Hey, hey you. Take a deep breath and relax your shoulders. Feel a little better?
The first Wednesday in November is National Stress Awareness Day, and if there's anything we could use, it's tips to help us identify and manage the pressures, both personal and professional, in our lives. Over the years, stars like Justin Bieber, Jennifer Aniston and Lauren Conrad have opened up about how they cope with anxiety, their techniques ranging from gardening to havening to even eating a single potato chip. (You can definitely count us in for snack therapy.)
So, if you're feeling like you could use some pointers on how to reduce your stress today, here's how stars like Lana Condor, Michael B. Jordan and Candace Cameron Bure unwind:
The Morning Show star's favorite way to relieve and deal with professional stress is relatable (and delicious) AF.
"A potato chip," Aniston told InStyle. "Crunch, crunch, crunch. Usually enough. I'm good at it. I can limit myself to a confection or a potato chip. I know, it's completely annoying."
The Friends actress' other tactics to combat anxiety include meditation and journaling, telling E! News it's "a bummer" if she doesn't get to do that each morning.
The queen of Hallmark's Christmas movies told E! News the three things she tries to do on a daily basis to keep her stress down include reading her bible, being active and putting down her phone.
"It's so important to walk away from texts, emails and social media and be present throughout our day," she explained.
The To All the Boys I've Loved Before star shared her daily routine to battle stress with E! News.
"I try and read every single day. It grounds me and makes me feel in control," Condor said. "I also feel like pleasure reading everyday keeps your brain active and your body calm."
She continued, "I also drink at least half my body weight in ounces of water every day. Staying hydrated is such a must and I genuinely feel better when my body is fully hydrated."
Finally, the actress said she takes walks with her dog to "keep my body active. And fresh air always makes me feel better. Some days, when I am having a really hard time waking up, I'll go on an early chilly walk with [my puppy] Emmy and it sets such an awesome energized tone for the rest of my day."
In a recent interview with Vogue, the "Easy on Me" singer revealed that her 100-pound weight loss wasn't intentional, but was an accidental side effect of her go-to way to combat stress.
"I realized that when I was working out, I didn't have any anxiety," she explained. "It was never about losing weight. I thought, If I can make my body physically strong, and I can feel that and see that, then maybe one day I can make my emotions and my mind physically strong."
One of the most crucial aspects of the Deadpool star's recovery from his lifelong battle with anxiety is talking about it publicly with the hope of encouraging others to do the same.
"One of the reasons I overschedule myself is my lifelong pal, anxiety," he wrote on Instagram in May of last year. "I know I'm not alone and more importantly, to all those like me who overschedule, overthink, overwork, over-worry and over-everything, please know you're not alone. We don't talk enough about mental health and don't do enough to destigmatize talking about it. But, as with this post, better later than never, I hope..."
The Euphoria star tweeted her favorite stress-relieving activity, revealing she had a "coloring station" in her home, posting a photo of her coloring books.
"In my house we all find it quite therapeutic," she wrote in 2018. "It helps me with stress."
The "Sorry" singer shared tips on how to deal with an anxiety attack on Instagram in 2019, posting a photo his grandmother sent him.
"Find five things you can see, four things you can touch, three things you can hear, two things you can smell and one thing you can taste," the image read. "This is called grounding. It can help when you feel like you have lost all control of your surroundings."
And in an episode of his YouTube docuseries Seasons, the pop star's wife, Hailey Bieber, revealed that he also uses a trauma therapy technique known as "havening" to reduce feelings of anxiety. The process includes rubbing your hands on your face and head to release stress.
When Conrad needs a break from her busy day, she gets her thumb a little green.
"I started spending time gardening," she told E! News. "I feel like I am being productive, but I am able to clear my mind and get some fresh air."
The clothing designer also likes to "take a bath and unwind at the end of the day with our soaking salts from my nonprofit fair trade shop, The Little Market. Each soaking salt supports young moms in under-resourced communities of Chicago."
To combat any anxious moments that arise, the I Love Wellness podcast host told E! News that she's "learned how to make friends with my anxiety and get outside of myself when I'm feeling anxious."
In that instance, Bosworth shared she'll pretend that she's sitting in the corner, looking at herself, a practice that allows her to talk herself down: "You sort of give it a hug and you realize that it's there and instead of punishing yourself for feeling uncomfortable, you give yourself a warm hug and tell yourself that this too should pass."
The mother of six turns to meditation to relax, but not in the ways you would expect.
"I find meditation in sitting on the floor with the kids coloring for an hour, or going on the trampoline," The Eternals star told Stylist in 2014. "You do what you love, that makes you happy, and that gives you your meditation."
After production wrapped on 2018's Black Panther, Jordan revealed that he'd sought professional help to recover from playing the film's villain, Erik Killmonger.
"I went to therapy, I started talking to people, starting unpacking a little bit," he told Oprah Winfrey, explaining that while he prepped for the role he'd "isolated" himself in order to "get all that nastiness" to play the Marvel character.
"I spent a lot of time alone," Jordan said. "I figured Erik, his childhood growing up was pretty lonely. He didn't have a lot of people he could talk to about this place called Wakanda that didn't exist."
But the star admitted he didn't have "an escape plan" after production wrapped, saying, "When it was all over, I think just being in that kind of mind state … it caught up with me."
Seeing a therapist, he continued, "just helped me out a lot. As a man you get a lot of slack for it...I don't really subscribe to that. Everyone needs to unpack and talk."
Despite her busy schedule, the superstar still finds time to spend 20 minutes each morning and night to practice transcendental meditation.
"It was necessary. It was almost like my brain, for the first time in my life, felt like 'Okay, you bit off more than you can chew," she told People in 2018. "It's a whole rounded regimen that deals with your mind, your soul, your spirit and your body. It's working out, it's dancing, it's meditating. And then, at the end of the day, just being happy, being with my kids and feeling the love and the joy that they give me. All of that helps balance it out, so work doesn't feel so crazy."
The Fabletics founder isn't afraid to lean on others when things get tough, telling E! News, "We all put so much pressure on ourselves, and this pandemic has been an extraordinary, challenging time for self-care. My no. 1 tip right now is to rely on others when you need it!"
The Something Borrowed star continued, "Your community—no matter who it is—can help you find balance! Don't expect yourself to be a superhuman! It's just not possible. Or fun, for that matter!"
Even Marvel superheroes face their battles with anxiety and the Thor star opened up about his mental health struggles in a 2019 interview with Mens Health.
After eight months of auditioning for 2012's Red Dawn, Hemsworth revealed that he "became more and more anxious, to the point where I couldn't harness or use that energy."
"When you're constantly self-analyzing, it's ultimately a selfish endeavor," he explained. "It was about looking a little deeper and asking, 'What is this fear based on? What is it trying to tell me?' And analyzing that."
Facing his fears head-on helped Hemsworth to overcome them, with the actor saying, "Beating yourself up after the event because you screwed up [doesn't work]," he said. "You can't control that. When the fear comes, it's easy to think that everything depends on a single moment. But nothing does. No single moment ever defines your journey."
The Pretty Little Liars star revealed her top self-care tip to E! News: "Be kind to yourself. It sounds so simple, but it's actually pretty hard if you're feeling down or anxious. Be patient with yourself and trust in your strength when things are hard."