20 Effective Stress-Management Activities and Worksheets

With scattered thoughts, sweaty palms, and my heart beating like a drum, I glance at the door and cannot remember anything I prepared.

The interview is in 10 minutes, yet I want to run away.

Sound familiar?

Fear and anxiety lead to stress responses—cognitive, physical, and behavioral.

Deeply embedded and automatic, they evolved to provide humans with warnings, guiding present and future behavior while attempting to maintain a relatively stable internal state known as homeostasis (Brosschot et al., 2016; Varvogli & Darviri, 2011).

However innate these responses may be, there are ways to manage the stress you perceive.

This article offers our favorite stress-management activities and worksheets to help you deal with whatever challenge lies in your path.

Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our five positive psychology tools for free. These science-based exercises will equip you and those you work with, with tools to manage stress better and find a healthier balance in your life.

A Note on Stress-Management Approaches

Stress, or rather the perception of stressors, can be managed, and there are ways to do so:

• Preparation increases our sense of control and improves confidence.
• Relaxation reduces anxiety and restores focus.
• Maintaining physical health via a healthy lifestyle, balanced diet, and exercise underpins overall mental wellbeing.

Another way to cope with stress is to reframe our perception of it.

Rather than see it as unwelcome and to be avoided, pressure can provide an essential opportunity for development and learning. Viewed as an opportunity to thrive, stress can be the motivation to perform at our very best and adopt a growth mindset (Lee et al., 2016).

In what follows, we will point you toward a range of useful worksheets and tools you can use to help your clients better manage stress.

Our 3 Favorite Stress-Management Worksheets

A 2022 report found that in the UK alone, 17 million working days were lost due to stress, depression, and anxiety.

But help is at hand.

Multiple, evidence-based stress reduction techniques have been shown to lower stress levels, “resulting in a reduction of disease symptoms, lowering of biological indicators of disease, prevention of disease and improvement of patient’s quality of life” (Varvogli & Darviri, 2011, p. 80).

Many of these techniques are described below and will help you to manage stress in your life.

1. Breath Awareness

Breathing exercises can be a powerful way to place your body in a relaxed state. Sitting in a comfortable position and drawing your attention to your breath can release tension and offer a method for ongoing relaxation and a tool to use for times of stress.

Breath Awareness was created to help individuals cultivate a mindful awareness of their breathing and the present moment rather than get caught up in their thoughts.

Once comfortable, clients are asked to release any unnecessary tension and tune in to their breath. They are invited to observe the movements and sensations in their body with each inhale and exhale, without trying to change anything.

The exercise can be useful during moments of distress to unhook someone from their thoughts or as a mindfulness exercise.

Try out the Breath Awareness worksheet and practice it daily.

2. Anchor Breathing

Similar to the last activity, anchor breathing involves inhaling and exhaling consciously while focusing on the physical experience. In this exercise, clients are also instructed to imagine a peaceful scene—being on a boat, feeling calm and safe.

Deep breathing techniques have been shown to lead to decreased oxygen consumption and heightened alertness. EEG recordings have also recorded increases in theta wave amplitude when participants engage in certain deep breathing exercises, which is associated with reduced symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder (Jerath et al., 2006).

By showing patients how to combine mindful breathing with calming, peaceful visualization, Anchor Breathing provides an effective relaxation technique, reducing residual stress levels and providing support during acute episodes of stress (Varvogli & Darviri, 2011).

3. The Five Senses Worksheet

Mindfulness can be cultivated by paying attention to what we observe and feel while using our different senses one at a time. During mindfulness practice, distractions are observed, and attention is gently returned to the body part receiving focus.

This exercise works in a similar way to the Body Scan exercise, which helps clients cultivate a mindful awareness of different body parts. Evidence from functional magnetic resonance imagining found that body scan meditation heightens brain activity linked to increased awareness of the present moment, focus, and stress reduction (Sevinc et al., 2018).

To read more about the steps involved, you can view or download The Five Senses worksheet.

3 Activities to Help Manage Stress

We suggest the following three positive psychology activities to help manage stress.

1. Nature effect

The powerful effect of being outdoors has been validated many times and should not be underestimated.

Visitors to a park in Zurich were found to have significantly lower levels of stress, a reduced number of headaches, and a 40% increase in feelings of wellbeing. These positive effects were further elevated in those taking part in sports (Hansmann et al., 2007).

While drugs and therapy are often used as treatments for soldiers returning home with post-traumatic stress disorder, the medications and treatment frequently have to be continued for many years without providing a lasting cure. In response, nature-based therapy has begun to receive increased scientific attention.

In a 2016 study, veterans reported that merely being in the garden, often performing mindfulness activities, could improve the symptoms of their post-traumatic stress disorder (Poulsen et al., 2016).

The simple act of getting out into an open space can provide stress relief. We delve deeper into this in our post on Environmental Psychology.

2. Exercise

We are all aware of the physiological rewards of exercise, but the psychological benefits are equally impressive and backed up by research.

A seven-week exercise program was found to improve people’s moods; reduce perceived stress; and increase optimism, self-belief, resilience, and a growth mindset (Cassidy, 2016).

Exercise regimes need not be extreme to be effective. Even modest levels of physical activity if performed regularly provide ongoing support for mental wellbeing, a growth mindset, and reduced levels of stress.

3. Mindful movement

By replacing or combining some of our everyday car journeys with walking, we can become fully present in our day-to-day lives and improve mental health.

Indeed, a trial in 2017 found that combining walking with relaxation techniques is a great way to reduce levels of stress (Matzer et al., 2017).

Mindful walking combines the benefits of exercise, nature, and mindfulness.

Its goal is not to reach a destination, but to build an awareness of the moment, using the feet to anchor in the present. Pleasant and unpleasant bodily sensations such as muscle soreness are merely observed without opinion and let go.

Stress Management Within Therapy Sessions

Many people seek help when stress makes healthy living difficult. Therapy can help address immediate difficulties and work on the underlying causes (Strauss et al., 2018).

1. Anxiety Record

We often feel more vulnerable when we are asked to share what is making us anxious. The Anxiety Record worksheet helps individuals to understand what is causing their anxiety and learn appropriate coping skills.

Using this worksheet, clients can record their anxieties, triggers, and their effects. Afterward, they are guided through a breathing exercise and asked to revisit their answers to the questions.

A few prompts from this exercise are listed below:

• When do you feel anxious?
• What thoughts are you having before or during feeling anxious?
• Do you think these thoughts are realistic?
• What thoughts could you replace them with?

Click to download the Anxiety Record worksheet and give it a try.

2. Biofeedback training

Biofeedback builds on the concept of homeostasis introduced earlier. Using technology to measure and report brainwaves, skin temperature, breathing, and heart rate, the individual learns how to gain self-control over apparently involuntary bodily functions.

A recent meta-analysis of 24 studies confirmed that biofeedback training led to improvements in coping and offers a promising approach for treating stress and anxiety (Goessl et al., 2017).

Individuals can ultimately learn to control their heart rate and blood pressure, reduce levels of stress, and even successfully treat high blood pressure and cardiac disease. Performed with a qualified therapist, these changes ultimately persist beyond the therapy (Varvogli & Darviri, 2011).

Worksheet Suggestions for Your CBT Sessions

The following two activities can be converted into actionable worksheets for your therapy sessions.

1. Imagery

Many of us experience spontaneous thoughts as images rather than individual words or an internal conversation (Beck & Beck, 2011).

A child pictures an angry parent, and an employee imagines a demanding boss. They can be powerful, representing moments of fear or anxiety, and can be used in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) sessions.

The following questions can form the basis of a conversation to explore a mental image and the individual’s relationship with it, cognitively restructuring its interpretation.

Imagery can feel as real to the mind as being in the situation, so playing through images in advance can restructure thoughts and emotions and reframe the stress.

2. Daily Exceptions Journal

A journal can be a fruitful way to track life’s ups and downs. Positive CBT encourages monitoring the client’s strengths and the positive outcomes of life rather than focusing on the negatives.

By capturing what went well in a Daily Exceptions Journal, it is possible to identify and record the skills and talents for reuse in other areas of your life.

Subsequently, walking through the journal during therapy reinforces successes, provides praise, and encourages discussion of the problems overcome.

3 Printable Tools for Children

Sensory awareness involves paying attention to a specific sensory aspect of the body. It can be a great way to teach mindfulness to children.

Such activities can also improve focus, increase self-awareness, help regulate emotions, and reduce anxiety.

1. The Raisin Meditation

The following exercise is a fun, palpable way for a child to develop mindfulness as a skill and notice the present.

Work through the Raisin Meditation worksheet following the steps with the child, paying attention to each sense in turn.

Children paying increased attention to their senses can learn to improve their focus and feel calmer.

2. Nature Play

Ongoing research has recognized the importance of playing and spending time outdoors on children’s mental wellbeing (Dankiw et al., 2020).

Practicing underused senses such as sound can heighten a sense of awareness and promote mindfulness. This can be especially true in an unfamiliar environment, including walking through the countryside with family.

The questions can be tailored to the environment. Starting or pausing somewhere relatively quiet may assist the child’s focus more at the start.

Print the Nature Play worksheet here.

3. Anchor Breathing

Anchor breathing can be quickly learned and helps a child to focus their mind on one point.

Such mental training offers a valuable method for gaining perceived self-control and reducing stress.

The Anchor Breathing method also works with hands placed gently on the belly or in front of the nose.

Top 3 Exercises for Helping Students

Research published in 2013 reported that a seven-week mindfulness-based stress reduction training course given to medicine and psychology students resulted in significant improvements in both mental distress and study stress (de Vibe et al., 2013).

The following three examples, along with the activities described above, can be learned quickly and implemented into a student’s daily routine to help manage both acute and chronic stress.

1. Yogic Breathing

Yogic breathing is a grounding method that’s perfect for students experiencing mental exhaustion, stress, or overwhelm. Through breath control, it helps the body shift into a deeply relaxed state, fostering a sense of calm.

By directing the breath in three stages—from the belly to the ribcage and up to the collarbone—before exhaling in reverse, this technique utilizes the lungs’ full capacity. In addition to oxygenating the body, this sequence helps focus attention and ease tension and scattered thoughts.

To develop awareness of the breath’s rhythm and depth, students can start by lying on their back with one hand on their chest and the other on their belly. As they grow more confident, the practice can also be done seated—even between classes or during a study break.

Download the Yogic Breathing instructions here.

2. Right Here, Right Now

This sensory-based grounding exercise assists students in breaking free from anxious thought patterns and re-establishing a connection with the present, which is particularly beneficial during demanding academic times.

Students are guided to pause and divert their focus from racing thoughts or impending deadlines by focusing on what they can see, hear, feel, smell, and taste. The parasympathetic nervous system is triggered by this type of mindful noticing, which lowers stress and promotes calm clarity.

The directions are straightforward: Take a few minutes to sit quietly and focus on your senses. What do you observe in your surroundings? What do you hear? What is the sensation of your body? This exercise provides a mental reset, which is perfect before tests, during extended study sessions, or anytime stress starts to build.

Download the Right Here, Right Now activity here.

3. Stress as a Stimulus for Change

Stress isn’t always bad. It can sometimes be a sign that something needs to change in our lives. This exercise encourages students to consider the causes of their stress and turn them into catalysts for constructive action.

This worksheet guides students through recognizing what isn’t working, imagining a better alternative, and laying out the first steps toward it using a straightforward change formula. It’s particularly helpful when going through academic or life transitions, like picking a major, dealing with burnout, or figuring out what to do after graduation.

The exercise reframes stress as a source of motivation and insight rather than just reducing it. Students are encouraged to go over the worksheet several times, honing their objectives until they seem challenging but achievable.

Download the Stress as a Stimulus for Change activity here.

For Group Therapy Sessions

Research has identified the benefits of combining mindfulness and group therapy to help manage stress and increase resilience and positivity (Babakhani, 2017; Seyyed et al., 2017).

Here is an example of a group exercise in mindfulness.

Silent Connections

In order to develop grounded, present-moment awareness, participants in the group mindfulness exercise Silent Connections are encouraged to pay attention to nonverbal social cues like posture, facial expression, and eye contact.

Group members participate in this activity by moving silently around the room and interacting with each other only through body language. Participants are encouraged to attentively watch and respond to others without using words, noting how thoughts, feelings, and social perceptions emerge when words are not used.

This straightforward but effective technique promotes calm, relational awareness, and a stronger sense of connection by helping people become more attuned to the present and to others. Following the exercise, participants can reflect on their experience and the significance of silent, mindful attention in everyday social interactions during a guided debrief.

Download the Silent Connections activity here.

Top 3 Mindfulness Activities for Stress

You may have noticed that several of the worksheets and activities recommended draw on the principles of mindfulness. This is because mindfulness is a universally beneficial practice that promises to support most populations across a range of potentially stressful situations.

If you’re looking for more powerful mindfulness activities to help combat stress, be sure to check out three favorites from our own Positive Psychology Toolkit©. This comprehensive subscription-based resource contains more than 600 exercises, activities, interventions, questionnaires, and assessments.

1. Urge Surfing

This exercise assists clients in reacting to cravings with awareness rather than reactivity.

Clients learn to observe the physical sensations of craving as they rise, crest, and pass, like ocean waves, rather than attempting to suppress or give in to urges, whether they are related to food, smoking, alcohol, or other habits.

Over time, this practice increases the ability to tolerate discomfort and cultivate self-acceptance. It’s about recognizing cravings without passing judgment, allowing them to exist, and letting them subside on their own.

2. Meditation on the Soles of the Feet

This meditation provides a safe space to work on managing strong emotions and regulating the urge to be aggressive, often a byproduct of stressful situations (Kruk et al., 2004). The individual is not asked to stop angry thoughts—anger does serve a useful purpose at times—but rather to bring them under control through a shift of focus.

The client, standing or sitting with their feet on the ground, is asked to cast their mind back to a time that caused them to react very angrily.

They are then told to stick with those angry thoughts, letting them flow without hindrance. After that, they shift their attention to the soles of their feet. They maintain focus, breathing naturally until feeling calm and in control.

3. Leaves on a Stream

This guided mindfulness exercise teaches cognitive defusion, which is the ability to observe thoughts without becoming caught up in them.

This visualization, which has its roots in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), encourages individuals to visualize each thought passing by on a leaf in a gently flowing stream. This promotes a peaceful, nonjudgmental awareness of their inner experience.

This exercise can help clients relate to their thoughts more lightly and reduce reactivity, whether it is used as a regular mindfulness practice or during times of mental overload. It promotes psychological flexibility and emotional clarity and is particularly beneficial for managing rumination, anxiety, or stress.

Explore these exercises and more through a subscription to the Positive Psychology Toolkit©.

Resources from PositivePsychology.com

At PositivePsychology.com, we have many evidence-based resources to help you and your clients relieve stress more effectively. To dive deeper into the range of somatic and breathing techniques that can assist with this, check out the following articles:

• 12+ Breathing Exercises for Managing Anxiety (Incl. PDF)
• The Power of Deep Breathing: 7 Techniques and Exercises
• 6 Best Diaphragmatic Breathing Exercises to Reduce Anxiety
• Progressive Muscle Relaxation: 10 Scripts for Effective PMR

For a range of stress-management interventions in the workplace, check out our dedicated article detailing 11 useful strategies and worksheets. And for even more reading about the science of stress, take a look at our collection of top stress-management books.

Building resilience helps clients bounce back from stressful situations and use coping mechanisms to turn them into opportunities for growth.

The Realizing Resilience Masterclass©, designed to help practitioners deliver resilience training, provides guidance together with a set of practical tools to build a more resilient mindset. Be sure to check it out for an excellent done-for-you training resource that you can deliver under your own brand.

If you’re looking for more science-based ways to help others manage stress without spending hours on research and session prep, this collection contains 17 validated stress management tools for practitioners. Use them to help others identify signs of burnout and create more balance in their lives.

A Take-Home Message

Stress does not have to rule us. Stress should not be allowed to prevent us from doing what we want or need to do.

Instead, stress should be an enabler and drive us forward to build what we want and take on challenges that will allow us to grow.

There should be no excuse to hide from stress or become overwhelmed by it.

By using tools for coping and taking control, we can see stress as something natural that can invigorate and motivate us to overcome both planned and unexpected challenges.

These activities we shared will definitely help you manage stress. However, there are many other stress-management techniques to try out too. Identify those that work for you and implement them into your life. You will reap the benefits, especially before the next job interview or presentation.

Thank you for reading!

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our five positive psychology tools for free.