11 Ways to Cope With Stress

Stress is influenced not only by what happens to us but also by how we interpret a situation and evaluate our ability to handle it (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). Although we may not be able to remove every source of stress, we can choose healthy responses that restore calm, energy, and perspective. Drawing on LeAnn Thieman’s practical suggestions, the following 11 strategies can help.

1. Smile Intentionally

Even when you do not feel like smiling, try holding a gentle smile for about 30 seconds. This simple action may help interrupt tension and shift your emotional state.

2. Practice Relaxation Breathing

Slow, deep breathing helps calm the body and reduce physical tension. Breathe in gently, pause briefly, and exhale slowly.

3. Visualize a Calm Response

Picture yourself handling the stressful situation with patience, confidence, and self-control. Mental rehearsal can prepare you to respond rather than react.

4. Take a Time-Out

Step away briefly when emotions become intense. Listen to calming music, enjoy humor, sit in silence, or engage in another peaceful activity.

5. Exercise

Physical movement helps release built-up tension. Walking, stretching, climbing stairs, or doing a short workout can restore energy and focus.

6. Spend Time Outdoors

Fresh air and contact with nature can clear the mind. Even a brief outdoor walk may provide distance from repetitive and stressful thoughts.

7. Pray

Prayer can create an inner space for reflection, surrender, and renewed strength. It helps us place our concerns within a larger perspective.

8. Eat Nutritiously

Stress can easily disrupt healthy eating habits. Balanced meals, adequate protein, and regular nourishment help the body maintain energy and emotional stability.

9. Get Enough Sleep

Rest is essential during stressful periods. Adequate sleep supports clearer thinking, emotional regulation, and physical recovery.

10. Sing

Singing can lift the spirit and provide emotional release. It reconnects us with joy, hope, and creativity.

11. Share Your Feelings

Talk with someone you trust or write your thoughts in a journal. Naming what you feel often reduces its intensity and brings greater clarity.

Coping with stress does not mean denying difficulty. It means recognizing that we still have choices. Small, repeated acts of self-care can help us move from feeling overwhelmed to feeling more grounded, supported, and capable.

Notes

Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. Springer.

Thieman, L. (2008). SelfCare for HealthCare: Your guide to physical, mental, and spiritual health. SelfCare for HealthCare.

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11 Ways to Cope With Stress

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“No One Cares”: A Spiritual Symptom of Stress

LeAnn Thieman identifies the thought “No one cares” as a spiritual symptom of stress. This is more than frustration or physical exhaustion. It reflects a deeper wound: the feeling that one’s efforts, pain, and presence no longer matter.

Caregivers, whether professionals serving their clients or family members caring for a sick relative, are especially vulnerable to this experience. They spend much of their time attending to others’ needs, often neglecting their own emotional and spiritual well-being. When appreciation is absent, support is limited, and responsibilities continue to increase, they may begin to feel invisible. The question beneath “No one cares” may actually be, “Does my life and service have meaning?”

Viktor Frankl offers an important psychological insight here. He believed that the search for meaning is one of the deepest human needs. People can endure suffering and difficulty when they remain connected to a purpose, a person, or a value greater than themselves. However, when meaning becomes clouded, stress can turn into emptiness, resentment, or despair.

Christian Scripture responds directly to this spiritual wound: “Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). The verse does not deny the burden. It invites the caregiver to stop carrying it alone. Even when human recognition is absent, God’s care remains present.

Frankl does not suggest that people should simply tolerate unhealthy conditions. Rather, he reminds us that even when circumstances cannot immediately be changed, we can still choose how we respond. We can reconnect with the values that first inspired our service, seek relationships in which we are genuinely seen, and recognize that our worth is not determined by how much praise we receive.

The feeling that “no one cares” should not be ignored. It may be an invitation to pause, receive care, speak honestly, and rediscover meaning. Sometimes healing begins when we remember that the caregiver, too, is held in care.

Notes

Frankl, V. E. (2006). Man’s search for meaning. Beacon Press. (Original work published 1946). 

Thieman, L. (2012). SelfCare for HealthCare: Your guide to physical, mental, and spiritual health. Priority Publishing. 

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No One Cares”: A Spiritual Symptom of Stress

Explore this theme in three different formats—each offering a unique way to reflect and engage:

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When Assumptions Become Suffering

Much of our suffering does not come only from what happened. It comes from what we assume happened.

Don Miguel Ruiz warns that the mind quickly fills in what it does not know. We assume that someone is angry with us, does not value us, or intentionally ignores us. We may also expect people who love us to automatically know what we need. Then, when they fail to meet expectations we never clearly expressed, we feel hurt, rejected, or resentful.

The deeper problem is that we often treat our assumptions as facts.

Psychiatrist Aaron Beck, one of the founders of cognitive therapy, described a similar pattern. He identified “mind reading” as a cognitive distortion—the tendency to believe that we know what another person is thinking without enough evidence. A delayed reply becomes “They do not care.” A tired expression becomes, “They are upset with me.” A disagreement becomes “They do not respect me.”

Once the assumption takes hold, our emotions begin responding to the story as though it were true. We may become anxious, angry, defensive, or distant—not because of what the other person actually intended, but because of the meaning we assigned to the situation.

Jesus offers a corrective when he says, “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment” (John 7:24). Right judgment requires more than a first impression. It asks us to pause, listen, seek clarity, and remain open to the possibility that our interpretation may be incomplete.

This is both a spiritual and psychological discipline. Before reacting, we can ask: What do I actually know? What am I only assuming? Is there another possible explanation? Have I spoken honestly with the person involved?

Assumptions close the heart around a story. Truth opens the heart to reality.

Wisdom begins when we replace assumption with curiosity, accusation with conversation, and appearance with truth.

Notes

Beck, A. T. (1976). Cognitive therapy and the emotional disorders. International Universities Press.

Ruiz, D. M. (1997). The four agreements: A practical guide to personal freedom. Amber-Allen Publishing.