LibGuides: Stress Awareness: Resources

De-Stress Resources

Zentangle.com
- Learn what is a zentangle, how it works, where to start and why it helps
How-to Draw Zen-tangle Patterns Video
- Step-by-step tutorial on how to draw zentangles
Invaluable.com AND 100mandalas.com
- Learn about what are mandalas, their use throughout history, and why they've become so popular
How-to Draw Mandalas Video
- A beginners tutorial on how to start drawing mandalas

7 Quick Stretches for Stress Relief You Can Do Right Now
- From Child’s pose and Happy Baby to at-your-desk stretches, these postures will give you a minute to breathe and find calm
6 "De-Stress" Stretches for Your Body
- Video of six stretches you can do to de-stress your body
A 10-Minute Workout That Will Make You Feel Totally Rejuvenated
- Stretch, de-stress, and pretend like your family holiday drama doesn't exist
5 Bedtime Stretches That Will Help You Actually Get to Sleep
- Stretch away the stress of the day
Exercising to relax
- How does exercise reduce stress? Surprising answers to this question and more.

5 Visualization Techniques to Add to Your Meditation Practice
- It might sound counterintuitive to combine visualization and meditation. After all, meditation is all about letting thoughts come and go rather than consciously directing them toward a particular result, right?
3 Effective Visualization Techniques to Change Your Life
- Proper visual imagery techniques can improve how you feel and how you perform
Ease Anxiety with These 5 Visualization Techniques
Visualization Meditation - headspace
- While becoming more in tune with our bodies and minds is no easy feat, meditation can help — and techniques such as visualization can help us achieve the health and wellness benefits we are seeking
Visualization Exercise 1
Visualization Exercise 2

What does PMR stand for?
- Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR)
Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) for Anxiety
- Progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) is an exercise that anyone can use to alleviate disturbing and disruptive emotional symptoms such as anxiety or insomnia
Stress Management: Doing Progressive Muscle Relaxation
- Have you ever had an aching back or pain in your neck when you were anxious or stressed? When you have anxiety or stress in your life, one of the ways your body responds is with muscle tension
The Benefits of Progressive Muscle Relaxation and How to Do It
- It’s normal to feel stressed sometimes. But if your stress builds up, or it continues for a period of time, you might carry the tension in your muscles. You could have muscle tightness without even realizing it

What does ASMR stand for?
- Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR)
ASMR, explained: why millions of people are watching YouTube videos of someone whispering
- Here’s what you need to know about the strange, tingly sensation that could help you relax
What is ASMR?
- ASMR describes the euphoric tingling sensation people feel in response to certain visuals and sounds
How Does ASMR Work? The Science Behind Those Brain-Tingling Sounds
- The videos continue to trend on YouTube, but only certain people seem to benefit from them
Is ASMR Real or Just a Pseudoscience?
- Autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) is all the rage lately. Is it real? Is there something special about people who have it?
Some People Get 'Brain Tingles' From These Slime Videos. What's Behind The Feeling?
- "a warm, tingling sensation that starts at the crown of the head, almost like bubbles on the scalp"

Tactile items and activities are all about sensory processing
- Whether it is weighted blankets, fidget rings, coloring books or anything else you can hold and feel it can bring down stress levels by creating a more familiar and relaxing atmosphere
The Ultimate List of Sensory Products for Adults
- How do you deal with stress? When I’m upset, my go-to choice is to grab some ice or minty gum. The action of chewing can be calming to the muscles of the mouth
24 Tactile Things That Just May Help Soothe Your Anxiety
- BuzzFeed article on popular tactile anti-anxiety items
Tactile: Activities all ages
- Tactile activities are not just for children. These activities can be applied to adult too.
The Link Between Video Games and Stress Relief
- Video games can actually be good for our stress levels!

Relaxation techniques: Breath control helps quell errant stress response
- How breathing exercises can help control the onset of the fight-or-flight response
Breathing Exercises to Reduce Stress - headspace
- One of the most overlooked — yet most effective — stress management tools is something we involuntarily carry with us throughout every second of the day: our breath
10 Breathing Techniques
- If you’re interested in trying breathing exercises to reduce stress or anxiety, or improve your lung function, we’ve got 10 different ones to sample
How to Reduce Stress With Breathing Exercises
- Breathing exercises offer an extremely simple, effective, and convenient way to relieve stress and reverse your stress response, reducing the negative effects of chronic stress
7/11 Breathing
- In for 7 out for 11
4 -7- 8 Breath
- In for 4, hold for 7, out for 8
How to reduce stress with the 2:1 breathing technique
- A video on how to use the 2:1 method

12 Fun Mindfulness Exercises
- "When you are mindful of your thoughts, emotions, body, and surroundings; you will begin to find that the grass is greener where you water it, rather than on the other side."
5 Simple Mindfulness Practices for Daily Life
- Your day-to-day activities offer ample opportunities to call up mindfulness in any moment. These simple practices will breathe space into your daily routines.
Meditation and Mindfulness Exercises - headspace
- Meditation is, after all, simply an exercise to cultivate mindfulness. The more time we spend sitting with the mind, the more at ease we feel within ourselves.
15 Mindfulness Activities to Reduce Stress and Increase Calm
- Practicing simple techniques and exercises can help you improve mental clarity and curb anxiety.
Free Guided Meditation Scripts
- Comprehensive guides to guided mindfulness