What are 12 ways to deal with stress?

A few years ago, I was so stressed out I wasn’t sure I wanted to be alive. Up to that point, I had paid lip service to stress management, implicitly seeing it as something I didn’t have time for.

When I finally realized the toll that stress was taking on me, I knew I needed to get serious about taming it.

Many of us are feeling overwhelmed by stress these days, whether related to the pandemic, our finances, war and suffering around the world, or the day-to-day demands of being alive.

Stressful situations examples

Whatever the source, I lean heavily on three research-based ways to manage stress. They come from mindful cognitive behavioraltherapy (MCBT), and I summarize the three components as “Think Act Be.”

Think, the cognitive part of MCBT, helps us challenge the thoughts that drive stress.

With the Act component, the “behavioral” in MCBT, we lower stress by doing (or not doing) certain activities. And through Be, the mindfulness part of mindful CBT, we practice being in the moment and letting go of resistance to our circumstances.

Here are seven techniques

how to handle difficult situations in life interview questions

how to deal with stressful situations in life