Stress can happen no matter how hard you try to avoid it. How you respond to that stress is up to you, though! And while it’s normal to feel the pressures of everyday stress, an unhealthy stress response can leave you feeling overwhelmed, tense, or anxious.

By adopting a few simple daily habits, you can learn how to change your stress response from a negative reaction to a positive response. But how does the stress response work and what specifically can you do to better manage it? Learn how the typical stress response works and check out eight daily habits to start so you can build a healthier stress response that works for you.

Deep breathing is one of the most effective ways to slow your heart rate and initiate the relaxation response. The relaxation response, a term coined by Harvard University’s Dr. Herbert Benson in the 1960s, counteracts the effects of the stress response.

The key to a daily breathing practice is to focus your awareness on slow, deep breaths from the diaphragm or abdominal region. This type of breathing helps activate your body’s parasympathetic nervous system, which is important to bringing your body into a more restful state.
Try deep breathing exercises in the morning, at night, or any time you sense you're in a stressful situation.

While the two often go hand-in-hand, meditation does not always involve deep breathing exercises. There are all kinds of different meditation techniques out there — and even a short five-minute session can help promote a better stress response.

One of the most popular meditation techniques that may help handle stress is Transcendental Meditation (TM), which uses mantras to help practitioners enter an alert yet deeply restful state of consciousness. However, you don’t have to limit yourself to just TM when dealing with stress. Experiment with different techniques and session durations to find the daily practice that’s right for you.

Like exercise, movement therapies such as yoga, Tai Chi, or Qigong are a great way to help you manage your stress response. Along with physical health benefits, movement therapy can equip you with helpful stress-coping tips, such as controlling your breathing and stretching to release muscle tension. Between gentle exercise, deep breathing, and mindfulness, movement therapy can give you the tools needed to help control your fight or flight response in a stressful situation.

People in your support network such as friends, family, spouses, colleagues, and mentors can play a vital role in how you handle stress. Close relationships allow you to give and receive emotional support that helps keep you afloat in stressful situations.

Find someone in your life you can connect with regularly and call upon when things feel out of whack. No matter if they're there to give feedback and advice or to listen to you vent, a loved one can help you destress and avoid turning to more negative coping mechanisms — like harsh self-criticism, overeating and drinking, and self-isolation.