Learn to recognize stressful thinking

You may be able to lessen your stressful thoughts by paying attention to them. The key to mindfulness-based stress reduction is increasing your self-awareness of your own stress-inducing thoughts, accepting them without resistance or judgment, and giving yourself the space to process them.

You may notice stress as it begins by training yourself to be aware of your breathing, thoughts, pulse rate, and other symptoms of tension. You can develop an intentional response to stressful thoughts by being aware of them. For instance, a study involving 43 women in a mindfulness-based program found a relationship between the ability to articulate and describe stress and a decreased cortisol response. Lower cortisol levels have also been observed in other research following regular mindfulness practice. Therefore, for improved stress management and lower cortisol levels, consider incorporating mindfulness-based practices into your daily routine.