If you feel more stress and anxiety than ever, you’re not alone. To the surprise of many mental health care professionals and researchers, stress and anxiety amongst Americans has gone up, and it’s been on the rise post-Covid. You would think that stress and anxiety levels would have dropped as life got back to ‘normal’ following the uncertainty and worry of 2020-2021, but that’s not the case. The most recent findings from the American Psychiatry Association mental health poll show that 43% of Americans say they’re stressed and anxious, up from 37% in 2023, which was up from 32% 2022. 

Why this continual jump? APA President Petros Levounis, M.D., M.A. has some ideas: “Living in a world of constant news of global and local turmoil, some anxiety is natural and expected. But what stands out here is that Americans are reporting more anxious feelings than in past years. This increase may be due to the unprecedented exposure that we have to everything that happens in the world around us, or to an increased awareness and reporting of anxiety.” 1

All the numbers, speculation, and math aside, stress and anxiety play a huge role in your overall health. Unchecked, these emotions can deeply impact your cardiac health, your GI system, your sleep, and more. 2 While the usual tips and ideas for reducing your stress levels can certainly help, there are some fresh strategies for working through the rigors of daily life.

1. 🍋Play: It’s Not Just for the Kids 

There’s a new kid on the stress block; lemonading. Lemonading is a callback to the old saying, “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” Today, researchers are leveraging this phrase to describe a helpful way for dealing with things that may feel overwhelming or that go off-course, raising feelings of stress and anxiety. People who make the best of a situation, who engage in feeling ‘playful’ toward it, are shown to have far higher levels of resilience in the face of challenge. 3 Clinical psychologist Mirjam Quinn says, “People who are more playful tend to see obstacles as opportunities for growth and fun, and they are able to be really imaginative in coming up with creative solutions for difficult situations.” 4

So how do you ‘lemonade’? A few suggestions include finding the humor in a situation, getting your body into motion by going running or dancing, doodling, being silly with your kids. Most importantly, you lemonade by changing your mindset to see a situation as a puzzle to solve, expecting growth and solutions. The next time you’re dealing with a batch of ‘lemons’ at home or the office, find a way to play and watch your stress levels come down. 

2. 🕺Dance Away 

Dance is showing up in all kinds of ways as a powerful balm for anxiety, worry, a racing heart, and elevated cortisol. Dancing has also been found to help with cognitive skills for memory care patients. There truly is something powerful about putting your body into motion, in beat to music, that helps your brain. 

It’s thought that it’s the combination of music, social connection, and physical movement that creates a powerful antidote to the negative effects of stress and anxiety. These elements raise oxytocin, endorphins, and dopamine, all ‘feel good’ brain chemicals. When you find yourself stressing over a late project at work or after a long day of dealing with cranky toddlers, a quick dance party in the kitchen could be just the thing to reset your emotions. 5

3. ⌚Wearables and Tech That Help, Not Stress

Our devices, phones, tablets, and smart watches all get a lot of blame when it comes to our levels of stress and anxiety today. After all, they are in constant competition for our attention and keep us attached to emergencies at work and the latest news updates. But there are also ways your devices can help with your stress levels.

There is development underway to make our wearables better at detecting when our stress levels are on the rise. The Oura Ring is a particular favorite right now, with interfaces that indicate blood pressure rises and sleep interruptions. Consumers are also using Whoop, a band worn on the upper arm, that can give the wearer bio information. Apollo is a new device on the market that uses vibration via a device worn on the wrist, to bring a sense of calm when anxiety levels rise. You can also use your current smart watch or device to keep tabs on your anxiety and stress. Learn what your current device can do here.

If you’re not one for wearing devices or are interested in other tech approaches to managing stress, Cope Notes is an online platform that will text you daily affirmations, journaling prompts, and good thoughts throughout the day. Innovation is breathing new life into how we care for our mental wellbeing. 

4. 🙏Spiritual Disciplines

While the practice of praying, of talking to God, is ancient, the research surrounding prayer is new and shows that prayer is a powerful antidote to the stresses of our modern life. From having study participants pray while in MRI machines to tracking cortisol levels in the blood, scientists are becoming more and more fascinated with what prayer can do in terms of our emotional and physical health. 6

Researchers are now also looking at another well-known spiritual practice, congregational singing, that is, singing out loud with a group. Breathing improves, muscle tension is reduced, and bonds are formed when people sing together. 7 Congregational singing also reduces cortisol levels.  Worship music sung together is also a powerful way to refocus your thoughts, to remember the power of God working in your life. 8 When you make worship with others part of your lifestyle, you are consistently engaging in an activity known to improve your mood and outlook while lessening your anxiety.

“Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your hearts to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ”.

Ephesians 5:19-20

Allowing stress and anxiety to go unchecked in your life can have long-term implications on your health. These simple ideas can help in reducing these negative effects. (You’ll find some more ideas for unwinding at the end of the day here.) You can also connect with a virtual behavioral health provider. If you’re a Member of Altrua HealthShare, you can use your new HealthWallet app. Go to the Virtual Care tab, and there you will find options for getting the help you need. If you’re not yet an Altrua HealthShare Member, check out the flexibility and affordability of Altrua HealthShare for your healthcare needs. 

1 https://www.mitre.org/news-insights/news-release/mitre-harris-poll-many-patients-feel-ignored-or-doubted
2 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7907921/#:~:text=Effectiveness%20was%20seen%20in%208,5%25)%20treated%20with%20chemotherapy.
3 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2932855/#:~:text=Despite%20the%20prevalence%20of%20outpatient,resulting%20in%20a%20healthcare%20visit.
4 https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/population-health/what-doctors-wish-patients-knew-about-precision-medicine#:~:text=%E2%80%9CPersonalized%20medicine%2C%20because%20it’s%20based,to%20prevention%20by%20predicting%20susceptibility.%E2%80%9D
5 https://www.iomcworld.org/open-access/economic-implications-of-personallized-medicine-a-review-of-costeffectiveness-studies.pdf