Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsWhat Is Stress?Stress Management TherapyBenefitsTypesTips to Reduce StressFinding a TherapistNext in Stress GuideSymptoms of Chronic Stress and Treatments

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

What Is Stress?

Stress Management Therapy

Benefits

Types

Tips to Reduce Stress

Finding a Therapist

Next in Stress Guide

Stress therapy, also known as stress management or stress management therapy, can help people learn to manage stressful situations or feelings. The therapy includes a group of techniques, strategies, or programs that are used to address stressful situations and your stress response to them.

It is common to experiencestressthroughout life, and many people go through phases of high or increased levels of stress. While short periods of slightly increased stress levels may be considered normal, it is important to address high levels of stress and extended periods of increased stress.

This article will discuss stress, types of stress therapy, and how to know if you need stress therapy. It also covers ways you can benefit from it and tips for finding a therapist who suits your needs.

Charday Penn / Getty Images

a man sitting on a sofa who appears stressed, his hands on his head

Stress is a feeling of overwhelm or doubt related to situations or things that happen to us.It is a natural human response to potentially threatening or dangerous situations and can be physical, mental, or emotional. For example, stress can feel like anupset stomach, lots of thoughts racing through the mind, or self-doubt.

Possible Causes of Stress

Many situations or events can cause stress, such as:

Symptoms of Chronic Stress and Treatments

Stress managementtherapy is the use of techniques, strategies, or programs specifically to reduce stress levels, prevent stress, or cope with situations or events that could lead to increased stress levels.Two examples include psychotherapy (talk therapy) for stress and relaxation training.

Stress therapy can be beneficial when someone is:

How Stress Can Increase Your Risk of Heart Disease

Stress Therapy Benefits

There are many benefits of stress therapy, including reducing the risks associated with stress. Negative effects of stress include physical, mental, emotional, and social challenges, and compromised quality of life. Some examples of the negative effects of stress include:

Stress negatively impacts every body system, including digestion, reproduction, bones and muscles, breathing, the heart and circulation, nerves, tissues, organs, and hormones.For example, people who are stressed are likely to havehigh blood pressure.

Stress therapy can help to reduce stress levels, prevent and address these negative effects, boost mood, and increase your quality of life.

Benefits of stress therapy include:

Stress Therapy Types

There are different types of stress management therapy. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), and psychodynamic therapy aretalk therapy methodsthat can focus specifically on stress.

Preventive stress management teaches how to recognize, prepare for, and respond to stressors, such as with coping strategies, and is provided before the stressful event takes place.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Cognitive behavioral therapyis a type of talk therapy commonly used for stress management. This method focuses on the connection between thoughts, feelings or emotions, and behaviors, and how making changes to one can change others, as well as their outcomes.

CBT focuses on identifying faulty thought patterns that impact emotions and behaviors.For example, it may include noticing how the thought of not being good at something can lead to a fear of trying.

There are CBT programs and treatments specifically for stress that can help people change their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in ways that promote relaxation and reduce stress. CBT-based stress management has been found to reduce levels of stress and anxiety, improve psychological well-being, and increase confidence.

Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT)

Mindfulness focuses on awareness of internal thoughts and feelings, as well as external surroundings and environments.For example, it may include focusing on how the sun and breeze feel on your skin or noticing thoughts that pop into your mind.

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapyis a type of talk therapy that combines mindfulness practices such asmeditationwith cognitive behavioral therapy.This method can focus specifically on stress management.

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)

Mindfulness-based stress reduction combines mindfulness techniques with stress management techniques to prevent and address stress. It may includemeditation, relaxation, yoga, body awareness, and other techniques. MBSR has been shown to reduce stress, anxiety, depression, and burnout, and to improve quality of life.

Psychodynamic Therapy

Psychodynamic therapyis a type of talk therapy that explores a person’s past experiences, emotions, and beliefs and their connection to their current mindset. The goals of psychodynamic therapy are to increase a person’s self-awareness and understanding of the influence of the past on present behavior.

This type of therapy may help people understand how their past is influencing their stress and the ways they cope with stress.

Who Needs Stress Therapy?Stress therapy is not only for people with a diagnosis or mental health condition. It can be beneficial for anyone dealing with high levels of stress, experiencing any level of stress for a long period, or going through a challenging life event or transition.Those who anticipate a future stressful life event or transition can benefit from preventive stress management therapy.

Who Needs Stress Therapy?

Stress therapy is not only for people with a diagnosis or mental health condition. It can be beneficial for anyone dealing with high levels of stress, experiencing any level of stress for a long period, or going through a challenging life event or transition.Those who anticipate a future stressful life event or transition can benefit from preventive stress management therapy.

Stress therapy is not only for people with a diagnosis or mental health condition. It can be beneficial for anyone dealing with high levels of stress, experiencing any level of stress for a long period, or going through a challenging life event or transition.

Those who anticipate a future stressful life event or transition can benefit from preventive stress management therapy.

In addition to stress therapy, there are many things people can do to prevent and cope with stress. This can be anything that promotes relaxation, such as:

Some other practices that can help you prevent and manage stress include the following:

Strategies for Stress Relief

Relaxation

Examples of relaxation techniques include:

How to Manage Stress: Top Strategies for Stress Relief

Breathing Techniques

Breathing techniquescan promote relaxation and reduce stress. There are many different breathing techniques that work in different ways. For example,ujjayibreathing, or ocean breathing, is a yoga breathing technique that has been shown to have a relaxing effect and reduce stress.

Breathing techniques for relaxation and stress reduction include:

Psychologists and psychotherapists commonly help people with behavioral changes in response to stress, but other mental health professionals can also help address stress, including:

It is a good idea to make sure the provider works with people to address stress before scheduling an appointment.This information may be available on the provider’s website if they have one, and you can ask when scheduling an appointment.

Mental Health HotlineIf you or a loved one is struggling with stress, contact theSubstance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helplineat800-662-4357for information on support and treatment facilities in your area.

Mental Health Hotline

If you or a loved one is struggling with stress, contact theSubstance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helplineat800-662-4357for information on support and treatment facilities in your area.

Choosing the Right Therapist

Summary

Stress therapy is a group of talk therapy methods, techniques, strategies, or programs to prevent and treat stress. The benefits of stress therapy go beyond stress prevention and reduction and include improved physical, mental, and emotional health and quality of life. Cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, mindfulness-based stress reduction, and psychodynamic therapy are examples of stress therapy methods.

Types of Mental Health Therapy

Bioenergetics: Mind-Body Healing Techniques

18 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Psychological Association.Stress management.Mental Health Foundation.Stress.American Psychological Association.Life events rating scale.American Psychological Association.Stress effects on the body.Sarkar A, Roy D, Chauhan MM, et al.A lay epidemiological study on coexistent stress in hypertension: Its prevalence, risk factors, and implications in patients' lives. J Family Med Prim Care. 2019 Mar;8(3):966-971. doi: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_60_19Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.Manage stress. Health.gov.American Psychological Association.Preventive stress management.American Psychological Association.Cognitive therapy.Jafar HM, Salabifard S, Mousavi SM, Sobhani Z.The effectiveness of group training of cbt-based stress management on anxiety, psychological hardiness and general self-efficacy among university students.Glob J Health Sci. 2016;8(6):47-54. doi:10.5539/gjhs.v8n6p47American Psychological Association.Mindfulness.Brown School of Public Health.What is mindfulness based cognitive therapy?Khoury B, Sharma M, Rush SE, Fournier C.Mindfulness-based stress reduction for healthy individuals: A meta-analysis.Journal of Psychosomatic Research. 2015;78(6):519-528. doi:10.1016/j.jpsychores.2015.03.009National Health Service.10 stress busters.American Heart Association.Spending time in nature to reduce stress and anxiety.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Coping with stress.Harvard Medical School.Six relaxation techniques to reduce stress.Epe J, Stark R, Ott U.Different effects of four yogic breathing techniques on mindfulness, stress, and well-being.OBM Integrative and Complementary Medicine. 2021;6(3):1-1. doi:10.21926/obm.icm.2103031American Psychological Association.How do I find a good therapist?

18 Sources

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Psychological Association.Stress management.Mental Health Foundation.Stress.American Psychological Association.Life events rating scale.American Psychological Association.Stress effects on the body.Sarkar A, Roy D, Chauhan MM, et al.A lay epidemiological study on coexistent stress in hypertension: Its prevalence, risk factors, and implications in patients' lives. J Family Med Prim Care. 2019 Mar;8(3):966-971. doi: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_60_19Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.Manage stress. Health.gov.American Psychological Association.Preventive stress management.American Psychological Association.Cognitive therapy.Jafar HM, Salabifard S, Mousavi SM, Sobhani Z.The effectiveness of group training of cbt-based stress management on anxiety, psychological hardiness and general self-efficacy among university students.Glob J Health Sci. 2016;8(6):47-54. doi:10.5539/gjhs.v8n6p47American Psychological Association.Mindfulness.Brown School of Public Health.What is mindfulness based cognitive therapy?Khoury B, Sharma M, Rush SE, Fournier C.Mindfulness-based stress reduction for healthy individuals: A meta-analysis.Journal of Psychosomatic Research. 2015;78(6):519-528. doi:10.1016/j.jpsychores.2015.03.009National Health Service.10 stress busters.American Heart Association.Spending time in nature to reduce stress and anxiety.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Coping with stress.Harvard Medical School.Six relaxation techniques to reduce stress.Epe J, Stark R, Ott U.Different effects of four yogic breathing techniques on mindfulness, stress, and well-being.OBM Integrative and Complementary Medicine. 2021;6(3):1-1. doi:10.21926/obm.icm.2103031American Psychological Association.How do I find a good therapist?

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

American Psychological Association.Stress management.Mental Health Foundation.Stress.American Psychological Association.Life events rating scale.American Psychological Association.Stress effects on the body.Sarkar A, Roy D, Chauhan MM, et al.A lay epidemiological study on coexistent stress in hypertension: Its prevalence, risk factors, and implications in patients' lives. J Family Med Prim Care. 2019 Mar;8(3):966-971. doi: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_60_19Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.Manage stress. Health.gov.American Psychological Association.Preventive stress management.American Psychological Association.Cognitive therapy.Jafar HM, Salabifard S, Mousavi SM, Sobhani Z.The effectiveness of group training of cbt-based stress management on anxiety, psychological hardiness and general self-efficacy among university students.Glob J Health Sci. 2016;8(6):47-54. doi:10.5539/gjhs.v8n6p47American Psychological Association.Mindfulness.Brown School of Public Health.What is mindfulness based cognitive therapy?Khoury B, Sharma M, Rush SE, Fournier C.Mindfulness-based stress reduction for healthy individuals: A meta-analysis.Journal of Psychosomatic Research. 2015;78(6):519-528. doi:10.1016/j.jpsychores.2015.03.009National Health Service.10 stress busters.American Heart Association.Spending time in nature to reduce stress and anxiety.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Coping with stress.Harvard Medical School.Six relaxation techniques to reduce stress.Epe J, Stark R, Ott U.Different effects of four yogic breathing techniques on mindfulness, stress, and well-being.OBM Integrative and Complementary Medicine. 2021;6(3):1-1. doi:10.21926/obm.icm.2103031American Psychological Association.How do I find a good therapist?

American Psychological Association.Stress management.

Mental Health Foundation.Stress.

American Psychological Association.Life events rating scale.

American Psychological Association.Stress effects on the body.

Sarkar A, Roy D, Chauhan MM, et al.A lay epidemiological study on coexistent stress in hypertension: Its prevalence, risk factors, and implications in patients' lives. J Family Med Prim Care. 2019 Mar;8(3):966-971. doi: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_60_19

Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.Manage stress. Health.gov.

American Psychological Association.Preventive stress management.

American Psychological Association.Cognitive therapy.

Jafar HM, Salabifard S, Mousavi SM, Sobhani Z.The effectiveness of group training of cbt-based stress management on anxiety, psychological hardiness and general self-efficacy among university students.Glob J Health Sci. 2016;8(6):47-54. doi:10.5539/gjhs.v8n6p47

American Psychological Association.Mindfulness.

Brown School of Public Health.What is mindfulness based cognitive therapy?

Khoury B, Sharma M, Rush SE, Fournier C.Mindfulness-based stress reduction for healthy individuals: A meta-analysis.Journal of Psychosomatic Research. 2015;78(6):519-528. doi:10.1016/j.jpsychores.2015.03.009

National Health Service.10 stress busters.

American Heart Association.Spending time in nature to reduce stress and anxiety.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Coping with stress.

Harvard Medical School.Six relaxation techniques to reduce stress.

Epe J, Stark R, Ott U.Different effects of four yogic breathing techniques on mindfulness, stress, and well-being.OBM Integrative and Complementary Medicine. 2021;6(3):1-1. doi:10.21926/obm.icm.2103031

American Psychological Association.How do I find a good therapist?

Meet Our Medical Expert Board

Share Feedback

Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit

Was this page helpful?

Thanks for your feedback!

What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit

What is your feedback?