The Healthiest Ways to Cope With Your Stress

67% of adults said they experienced an increase in stress since the onset of the pandemic. Here are some healthy ways to cope.

Let's take five minutes to see the week in a new light. By Wendy Rose Gould & Amy Morin, LCSW, Editor-in-Chief Top of Mind Stress Awareness Month: Your Healthiest Ways to Cope With Stress    Since 1992, April has been recognized as Stress Awareness Month. The idea is less about remembering that you have stressors in your life—that's easy enough to do—but more about drawing attention to the fact that you're not alone.   It's also a good time to think about ways you can better process and work through stress to improve your health. Stress Levels Are Up  In the APA's annual 2020 survey, published in October, 67% of adults said they experienced an increase in stress since the onset of the pandemic. Of those who said they were experiencing stress: 21% reported increased body tension 20% reported more anger bursts 20% reported increased mood swings 17% said they have yelled at a loved one How Stress Impacts Your Mind & Body  Ongoing stress takes a toll on your physical and mental health. In addition to the symptoms mentioned above, other signs of chronic stress include change in appetite, disorganized thoughts, fatigue, frequent illness or infections, reduced libido, headaches, indigestion, and poor sleep.   If stress and anxiety is left to fester, it can even result in more serious issues, including anxiety disorder, depression, high blood pressure, heart disease, insomnia, and autoimmune disease.   Once you add stress management techniques to your daily routine, this will become preventative care and will help you better manage whatever life throws your way." — RACHEL GOLDMAN, PH.D, FTOS How to Healthily Process Stress The first step in processing stress is acknowledging its presence. From there, you can identify the biggest stressors in your life and work through them. This might be easier with help from a partner, friend, family member, or therapist.   It's also important to incorporate stress relieving practices into your day, such as breathing exercises, physical activity, meditation, and gratitude.   On the Bright Side Ways to Stay Positive This Week What's Inspiring Us Verywell Family Review Board member, Leyla Bilali, RN, says she's really enjoying The Truthiest Life podcast right now. Each episode encourages the listener to "let their human show," and features guests from all walks of life. Are you familiar with sound baths? These sessions consist of healing and calming music played with specific instruments, such as rainmakers, singing bowls, and chimes. In-person sound baths are wonderful, and many are held outdoors. You can also listen to recordings on YouTube. Try Healing Vibrations' "Release Anxiety & Tension" sound bath, which features crystal singing bowls. Ways to Nurture Your Mind and Body Today, set aside 10 minutes to do some reflection journaling, a technique developed by Liberate Studio. Here's how to get started: With a journal and pen in hand, create five columns and title them sight, sound, taste, smell, and touch. For five minutes, take in your surroundings, writing down the things that bring you joy in each category. Maybe it's the taste of coffee or tea, the sight of flowers out your window, the soft feel of a blanket or pillow, or the smell of a candle. Draw a star over the column(s) that you seemed to focus on most, and a heart over the column you focused on the least. Noting this can give you a better idea of the sense you're most in tune with, and the sense you can give more love to. Underline the items that showed up across multiple senses. For example, maybe it's the smell and sight of flowers. Acknowledge the joy these things bring to your life. Products to Help You Feel Your Best From adult coloring books to weighted blankets to essential oil pens, Verywell editors say these are the 12 best stress relief products of 2021. The Anti-Anxiety Notebook is a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) journal designed by therapists. It helps you track emotions, identify thought patterns, and grow over time to specifically reduce anxiety and manage stress. With mindful movement a top priority, Jollie sells beautiful yoga mats for adults and children so you can improve your practice together. With every mat purchased, one is donated to a pediatric cancer patient and 5% of every purchase is also donated to yoga therapy programs or pediatric cancer patients.   The Latest From The Verywell Mind Podcast   Why You Should Give Second Chances With Purple Heart Recipient Craig Grossi and Fred Craig Grossi bonded with a stray dog named Fred when he served in Afghanistan. When his deployment was up, he smuggled Fred back to the United States. And now, they're onto a new adventure helping train service dogs in the Maine State Prison. Craig talks about friendship, forgiveness, and the importance of giving people second chances.   Friday Fix: The First Step in Taming Your Anxiety You can't always control the way your body initially reacts to stress. But, you can choose what to do when your heart races and your blood pressure rises. Here's the very first step you should take to tame your anxiety.    Tune in to tomorrow's episode to hear from Melissa Bernstein, the co-founder of Melissa & Doug toys, as she talks about how she's combating depression.   Subscribe Now: Apple Podcasts / Spotify / Google Podcasts / RSS Read These Next How to Instantly Lift Your Mood READ NOW What Stress Management Techniques Are the Best for You? READ NOW Stress Relief Apps That Can Transform Your Life READ NOW Spread the Light Share the newsletter with someone you know to make their day a little brighter. SHARE We're open to suggestions! 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