What are your best techniques to counter stress?

I compartmentalize - I can only worry about so many things at once and generally, everything isnt happening at once, so I put the other things away in their compartment.

Now, I will say that in March, when dh and I had covid, I then had a rebound case, dh's identity was stolen, dh received a jury summons and his stepdad's health took a sharp decline, I had a hard time tucking any of that away. I just kept reminding myself that all of it was going to work out the way it was meant to and that worrying wasnt going to change anything. Did it work? Nah, but we got through it and now the worries are more manageable.

I am bookmarking this thread because I need ideas.

The last six weeks of the school year is insane (4 kids) and all I want to do is look forward to June 20th (last day of school) and crash and do nothing and DH has planned a trip on Memorial Day weekend (in the middle of the chaos), and another on June 24th (trip to celebrate dd graduating), and another one in early July (because the one for dd's graduating wasn't "special enough"). I keep trying to foist all the crap I have to do off on DH and he keeps adding more to the list.

Anyway, I'm going to watch this thread because looking at my calendar is giving me anxiety...

Hang in there!

I am learning …
Gratitude journal, even if things re going wrong, there are things to be thankful for. Or even journaling in general.

2 deep breaths in and a slow exhale for 2-3 times to
Calm your brain.

I think walks will help too

I am sorry things are stressful, but remember this will pass.

Honestly, a nap. I've been this way my entire life. Even a short, 20 minute snooze helps clear my head. When I was teaching, I'd come home and take a short nap just about each day. I wasn't tired, I just needed to let go of the events of the day.

For me it's crafting.  Whether I actually make a card, just play with a stamp set, watch a crafting video or even organize my stash.  This just helps me calm down and turn my mind off of the stressful thing.  Buying craft supplies also helps. 

Acupuncture!

I compartmentalize very well. Like really well. I also am pretty good about prioritizing. One thing that also works for me is asking will this matter to me tomorrow, next week, next year? Sleep is also so important for women. I don't always (rarely) sleep well, but I do give myself time in bed to actually sleep if I can.

ETA: I also can find humor in so many things that others don't.  I don't often share it because it makes others think I don't care, but it helps keep my mind in a more positive space.

Jot down what is stressing me out and make a plan. Focus on what I can change and gather info for the more difficult things or things I may not be able to change right now.

Take a walk with the kids or Toby

Write down to do list and prioritize items.

Do a brain dump and schedule things out.

Craft

Photo walk

Snuggle/play with Toby

Go to bed at 8pm

Spend less time on my phone

Cook/bake (chopping is a good stress relief or me)

Call my mom

Talk to dh

These are the things that help me. Sometimes one, sometimes more than one....at any given time.

Breath work. Doing my own version of meditating.

Immersing myself in something I enjoy doing (scrapbooking, reading, having a cup of hot tea).

Walking. Helps me think things through and clear my mind.

Writing in my journal. Getting the feelings out of me and on paper, is a mental and emotional release for me.

Quiet time. I have sensory issues. After the noises of the day (especially if it's been a really long day out in public), which sometimes causes me stress.....I need to sit in the quiet and decompress.

I call myself a recovering control freak, so I totally get this.

I find it helps me to make lists, to plan out what to do and when, if I can. I love crossing things off of lists so I’ll even add items that I forgot and have already done. It helps me to see that I am accomplishing tasks or have finished with something, even if it’s only one step of many. I even put things like social events on my list, along with appointments and tasks. And if the list is long and daunting, I can review it when I’ve got a minute and see if there is something I can knock off quickly if I just do it now. Every item crossed off yields a little bit of satisfaction and control.

Other things that help: time outside in the fresh air and green surroundings, mindlessly watering the lawn or plants, watching a video I enjoy, crafting, doing a jigsaw puzzle, going for a drive, talking to someone. Some of these things allow my mind to kind of keep working on things in the background and I often end up with a solution to a problem or a plan of action.

If time is really short, even a few minutes to just sit and do nothing, or to enjoy a cold or hot drink, some ice cream or another treat, can provide a little breathing space. And planning ahead to something pleasurable, like a reward when this tough time passes, can be a little mental escape.

This has been the most challenging year of my life so far and I cope in the following ways:

1.    Take one day at a time.
2.    I don't think about what should have been done to avoid where things are now.  It's unproductive.
3.    Positive attitude.  This is the hardest because I am kind of a pessimist when it comes big things and we're dealing with big things over here.
4.    Take care of myself: make sure I get enough sleep, rest/stop when I need to and try to eat better.  
5.    Ask for help if you can. 

I hope things ease up for everyone dealing with a lot right now. 

Breathing
Walking
Exercise
Writing
Reading
EFT tapping

I use my apple watch mindfulness to remind myself to take time to breathe. But if you can do actual meditation, that's great too, there are some guided ones available online or thru podcasts. But moving usually helps, so walking, exercise or cleaning. I also find I feel better when I am in the midst of reading or listening to an audiobook, so I guess that is more like escapism. I try to remind myself that I've been thru hard things before. The EFT tapping is one I learned in cancer support group and again with a different counselor. It works for me, you can look online for how to do it, but basically tapping points on the body associated with emotions and repeating positive affirmations. I find it helps with my anxiety and too long to-do lists.

Take care of yourself first... it is true that you can't pour from an empty cup.

We do this a lot, too. We call it gallows humor.

Medical marijuana.    Especially the strain Mai Tai. Love that strain. 

Seriously though, stress is one of my biggest triggers for migraines. I smoke every day and it's been nothing short of miraculous as far as preventing migraines. I went from having 25 migraines a month down to 4-6 a month since I started using medical marijuana 4 years ago. I've had migraines for 43 years and 8 years ago they became chronic. After trying every pharmaceutical medication available that my neurologist thought might work for me, she suggested I try medical marijuana 4 years ago. The results have happily shocked me. 

It helps to abort (kill) a migraine too. I take gummies for that, although since it takes so long to take effect (has to go through my digestive system first) I smoke first and I feel pain relief within 4 minutes. 

Probably not the advice you were looking for, but you did say "any help is appreciated".