stress Management Programs
• Kant’s and Mill’s Ideas for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
• Intimate Partner Violence and Maternal Stress
• Stress Statistics, Definition, and Perception
• Physiological Mechanism of Stress
• Post-Traumatic Stress and Evidence-Based Practice
• Stress as a Risk Factor for Inflammation
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Assets and Facilities
• Minority Stress and Health: Societal Issues
• Housewives’ Compensation and Stress Factors
• Stress and Eating Behavior
• Ways to Manage Stress and Enhance Well-Being for Students
• Police Stress Within Law Enforcement
• Exam Stress: Effective Management
• To Better Cope With Stress, Listen to Your Body
• “Stress” Video and “A Natural Fix for ADHD” Article
• Organizational Stress and Job Satisfaction Relationships
• The Effect Job Stress on Satisfaction with Life
• Ethics Code for Human Participation in Stress Reduction
• Office 2010 Transformation: Stress Management Plan
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or Combat Fatigue
• Genentech Inc.’s Workplace Stress Management
• Stress, Depression, and Responses to Them
• Stress Management in the Adulthood
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: Caucasian Girl’ Case
• Students’ Stress Levels in Kean University
• Acute Stress Disorder: Cynthia’s Treatment Case
• Food and Stress Relationship: Psychological Factor
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Soldiers
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Gender Variations
• Stress Impacts on the Human Development
• Stress Levels and Stress Management Methods
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: Joseph Wolpe Treatment Theory
• Reducing Stress: Cognitive Patterns and Behaviors Changing
• Stress: Effects and Management Proposal
• Health Psychology: Eating and Stress’ Relations
• Stress and Recovery After Rape
• The Holmes-Rahe Life Stress Inventory – Psychology
• Mood and Stress Psychology: Causes, Effects and Treatments
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder – Psychology
• Managing Stress and Depression at Work Places – Psychology
• Job’ Stress and Depression
• Stress and Burnout in Law Enforcement
• Police and Corrections Officers’ Stress – Psychology
• Stress and Strains in the Renaissance Society
• Infidelity as a Cause of Divorce and Stress Disorder
• Stress Reduction at Work
• Stress’ Definition and Effects
• Suggestions on Stress Management
• Correlation Study of the Relationship Between Individual Resilience, Hope, Stress and Humour
• Stress & Its Effects on the Brain and Body
• Ability to Manage Stress as the Most Important Skill of Effective Communicators
• Stress Management and Work Performance in the UK
• The Relationship Between Employee Productivity and Work Related Stress
• The Caregiver Burnout and Long-Term Stress
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Principles and Types
• Solutions for Students to Reduce Stress in University Life
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Veterans
• The Effects of Forgiveness Therapy on Depression, Anxiety and Posttraumatic Stress for Women After Spousal Emotional Abuse
• Critical Evaluation of Stress Management Approaches
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Causes, Symptoms and Treatments
• Critical Review of a Mental Disorder: The Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in DSM-IV-TR
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Its Treatment
• Stress Management and Work Performance in the United Kingdom
• Underlying Issues Associated with Sleep Disorders and Stress
• How College Athletes Deal with Stress and Manage Time
• Impact and Strategies of Fiscal Stress on States and Municipalities
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Abused Women
• Acute Stress Reaction and Acute Stress Disorder
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: History and Symptoms
• Biological Factors Involved in Stress
• Posttraumatic stress. The Case of Mary
• Stress Management among Customer Service Employees: Antecedents & Interventions
• Depression: Law Enforcement Officers and Stress
• The Impact of Stress & Unpleasant Feelings on People
• The Causes of Stress in the Contemporary Society
• Earthquakes as a Cause of the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
• Workplace Stress Problem
• Reducing Stress in Al-Khobar
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Developed in Repeated War Zones Deployment
• Towards Understanding Stress-Related Issues Affecting First Year Students on Their Transition Into University Culture
• Stress and Injury in Sports
• Family, Stress and Delinquency among Adolescent
• Effects of stress on physical health
• Stresses of Being a Student
• Stress at the Workplace for Correctional Officers
• Human Stress and Dale Carnegie
• “Denial: A Memoir” a Book by Jessica Stern
• The Relationship Between Self-Efficacy and Perceived Stress
• Adjustment in Psychology: Stress
• Stress and Burnout in the Workplace
• Reaction to Stress: Flight or Fight
• Conflict and Stress: Their Potential Impact on a Project
• Abnormal Psychology: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
• Diverse Effects of the Work Related Stress
• Problems of the Employee Stress in Organizations
• Managing Time and Stress
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Tim O’Brien’s “In the Lake of Woods”
• Randomized Trial of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Chronic Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders in Adult Female Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse
• How Stress Affects Your Physical Health?
• The Experiment to Prove the Fact That Psychological Stress Causes Headache
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: Assessment and Treatment Strategies
• Controlling Stress and Tension
• Research Application of How College Athletes Deal with Stress and Manage Time
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in Veterans and How Family Relationships Are Affected
• Self Efficacy, Stress & Coping, and Headspace Program
• Characteristics and Treatments of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
• Analysis of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Military Personnel
• Work-Related Stress: Impeding Organization’s Success
• Does Cardiorespiratory Fitness Buffer Stress Reactivity and Stress Recovery in Police Officers?
• What Does Stress Really Stress?
• Where Does Stress Come From and How Does It Affect a Pregnant Mother and Her Unborn Child?
• Can Stress Cause Severe Headache?
• Does Compressing High School Duration Affect Students’ Stress and Mental Health?
• Does Regular Exercise Reduce Stress Levels?
• How Long Does Birth Trauma Last?
• Does Telework Stress Employees Out?
• Can Detox Tea Relieve Stress?
• Are Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms and Avoidant Coping Inhibitory Factors?
• What makes Stress and Burnout?
• Can Stress Cause Coronary Heart Disease?
• Can Local Stress Enhancement Induce Stability in Fracture Processes?
• What Cause Students Stress?
• Does Practical Parenting Stress You Out?
• What Does Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Truly Mean?
• Does Elevated Job Stress Affect Smoking Levels?
• What Causes Psychological Stress?
• Does Prolonged Stress Increase the Likelihood of a Stroke?
• Can Music Therapy Improve Stress Anxiety?
• Does Emotional Intelligence Buffer the Effects of Acute Stress?
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IvyPanda. (2024, February 29). 420 Stress Essay Topic Ideas & Examples. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/stress-essay-examples/

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Stress-Free Essay Writing: 11 Techniques to Overcome Stress and Improve Your Writing

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You have (yet) another essay to write, and you feel like you’re losing your mind. There's so much on your plate that you don’t know how or where to start. What’s worse is that the pressure keeps building up!

Writing essays can make you feel like you’re on a hamster wheel – it’s never-ending.

Many students tend to feel anxious and stressed by essays, which impacts their writing quality. However, with a few clever techniques, you can write excellent essays while feeling relaxed and stress-free.

What are signs of anxiety for writers?

Anxiety signs are different for every person. However, common signs include procrastination, self-doubt, and writer's block. When you feel stress and tension while writing, you might stop moving forward. It can cause a vicious cycle of self-doubt and worry, making it challenging to write.

How can I relieve my writing anxiety?

The best way to relieve writing anxiety is to prepare accordingly. Start by breaking down the essay into smaller parts and setting a reasonable deadline for each section. Take regular breaks from writing to stretch and take deep breaths. This allows oxygen to flow freely throughout your body, helping to reduce tension and improve focus.

In this blog post, we'll share eleven techniques to help you overcome stress and improve your essay writing drastically.

1. Understand the topic and purpose of your essay

Before you begin writing, take some time to analyze and interpret the topic and identify the purpose of your essay.

Read relevant materials, such as articles, books, and research papers, to gauge your understanding of the essay topic . This way, you will be clear on the direction you need to take in your writing. It will also help you stay focused when writing and save you time.

Starting to write an essay before understanding the topic and objectives can lead to confusion and stress.

2. Set achievable goals and create a timeline

Writing an essay requires time, so it's essential to set achievable goals and timelines. Decide how many words you intend to write and create a timeline to guide you through the process of researching, writing, and editing.

For instance, you can dedicate a specific time of the day to research and outline. You can also allocate one hour for every 500 words of the essay, depending on the total word count required.

A realistic timeline can help you avoid last-minute stress and ensure enough time to write a high-quality essay.

3. Research well in advance before you start writing

Research is the backbone of any essay. That’s why conducting thorough research for your essays is always essential. Research helps you better understand your topic and positions you to write authoritatively.

Before your start writing, use credible sources such as academic journals and reputable websites to enrich your knowledge of the topic. Remember to take notes while reading to help you organize your thoughts. Researching in advance will reduce anxiety and make the essay-writing process stress-free.

4. Break your essay into manageable parts

Writing an essay can be an uphill task, especially when you try to tackle it as a whole. This is why breaking your essay into manageable parts can be helpful.

Divide your essay into sections such as the introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion . Each section should be focused on a specific aspect of the overall topic. This way, you can concentrate on one section at a time and avoid feeling overwhelmed.

When you finish writing one section, take a short break before starting the next section. Breaking your essay into parts helps you stay organized and focused when writing.

5. Create an outline to guide you through

Outlining is crucial when writing an essay—it helps you organize your thoughts, stay focused, and write faster.

Once you understand the topic and purpose of your essay, research and create an outline, and jot down key points under each section of your essay to guide you through writing the essay.

An outline provides a roadmap of the flow and structure of your essay. It also takes the guesswork off your writing and prevents you from veering off the topic when writing.

6. Connect with other students

One effective way to alleviate stress is to connect with other students. Sharing tips, strategies, and helpful resources with one another can reduce the pressure of essay writing.

Find study groups within your college or join essay writing forums on social media where you can engage with other students. This can help you gain new perspectives and ideas you may not have considered. Additionally, working with other students can promote accountability, which can help you stay on track with your writing.

7. Set aside an appropriate amount of time to write

One of the biggest sources of stress when it comes to essay writing is procrastination.

You might be tempted to put off writing until the last minute, but that can increase your stress levels. To avoid this, set aside an appropriate amount of time to write. Determine how long it usually takes you to complete an essay, then set a schedule, and stick to it.

It may also help to determine what time of day suits you best, whether you are more productive in the morning or at night, and schedule to write your essay during that time.

8. Take regular breaks while writing

Writing for prolonged periods can be counterproductive and negatively affect your writing quality. Conversely, regular breaks can help refresh your mind and enhance creativity.

For a stress-free essay writing experience, try taking a 10-minute break for every hour of writing. During these breaks, avoid sitting in front of your computer and, instead, move around.

Take a short walk outside, do stretching exercises, or simply talk to someone. Such breaks can go a long way in refreshing your mind and body so you can write better.

9. Find a comfortable writing environment

The environment in which you write your essay can significantly impact your productivity and concentration. To overcome stress and write a quality essay, you need to find a comfortable writing environment where you can focus and minimize distractions.

For instance, find a quiet place with little or no disturbance, such as a library study room or a coffee shop, where you can fully concentrate on writing your essay.

10. Get feedback from someone you trust

Getting feedback is one of the most effective ways to improve your writing skills and overcome stress when writing essays.

You can get feedback from a colleague, a friend, a tutor, or even your professor. The feedback you'll get will enable you to make necessary adjustments, understand your weaknesses, and refine your writing style. They can also give you a fresh perspective and highlight what you may have missed while writing.

Getting feedback can help reduce the mental pressure of writing a perfect essay, enabling you to write with ease.

11. Practice, practice, practice!

Finally, remember that writing is a skill you can develop with time and practice. The more essays you write, the more comfortable you will become with writing. You will start to identify the best strategies and techniques for you.

You can start by writing simple essays and gradually increase the complexity. Try to look at each essay as an opportunity to improve your skills. With time, you'll become more confident and be able to write essays in a stress-free way.

How do you relax and write essays?

You can relax by playing soft music and breathing exercises to reduce anxiety before you start writing your essay. Go for a brief walk to get your blood flowing, and also try to find a place that gives you peace of mind. It could help to grab a cup of tea or coffee and settle in. Once you feel mentally and physically relaxed, you can start writing.

How do I gain confidence in my essay writing?

The best way to gain confidence is to write more often. Write every day, even if it's just a few sentences. Seek feedback on your essay writing to help you learn what works and what doesn't. You might also consider taking a writing class or workshop to develop and share skills with other writers. Participating in a writing community can also help build your confidence in writing.

Key takeaway

Essay writing can be stress-free if you approach it with the right mindset and strategy. Even though writing well takes time and patience, writing under stress can affect the quality of your essays. As a result, you’ll earn fewer marks or even miss deadlines.

With the techniques explored in this article, you can reduce stress, overcome writer's block, and improve your writing skills. Remember to work on your confidence and practice self-care consistently.

If you feel too overwhelmed to handle your essays, don’t hesitate to hire a professional essay writer .

With our team of subject-matter experts, we can deliver 100% original, custom-written essays on time and as per your requirements. Whether you need it in 15 days or 5 hours, we have the resources to take away the stress that comes with writing essays and assignments.

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• Stress Essay

IELTS Stress Essay

This is a model IELTS stress essay. It is about stress in modern society and how to prevent it.

It is a causes and solutions type essay. In other words, you have to identify what causes stressand then suggest solutions.

Stress is now a major problem in many countries around the world.

What are some of the factors in modern society that cause this stress and how can we reduce it?

This type of essay lends itself to two body paragraphs - one explaining the causes and the next discussing some possible solutions.

As is important with any IELTS essay, you must always read the question carefully.

The topic is often narrowed down to a particular group of people or topic.

Narrowing Down the Topic

The key here is that ' modern society ' is mentioned.

If you just talk about stress in general but don't connect it to modern society you may be in danger of not fully answering the question .

You need to brainstorm some issues specific to the world we live in today that may result in stress.

What things effect us today that did not (or not too such an extent) 10, 20, 30 years ago?

Using Personal Pronouns

Also, you may notice that ' we ' is used a lot in the stress essay.

Remember an IELTS essay is not quite the same as an academic essay you will normally write. It is can be more personal as you only have your own experience to support your answer with.

You should avoid too many personal pronouns if possible such as ' I ' throughout the essay but you may wish to use this to give your opinion or examples from your own experience at times. This is ok, but don't overdo it.

This question specifically says how can ' we ' reduce it. So it is already making it personal. So it is ok to write about what all of us, or ' we ', can do.

Model Stress Essay

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Write about the following topic:

What are some of the factors in modern society that cause this stress, and how can we reduce it?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own experience or knowledge.

Write at least 250 words.

Stress Essay Model Answer

Stress is a problem that can have detrimental effects on many people’s lives, and there are various factors in modern society responsible for this. However, there are ways to limit the potential impacts.

The modern world we live in today presents us with many issues that we did not have to cope with in the past. Firstly, there are issues of terrorism that we are constantly confronted with in the media. Whether these are real or not, we are led to believe our lives are in constant danger, be it flying on a plane or travelling on public transport. Climate change is another worry that everyone has to face. The results of a significant rise in temperatures could radically affect our ways of life, and our children’s too. There are also more health issues to be concerned about than in the past, with rises in alzheimer’s, diabetes, and stroke to name but a few. All of these concerns can result in stress.

Tackling such problems will not be easy, but there are measures that can be taken. Governments and the media could play their part by ensuring that instead of persistently bombarding us with such negative images and information about the world in which we live, we are given more positive stories too. However, given this is unlikely to happen, we need to develop our own strategies to distract us from these influences. Of course exercising regularly is one thing we should do as this has been shown to increase endorphin levels and lead to feelings of happiness. Sleeping enough helps us to recuperate and restore our body. Finally, eating properly can improve our health and result in less worry about potential diseases.

All in all, although there are many factors around us today which lead to stress, we can take steps to reduce it. Given that the strains we face in modern society will likely get worse, ignoring it is not an option for many people.

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Essay on Museums and Historical Places: This is a causes (or 'reasons') and solutions essay as you have to explain why local people visit these places less than tourists, and then present ways to encourage more local people to visit.

Why do many children have difficulty paying attention in class?

This IELTS essay is about why many children have difficulty paying attention and concentrating in class in school.

Essay: Why are traditional festivals and celebrations disappearing?

IELTS essay on the disappearance of traditional festivals and celebrations - view a model answer and tips on how to answer the question

Why might International travel sometimes make people prejudiced?

This essay is about why international travel might sometimes make people prejudiced rather than broad minded. It's a causes and solutions type IELTS essay.

Global Warming Essay: Why is the planet warming & what can be done?

In this global warming essay you are asked in the question to discuss the causes of global warming and possible solutions for individuals and the government.

Youth Crime Essay: Why is crime involving the young rising in cities?

This youth crime essay considers why crime involving the young is rising in many cities and what measures there are to reduce it.

Why is there a lack of communication between younger and older people?

This IELTS Essay is about the decline in communication between younger and older people in society. It is a causes and solutions type essay question.

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5 Realistic Ways to Manage Stress

April is Stress Awareness Month! With finals right around the corner, this is the perfect time to reflect on our mental health. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) , stress is a state of worry and mental tension caused by a difficult situation.

While stress is completely natural and prompts us to deal with challenges, too much stress can cause a variety of issues , such as concentration issues, stomach pains, difficulty sleeping and more. Check out our tips to manage stress, and finish up the semester feeling confident and at ease!

Keep to a Regular Routine Link

Some of us love change, while others hate it. However, during stressful times, sticking to a daily routine can help you feel more in control. Build your routine around your sleep schedule to ensure you’re rested before starting other tasks. Then, schedule homework, chores, social activities and any other responsibilities you have. Sticking to your schedule will make you feel accomplished and disciplined while also helping with time management.

Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Body Link

Stress is often perpetuated by our own overthinking. We can often think ourselves into a negative spiral, turning a stressful situation into an unbearable one. If you notice your mind and heart racing, take as much time as you need to reconnect yourself to the present moment. Take a few deep breaths, do a quick body scan or engage in some low-intensity yoga. Simply moving your body a small amount can break you out of a negative thought pattern.

Resist the Urge to Isolate Link

If we’re feeling stressed out due to work or school obligations, we may feel guilty if we take a break from work to hang out with our friends and loved ones. However, improving our personal relationships and spending time with those close to us is a common stress management technique. According to WHO , “Connecting with others can lift our mood and help us feel less stressed.”

Be Mindful of Eating Habits Link

Stress can cause a variety of body issues, such as stomach issues and loss of appetite. This often results in eating too much or not eating enough. When we don’t feel well physically, it makes it even more difficult to take care of ourselves mentally. So, while it might feel difficult, it’s incredibly important to stick to a consistent eating schedule in times of stress. If possible, also try to include more fruits and vegetables in your diet during periods of stress.

Check Out Campus Resources Link

If you are having trouble managing stress on your own or just wish to practice stress management in a comfortable group environment, check out the many activities and classes offered by the Barnes Center at The Arch. Classes and activities great for stress management are meditation and mindfulness events , Pet Therapy  and the Crowley Family MindSpa .

We hope these tips will help you handle stress during finals week and beyond. The Peel wishes you the best of luck on your finals and any other future endeavors!

Written By Madison Manczko ’24, S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications

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Late Night Hours for Finals, Spring 2024

Posted in: Homepage Features

As we approach the end of another semester at Montclair State University, we wanted to remind you that the library is here to help you achieve your academic goals and provide opportunities for you to take a break. In addition to research support for papers, presentations, and more, the library is a space for focus as well as relaxation. Come visit us in-person or online!

Extended Late Night Hours

During finals week, from Wednesday, May 1st to Tuesday, May 7th, the library will be open with extended late night hours:

• Wednesday, May 1 – Thursday, May 2 : 8:00 a.m. – Midnight
• Friday, May 3 : 8:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.
• Saturday, May 4 : 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.
• Sunday, May 5: 12:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
• Monday, May 6 – Tuesday, May 7 : 8:00 a.m. – Midnight

24/7 Live Chat

Our 24/7 live chat service stands ready to support you at any hour, staffed by credentialed professionals familiar with academic research. Access the  chat widget  from our website,  research guides , or  library catalog  for immediate assistance.

On Call Reference

To complement our 24/7 Live Chat service and other forms of research support, take advantage of our on-call reference service, available Monday – Friday, 11:00 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.

If you prefer to communicate asynchronously,  ask us a question via email  and a Montclair librarian will respond within 24 business hours.

Research Appointments

For questions that may require a deeper level of support and personalized attention beyond the scope of online chat, we continue to offer  in-person and virtual research appointments  with Montclair librarians. If you have intricate research requirements or prefer direct, face-to-face engagement, you can always arrange a personalized one-on-one session with a librarian.

Study Spaces

As you are finishing up your final papers and studying for your final exams, we know that you may be looking to spend some time in peace and quiet. The library has many quiet and silent study spaces available to you, including private study rooms and study pods that can be  reserved on our website .

Release Your Stress

During this time of year, you may be looking for opportunities to take a break. There are several stress-relief activities you can take advantage of at the library to ease your way into the end of the term, such as:

• Reading an old favorite from the  Juvenile Books  section
• Borrow a board game from the front desk.
• Borrowing a movie from our  DVD collection  or viewing one from our  streaming media collection
• Enjoying a  classic tune on vinyl  in a listening room