Welcome to Stress Awareness Month! In today's fast-paced world, it's more important than ever to take proactive steps to manage stress and promote well-being. To support you on this journey, our Mental Health Partnerships Human Resources department has compiled a range of effective techniques to help you relax and unwind. From progressive relaxation to guided imagery, these strategies can help you find moments of peace and calm amidst the chaos:

• Progressive Relaxation: Also called progressive muscle relaxation, this technique involves tensing different muscles in your body and then releasing the tension.

• Autogenic Training: Through a series of mental exercises involving relaxation and ideas you suggest to yourself (autosuggestion), your mind focuses on your body’s experience of relaxation.

• Breathing Techniques: For breathing exercises, you might focus on taking slow, deep breaths—also called diaphragmatic breathing.

• Guided Imagery or “Visualization”: In guided imagery, you picture objects, scenes, or events that are associated with relaxation or calmness and attempt to produce a similar feeling in your body.

• Self-Hypnosis: In self-hypnosis programs, people learn to produce the relaxation response when prompted by a phrase or nonverbal cue (called a “suggestion”) of their own.

• Body Scan: The body scan is a mindfulness meditation practice involving scanning your body for pain, tension, or anything out of the ordinary. It can help you feel more connected to your physical and emotional self.