The Stress Management Strategies You Already Know (But Don't Use)
A survey of readers revealed the top stress reducers that actually work. None of them will surprise you — and that's exactly the problem.
We often focus on our physical selves: healthy eating, hydration, exercise. Our mental selves? Usually ignored until something breaks.
I spent a lot of time last July reflecting on my own personal and professional triggers. I can’t control other people’s actions, but I can control my reactions. And sometimes I lack awareness of what I’m actually feeling — which makes talking it out with my partner, my children, my friends, my co-workers much harder than it needs to be.
The survey
In a recent newsletter — what I lovingly call my museletter — I asked readers what actually helps them reduce stress. Three answers rose to the top, and none of them will surprise you.
- Sleep
- Exercise
- Talking it out
That’s it. That’s the list. No supplements, no apps, no twelve-step protocols. The things that work are the things we already know work. The problem is we don’t actually do them.
Why we skip the obvious
Here’s what I’ve noticed: the most effective stress strategies are almost always the simplest ones, and the simplest ones are almost always the ones we dismiss as “too basic to really help.”
Sleep feels indulgent when you’re behind. Exercise feels like one more obligation when you’re already tired. Talking it out feels vulnerable when you’re already overwhelmed. So we reach for the complicated answer instead — and complicated answers rarely stick.
The first conversation
The first open and honest conversation we need to have isn’t with our partner, our boss, or our therapist. It’s with ourselves.
Get clear on the emotion you’re feeling, and the why behind it. Journaling helps with this. Just write — you’re not being graded. Writing can have a cathartic effect, and seeing the feelings on paper makes them easier to name.
Once you’re clear on the emotion and the why, you don’t necessarily have to talk it out with whoever triggered you. You don’t have to confront your partner or your boss the moment the feeling surfaces. Talk it out with a friend first. Hear yourself say it out loud. Often the process of naming it is 80% of the work.
The simplest prescription
If you’re looking for a stress management plan that actually works, here it is:
- Sleep enough tonight. Not perfectly — just enough.
- Move your body tomorrow. Not intensely — just enough.
- Talk to someone this week. Not a professional necessarily — just someone who knows you.
The people who do these three things consistently feel better than the people who collect productivity hacks. That’s just what the data — and my own life — keeps showing.
Tina Varughese speaks on workplace wellbeing, belonging, and inclusive leadership. Book her for your event or explore her keynote topics.