Stanford professor Robert M. Sapolsky walks you through the mechanisms that activate your stress response in his book Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers. According to Sapolsky, when you worry or are stressed, your body activates the same physiological responses as an animal's, but you do not resolve conflict in the same way - by fighting or fleeing. This activation of a stress response makes you physically sick over time.

This book explains how prolonged stress causes or worsens a variety of physical and mental ailments, including depression, ulcers, colitis, heart disease, and more, by combining cutting-edge research with a healthy dose of good humor and practical advice. It also provides critical guidance for managing your stress responses.

The author, Robert M. Sapolsky is a Stanford University biology and neurology professor and a research associate at the National Museum of Kenya's Institute of Primate Research. He wrote Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers, A Primate's Memoir, and The Trouble with Testosterone, which was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Award. He lives in San Francisco and is a regular contributor to Discover and The Sciences, as well as a MacArthur Foundation "genius" grant recipient.

Author: Robert M. Sapolsky

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0805073698/

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff...and It's All Small Stuff explains how to avoid becoming obsessed with the minor details of life. Richard Carlson reveals ways to relax in the midst of your hectic, stressful life.

Learn how to put things into perspective by making small daily changes, such as 'Choose your battles wisely'; 'Remind yourself that when you die, your 'in' box won't be empty'; and 'Make peace with imperfection'. You'll also learn how to:

• Live in the present moment
• Let others have the glory at times
• Lower your tolerance to stress
• Trust your intuitions
• Live each day as if it were your last

Dr. Carlson reveals ways to make your actions more peaceful and caring, while also making your life more calm and stress-free, using gentle, supportive suggestions. Overall, this book provides simple but powerful lessons on how to stop letting minor inconveniences drive you insane. The book is regarded as one of the best books on stress management.

Author: Richard Carlson

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0786881852/

Unfortunately, stress is an unavoidable part of life, especially in the fast-paced, hectic modern world. You may be feeling wound up, irritable, and out of balance as a result of the mad dash to meetings, the dreaded daily commute, and the constant need to do and have more. While you cannot avoid the things that cause you to stress, you can change how you react to them.

Clinical psychologist Melanie Greenberg Ph.D. offers an innovative approach in this ground-breaking book to help readers harness the power of positive emotions and overcome stress for good. You'll discover comprehensive tools based on mindfulness, neuroscience, and positive psychology to help you master your emotional responses, overcome negative thinking, and build a more tolerant, stress-resistant brain.

In these challenging times, it's difficult to find a book as helpful as The Stress-Proof Brain. Melanie Greenberg's groundbreaking work combines ancient mind-calming techniques with a modern-day scientific understanding of how the brain works to teach you how to transform your stress response. The book is informative, research-based, and useful. It covers a wide range of topics, from overcoming trauma to taming your inner critic to sleeping better. Each chapter includes simple practices to help you develop a stress-free brain.

Author: Melanie Greenberg PhD

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1626252661/

This guide, written by sisters Emily Nagoski, Ph.D., and Amelia Nagoski, DMA, is one of the best books on stress management for women. Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle explains why women experience burnout differently than men and offers a simple, science-based plan to help women reduce stress, manage emotions, and live happier life.

What is expected of women and what it is really like to be a woman in today's world are two very different things—and women work themselves to exhaustion trying to bridge the gap. How can you "love your body" when every magazine cover offers ten diet tips to help you become "your best self"? How do you "lean in" at work when you're already giving 110% and aren't being recognized for it? How can you live a happy and healthy life in a sexist world that tells you you're too fat, too needy, too noisy, and too selfish?

Emily Nagoski, PhD, and Amelia Nagoski, DMA, are sisters who want to help you break the cycle of feeling overwhelmed and exhausted. Instead of asking you to ignore the very real obstacles and societal pressures that stand in the way of women's well-being, they explain what you're up against—and show you how to fight back. These pages will teach you:

• what you can do to end the biological stress cycle and return your body to a relaxed state
• how to manage the "monitor" in your brain that regulates the emotion of frustration
• what you can do to complete the biological stress cycle and return your body to a state of relaxation
• why rest, human connection, and befriending your inner critic are essential for recovering from and preventing burnout

All women will find something transformative in this book—with the help of eye-opening science, prescriptive advice, and helpful worksheets and exercises—and will be empowered to create positive change. Emily and Amelia aren't here to preach broad platitudes about expensive self-care or to insist on the impossible goal of "having it all." Instead, they tell you that you are enough just the way you are, and that true wellness is within your grasp.

Author: Emily Nagoski PhD and Amelia Nagoski DMA

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1984818325/

Change is something everyone all goes through, but you often deal with it from a place of fear and stress. Who Moved My Cheese? is a book that uses a clever story about two mice and two "little people" to highlight people's typical reactions to change, whether in their personal or professional lives. It's one of the best books on stress management in the workplace.

Who Moved My Cheese? deftly illustrates the importance of quickly adapting whenever someone 'moves your cheese', that is, when an unexpected change or obstacle appears and disrupts your life in some way.

Even before the pandemic, the world was constantly changing. Who Moved My Cheese? assisted many people in developing an anticipatory approach to change, and it can do the same for you - so you can enjoy less stress and more success at work and in life.

Author: Spencer Johnson and Kenneth Blanchard

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0399144463/

Today is the day to begin exchanging stress for calm. Mindfulness for Stress Management is a collection of simple stress management exercises that will help you stop worrying and focus on the present moment.

This mindfulness-based stress management guide is divided into six chapters, each focusing on a different type of stress. It includes 50 unique tools to help you deal with stressful thoughts, emotions, and communication. Learn how to avoid thought traps, externalize your emotions, focus better, and more.

Mindfulness for Stress Management consists of the following components:

• 50 actionable tips: Get real, practical stress management advice that you can use right awayno need to spend weeks reading before you begin taking action.
• Strategies for all kinds of stress: Whether you're concerned about your children, your business, or your personal life, find effective stress management strategies.
• Mindfulness made easy: Learn how to stay in the present moment through breath control and body awareness so that stress does not get in the way when things get hectic.

Mindfulness for Stress Management teaches you 50 simple and effective ways to control your stress today.

Author: Dr. Robert Schachter

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/164152569X/

Is it possible to die of loneliness? Is it possible to have a "cancer personality"? This book answers these and other important questions about the effect of the mind-body link on illness and health, as well as the role that stress and one's individual emotional makeup play in a variety of common diseases, based on scientific research and the author's decades of experience as a practicing physician.

The book When the Body Says No by Gabor Maté:

• Explores the role of the mind-body connection in conditions and diseases such as arthritis, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, IBS, and multiple sclerosis is investigated.
• Draws on medical research and the author's clinical experience as a family physician.
• Includes the Seven A's of Healing-healing principles and illness prevention from hidden stress

When the Body Says No shares dozens of eye-opening case studies and stories from people like Lou Gehrig (ALS), Betty Ford (breast cancer), Ronald Reagan (Alzheimer's), Gilda Radner (ovarian cancer), and Lance Armstrong (testicular cancer).

When the Body Says No, an international best-seller that has been translated into fifteen languages, promotes learning and healing by providing transformative insights into how disease can be the body's way of saying no to what the mind cannot or will not acknowledge. The book is among the best books on stress management you should read.

Author: Gabor Maté M.D.

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0470923350/

Stress, demands, assumptions, and expectations can frequently undermine the ability to affect long-term change. CHANGES is a new stress management book that teaches you how to ask the right questions, integrates different aspects of your life experience, and translates understanding into action.

Author Michael Diettrich-Chastain reveals the seven life dimensions that impact your ability to make professional and personal changes based on his work with thousands of clients in the fields of organizational consulting, executive coaching, and psychotherapy.

You'll discover how to:

• Determine which aspects of your life (mental, emotional, physical, environmental, and others) are aiding or hindering your ability to effect change.
• Improve your fear management skills and motivation while developing greater personal and professional discipline.
• Reduce your stress with actionable strategies and adapt to difficult situations.

CHANGES is an excellent examination of how the various aspects of your lives affect your ability to succeed in any professional or personal role. The author clearly outlines seven dimensions of the lived experience that have such a strong influence on the ability to effect positive change. This is a fantastic resource for both individuals and organizations!

Author: Michael Diettrich-Chastain

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1733939709/

In comparison to the other books on this list, The Upside of Stress takes a slightly different approach to stress management. More than 44% of Americans admit to losing sleep due to stress. And, while most of you try to avoid it, Stanford psychologist and bestselling author Kelly McGonigal, Ph.D., has a startling message: Stress isn't all bad.

Using fascinating new research on resilience and mindset, McGonigal explains that stress is not harmful in and of itself; it is experiencing stress while believing that stress is harmful that is harmful.

This book covers topics like:

• How to Develop a Stress-Tolerant Mindset
• How stress can help you focus and be more energetic
• How stress can help people connect and strengthen their bonds
• Why your brain is designed to learn from stress, and how to improve your brain's ability to learn from difficult experiences

Overall, this book is not a guide to overcoming stress, but rather a toolkit for becoming more adept at it - by understanding, accepting, and utilizing stress to your advantage.

Author: Kelly McGonigal

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1101982934/

Chronic stress is a serious issue for many people, and it can lead to a variety of physical and mental health issues, including heart disease, anxiety, and depression. If you're one of the millions of people who feel overworked, overstressed, and overburdened, this much-needed workbook provides a refreshing new approach to assisting you in finding peace of mind and beginning to live the life you truly desire.

A psychologist offers an innovative strengths-based stress reduction plan based on positive psychology in this evidence-based guide. When you read The Strengths-Based Workbook for Stress Relief, you'll learn how to identify your key character strengths, such as perseverance, social intelligence, bravery, self-control, and others, and how to use them to cultivate greater happiness, better relationships with others, and overall health.

Character traits are a one-of-a-kind catalyst for both happiness and stress management. Anyone can learn the skills and practices presented in this workbook because the capacity for these strengths exists in everyone—including you!

Author: Ryan M. Niemiec PsyD and Neal H. Mayerson PhD

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1684032806/