10 Real-World Tips To Reduce High Stress (At Work Or Home)

• Mar 12, 2025 • Read in ~17 mins

— By Dr. Sandip Roy.

The strategies you’ll read here go beyond the usual stress-reduction tips. Most can bring noticeable relief within a day.

Modern life keeps us on edge. The constant notification pings, tight deadlines, and endless duties have made stress our constant companion.

Experts say stress is a normal response to daily pressures, but not all stress is bad. Some stress, known as eustress or “good stress,” pushes us to take action and perform better.

But when stress becomes constant or overwhelming, the American Psychological Association (APA) calls it distress or “bad stress.” This kind of stress can disrupt daily life, cloud judgment, trigger impulsive acts like gambling, and even rage out in frustration or defiance.

So, how do you manage distress? These 10 strategies can help you lower stress—whether at work or home.

10 Real-World Tips To Reduce High Stress

First, let’s set aside the usual ways to handle stress: listening to music, reading a book, watching movies, pampering yourself, going out shopping, going on a holiday, getting good sleep, eating comfort foods, and joining relaxation programs.

Now, let’s go beyond those usual suggestions:

1. Take A Walk (Ideally in a Natural Setting)

Walking is one of the simplest ways to ease stress and lift your mood.

Walking produces a positive mood, even when you are expecting the opposite. Krizan & Miller discovered that a specific type of walking—called “incidental ambulation” (walking from one place to another without focusing on it)—naturally enhances mood, and even dials down boredom and fear.

A 2016 study found that just 12 minutes of walking increased feelings of happiness, energy, focus, and self-confidence—benefits not seen in those who sat and watched a slideshow.

So, if you want to relax and clear your mind, step outside for a 15- to 20-minute brisk walk.

Why does it work?

• First, removing yourself from a tense environment gives your brain a break.
• Second, walking increases oxygen-rich blood flow to the brain, helping you think more clearly.
• Third, brisk walking triggers the release of endorphins (feel-good chemicals) while reducing cortisol (a key stress hormone).

Walking also improves brain function. A 2017 study found walking sends pressure waves through arteries that increase blood supply to the brain.

Beyond stress relief, a brisk walk can reduce overthinking and improve your memory. Aerobic exercises stimulate the hippocampus, the brain’s memory center, helping you stay mentally sharp.

And then, there’s shinrin-yoku. It’s a Japanese word that translates as forest bathing. Shinrin means “forest,” and yoku means “bath,” so shinrin-yoku means bathing in the forest atmosphere.

Studies show shinrin-yoku can boost our immunity by increasing our body’s Natural Killer (NK) activity.

2. Practice Diaphragmatic Breathing

Deep breathing is one of the fastest ways to calm your mind and body in a stressful situation.

The American Institute of Stress calls focused breathing a “Super Stress Buster,” as it triggers the body’s natural relaxation response.

Diaphragmatic breathing—also called belly breathing—engages the diaphragm, the muscle separating the chest and abdomen. This type of breathing stimulates the vagus nerves, which lowers stress hormones, slows the heart rate, and relaxes you.

Another wonderful thing happens when you take a few deep breaths — it creates a few seconds of space before you react. Those seconds let you process your emotions and choose a rational response instead of an impulsive one.

As Victor Frankl, the Holocaust survivor psychologist and author of Man’s Search for Meaning, said:

“Between stimulus and response, there is a space.
In that space lies our freedom and power to choose our response.
In our response lies our growth and freedom.”

The next time you get into a stressful situation, pause and take a few deep breaths.

3. Take the Proactive Coping Approach

Proactive coping is a key concept in positive psychology.

In this, you focus on preventing stress before it happens. You prepare much in advance to avoid a stressful situation, instead of letting the stress become real and then managing it.

People who use proactive coping have a clear vision of the future. They anticipate risks, challenges, and opportunities—not as looming threats but as chances to build resources. Over time, it helps them find their way around obstacles and keep moving toward their goals.

Research supports its benefits. Gan, Yang, et al. (2007) found that proactive coping predicts higher life satisfaction, functional independence, and engagement. Schwarzer and Taubert (2002 describe it as a method for assessing future goals and setting the stage for success.

Proactive coping is like buying an umbrella before it rains. You create a buffer against stress instead of constantly reacting to it.

Some examples:

• Getting enough sleep daily to avoid mental exhaustion
• Exercising and eating well to prevent stress-related diseases
• Avoiding harmful habits like smoking or excessive drinking
• Staying optimistic and focusing on what can be controlled

Aspinwall and Taylor (1997) break proactive coping into five stages:

1. Resource Accumulation – Gathering tools and support before stress arises (like stocking up on essentials before a storm).
2. Recognizing Potential Stressors – Identifying future challenges early (like spotting dark clouds in the distance).
3. Initial Appraisal – Evaluating how those challenges might impact you (like checking the weather forecast).
4. Preliminary Coping Efforts – Taking action to minimize stress before it escalates (like setting up flood barriers before heavy rain).
5. Feedback and Adjustment – Assessing if your strategies work and making improvements as needed (like reinforcing defenses when the storm arrives).

Stephanie Jean Sohl and Anne Moyer write,

Aspiring for a positive future rather than preventing a negative one is distinctly predictive of well-being.

4. Forgive others, and yourself too

Resentments are storehouses of stress. Chronic anger keeps you in fight-or-flight mode.

Unforgiveness, which is reflected as anger, hate, and resentment, creates stress within a person and in situations when they interact with others.

Several studies show forgiveness comes with more happiness, better mental well-being, improved physical health, and less depression.

Forgiveness is an effective coping mechanism. It can reduce the effects and the feelings of stress linked with an unforgiving state.

McCullough and his team found an increase in forgiveness linked to a decrease in rumination. Rumination is overthinking past events, which can result from stress and lead to anxiety or depression.

A study on 332 young, middle-aged, and older adults over five weeks showed forgiveness significantly reduced stress. The researchers behind the Forgiveness, Stress, and Health: a 5-Week Dynamic Parallel Process Study write:

“Forgiveness may be a form of coping that helps alleviate perceptions of stress that contribute to poor mental health.”

It is not always easy to forgive. But forgiving is for your own benefit—to reduce your toxic stress—not for the other person’s sake. When you forgive, you decide to let go of your negative feelings.

• Find Out What Forgiveness Is Not (And What It Actually Is).

Your forgiveness is not dependent on whether the offender deserves it or not. You do not even have to let the person know you forgave them.

Forgiveness is not letting someone “off the hook.” It is freeing yourself—releasing your anger, bitterness, and urge to get revenge.

Forgiveness is a dynamic process.

• All of your forgiveness does not have to come at one time.
• You can forgive your offender a little today, and more later.
• Also, forgiving them today does not stop you from withdrawing your forgiveness in the future.

Forgiveness is a choice you are making. And you are the one to get its benefit.

And forgive yourself, too. Self-forgiveness is letting yourself move ahead of your past wrongdoings.

Why It’s Hard To Forgive Yourself? How Can You Do It?

All of us, at least once in our life, have behaved badly and felt guilty later. It might have caused you to dislike yourself, believe you are not worthy of trust or love, devalue your self-esteem, or even suffer a disturbed mind.

To deal with the effects of your previous choices and move ahead, you must forgive yourself.

5. Practice the Stoicism philosophy

Stoicism flourished for nearly five centuries in Ancient Greece and Rome. And the influence of Stoicism has endured to the present day.

Stoicism In A Nutshell: A Short Summary In 500 Words

Stoics hold that peace of mind comes from understanding and giving our attention to only what we can control. They believe we can only control our thoughts, attitudes, and responses. We cannot control what lies outside ourselves.

But if we try to control the external elements, or the outside event itself, we would only waste our emotional and physical energy. This idea is somewhat similar to the phenomenon of ‘cognitive control,’ the belief that you can control your reaction to an event.

According to Donald Robertson, author of How To Think Like A Roman Emperor, most modern forms of self-help are ultimately indebted to the Stoics, as is cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), the leading evidence-based form of psychotherapy.

The Stoics also kept death in their thoughts.

Not to live as if you had endless years ahead of you. Death overshadows you. While you’re alive and able – be good.

— Marcus Aurelius, a Stoic philosopher and one of the greatest Roman emperors

So, remind yourself that you and others, with all the successes and possessions, are ultimately ephemeral. None and nothing will last. Simply ask yourself, “Will it matter in a year?”

You might want to catch our little post on how to be a Stoic in today’s times: Beginner’s Guide To Learn Stoicism.

6. Be mindful for some time today

In modern life, we do not have as many physical dangers as the perceived ones. We no more face fierce predators like tigers or dire threats such as famines. But we still react to non-life-threatening situations with stress.

As soon as our mind gauges any situation as physically hazardous, our bodies jump into stress mode. Mindfulness helps us observe the situation curiously and accept it without jumping to judgments.

Learn to focus on the present moment of your life. For most of our waking moments, our minds are wandering in a state of mindlessness.

Mind wandering takes us to our past or future and often results in unhelpful thought patterns, like regretting or worrying.

Mindfulness brings us to the here-and-now experience, relieving us of stress arising from past or present life events. Mindfulness helps us let go of the stresses related to events that have happened or are yet to happen.

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), a program developed by Professor Jon Kabat-Zinn, involves becoming an impartial witness to one’s own experience and acceptance of things as they actually are in the present moment.

Researchers have shown that MBSR can reduce anxiety levels by 58% and stress by 40%.

According to Kabat-Zinn, the basis of MBSR is mindfulness—the “moment-to-moment, non-judgmental awareness.”

• “Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.” — Thich Nhat Hanh
• “Few of us ever live in the present. We are forever anticipating what is to come or remembering what has gone.” — Louis L’Amour
• “Be happy in the moment, that’s enough. Each moment is all we need, not more.” — Mother Teresa

7. Do at least one thing you enjoy

Indulge in a healthy behavior you enjoy. Simply doing something you love doing can reduce the stress of your day-to-day life.

• Take a walk in the park with your loved one.
• Thank a person you haven’t thanked in years.
• Help someone get a little more out of their life.
• Go to a show at the planetarium to feel the awe of seeing the creation of the universe.
• Meet a person a few levels below you to tell them how much their work means to the company.

• Do something that is pure fun, that you would do for no other reason than you would enjoy it (without harassing or harming others).
• Want to dance like no one’s watching you? Then perform for yourself. By the way, you can increase your happiness with a smile on your face, even if it’s a fake one.
• Want to make funny faces in the mirror? Go ahead.

Stop stopping yourself from having fun. Do at least one thing today that you would genuinely enjoy.

8. Show empathy towards others

Empathize with people who you think are causing you stress.

Remember, everyone is fighting their own battles. When you see them with compassion, you no longer believe they are stressing you out. You rather find they are doing their best to relieve their own stress.

Empathy takes the stress out of a confrontation. Empathy produces oxytocin, “the love hormone.”

Psychologist Arthur Ciaramicoli in his book The Stress Solution argues empathic listening may be the key to reducing stress in our lives. He says,

“Empathy means seeing human beings as always changing and evolving; so you don’t want to judge and shut the person down.”

Remember, change begins with you. Change your paradigms. Your paradigms are the “lenses” through which you see the world.

Start the change in yourself by treating others with more empathy. Show yourself some self-love.

9. Put down your burden and rest

Keep down your heavy bag of stress and give yourself a break.

If it seems too difficult to put away your worries and anxieties, assure yourself it is only for a little while that you are putting it down. Tell yourself you can pick it up again whenever you want to.

Having to deal with continual stress can become overwhelming. It is especially true when you are dealing with many difficult challenges at home, like juggling kids and work while working from home.

Your body cries for a break at such times. Are you paying attention to it, or are you dismissing it because you are too preoccupied with your worries?

Listen to your body and take a break. Taking breaks refreshes your mind and re-energizes your body. Frequent breaks can help reduce and even prevent musculoskeletal pains and eyestrain.

Taking regular breaks from work can also help you improve your relationships.

Choose a way to let your mind move away from a stressful state, like doing some stretches, exercising for a while, visualizing taking a warm bath, watching a relaxing movie, recalling joyful memories, and playing a sport you love.

Do you know the story of the psychologist who held out a glass of water to his class and asked, “How heavy is this?” Of course, the answers were in numbers—ounces and pounds.

The psychologist finally explained it doesn’t matter how much the glass or the water weighs. What matters, and determines how heavy it is, is how long the person holds it.

“If I hold it for an hour, my arm will ache. If I hold it for a day, my arm will feel numb and paralyzed. The weight of the glass stays the same, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.”

So, stop holding your “total stress load” for a while. Permit yourself to ease your mind off the burden by taking a break, and a rest.

Remember to put down your glass from time to time.

10. Connect with people who care

Staying connected with your friends, family, and community is the biggest and the best predictor of our happiness.

Robert Sapolsky, the world-famous neurologist, says:

The single best predictor of an ability to deal well with stress is how socially connected you are.

• Reconnect with your friends if you find you have drifted apart. Keep them in the loop about what new things are happening in your life.
• Plan a get-together with your old friends. Stay connected to each other via social media, email, and messengers.
• Connect with your family and relatives without work pressures.
• Arrange a picnic or a party exclusively for them. As you connect, remind yourself to talk openly and honestly. Tell them of your unspoken expectations from the relationship and urge them to do the same.
• Another part of successful connections is accepting other people as they are. And not forcing them to conform to your standards and judgments of what they should be.

Instead of trying to improve them, or make them someone different, try valuing and loving them.

Studies prove if we have close social relationships, then we tend to have happier lives. Follow the science on this and keep your stress at bay.

Most Common Causes of Stress At Work

Here is a table of some of the most common causes of stress at work:

Stress In Psychology

In psychology, stress is typically understood as an interaction between a person and their environment. Researchers study stress from three main perspectives:

1. Response-Based Perspective
   When someone says, “I feel a lot of stress,” they’re usually referring to their body’s response to an unpleasant situation. Hans Selye described this reaction as general adaptation syndrome (GAS), which unfolds in three stages:
   • Alarm Stage: The body activates the sympathetic nervous system, triggering the fight-or-flight response.
   • Resistance Stage: If stress continues, the body attempts to adapt, maintaining a heightened state of alertness.
   • Exhaustion Stage: Prolonged stress depletes the body’s resources, leading to burnout, illness, depression, or even death.
2. Stimulus-Based Perspective
   When someone says, “I have a stressful marriage,” they’re referring to the situation itself, not their response to it. This approach sees stress as an external event that places unique demands on a person, straining their coping resources.
3. Cognitive-Transactional Perspective
   This widely accepted model views stress as an ongoing process driven by how a person appraises demands and their ability to cope. Stress is not just about external events or physical responses—it’s shaped by how we interpret and react to challenges. This approach highlights the dynamic interaction between the individual and their environment.

Final Words

Too much stress can lead to physical illnesses like obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, brain strokes, heart conditions, and Alzheimer’s disease. And mental illnesses like anxiety, depression, insomnia, and burnout at work.

Let’s end this with a quote from Epictetus, the Greek slave who became a respected teacher of Stoicism, “Men are disturbed, not by things, but the views which they take of them.”

Nearly 2300 years later, the Hungarian-Canadian endocrinologist Selye noted, “It’s not what happens to you that matters, but how you take it.”

So, our stress is the result of our interpretation and reaction to a threat, not from the threat itself.

√ Also Read: How Does Food Make You Happy (Happiest Foods List)

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