Practicing stress management and coping skills for a healthier life: A Q&A with Leah and Ofosu

When stress starts to pile up, it’s easy to feel stuck, and knowing where to even begin can be its own challenge.

That’s why we asked meditation experts Leah Santa Cruz and Ofosu Jones-Quartey to share their favorite ways to recognize stress, cope with it, and create habits that make a real difference.

Stress management and coping skills: 6 effective strategies

Below, Leah and Ofosu share practical strategies to recognize stress, respond skillfully, and build lasting resilience.

Q: When life feels stressful, what are some simple things people can do to start feeling better—especially if they don’t know where to begin?

Leah: Start by naming the hidden mood behind your stress—like anxiety, resentment, or overwhelm. Unnamed moods hijack your brain and make it feel like everything is wrong, when really, it’s something specific needing attention. For example, recognizing “resentment is here because I’ve been tolerating rude behavior” instantly shifts your relationship to stress. Instead of “I’m stressed,” start to say, “Stress is visiting.” This gives you space to choose a new story and response rather than reacting automatically.

Ofosu: A nice mix of movement and stillness can be stress busters. And it’s really up to you whichever feels most appropriate in the moment. If you’re feeling stress, perhaps slowing down and doing some deep breathing, or even taking five minutes for meditation can be helpful. If there is stress from having to make hard decisions or work out a complicated issue, simple movement, like walking or stretching, can provide some relief. Either way, going from movement into some stillness or stillness into some movement can really help to reduce stress.

Q: What are some common signs of stress that people often miss or ignore?

Leah: Stress isn’t just a feeling—it’s a whistleblower pointing to deeper misalignments in how we’re living. Stress shows up if we’re out of sync with our core standards or when our body revolts after we’ve been overriding its signals (hunger, sleep, rage, grief) to people-please.

Stress signs (whistleblows) we often miss are: hyper-productivity as a cover for our existential unrest, chronic over-apologizing masking our unmet needs, and nostalgic fixation on the past, revealing our unacknowledged grief. Cynicism tells us we’re armored in resignation after past heartbreaks (in career, justice, or love), while phantom itching, skin-picking, or nail-biting may point to something emotional our body wants to purge. Indecision over small choices often tells us we’ve lost trust in ourselves, and if our perception of time is always off, that’s a signal we’re disconnected from the present. These symptoms aren’t random—they’re clues asking us to realign with our truth.

Ofosu: When we’re stressed, our breathing becomes more rapid and shallow, gearing us up to fight or flight. This can be something we easily miss, so if we have an inkling that we are under stress, take a deep breath. If it feels really deep, it might be a sign that your breathing has previously become a little more rapid and shallow and that stress is looming.

Also, when we are stressed, we often feel like our options are limited, as stress pushes us to focus on whatever is putting us in that fight-or-flight situation. If you find that your thinking has become narrower or binary and everything feels a little more “life or death,” it’s a good sign that stress is present. Ask yourself, “Are these my only options in this situation?” Just that inquiry can help create some mental space and reduce some stress.

Q: How can someone learn healthy ways to cope with stress instead of falling into bad habits like avoidance or overworking?

Leah: Healthy “coping” starts with seeing stress not as a nuisance, but as a whistleblow. Something to dialogue with rather than suppress. In meditation, go beyond just observing thoughts and ask: “Where does this thought live in my body?” or “What value am I betraying?” or “What edge in my comfort zone is this stress signal pushing me toward?” This invites stress to become a guide rather than a burden. Then take aligned action, like setting real boundaries or ending your workday at a non-negotiable time. Inquiry plus action dismantles stress at the root.

Ofosu: It’s important to practice good stress management as a general way of life instead of trying to apply stress-reducing tools when stress arises. That can just cause more stress! Developing habits like taking walks in nature or some type of accessible movement practice, as well as a stillness practice like meditation, can help manage stress levels on a regular basis and provide a tried-and-true resource to utilize when stress arises.

Regularly reflecting on gratitude, or even keeping a gratitude journal, is also a way to keep our minds leaning towards the positive. It can support us when stress comes in and narrows our view.

Q: A lot of people say meditation helps with stress—but how does it actually work, and what’s the easiest way to try it?

Leah: Meditation helps first by regulating your nervous system, lowering reactivity and threat perception while bringing your prefrontal cortex back online for higher reasoning and decision-making. But it can also be a tool for inquiry once you’re centered. When your heart rate calms and thoughts slow from a torrent to a stream, you can ask, “What story or belief is this tension protecting?” or “What need have I abandoned?” Answers often arise as a quiet knowing in your body rather than a clear voice. Start with five minutes of quiet inquiry and let your body speak.

Ofosu: In meditation, we observe ourselves and our moment-to-moment experiences with an attitude of kindness and nonjudgment. It’s like a friend who comes to sit with you to watch a beautiful sunset, put their arm around you when you’re crying, or just hang out and watch the time go by. There is no judgment, no words, just presence and kindness.

When we take time to observe and care for ourselves in this way, we give our thoughts, emotions, and sensations the space to work themselves out on their own. What we notice when we observe ourselves in meditation is that our thoughts and feelings are temporary, always in a state of fluctuation. If we give them space, they fade on their own. Realizing this, we can become less agitated by them and more grounded in the present moment.

Q: What advice would you give to someone who feels constantly overwhelmed by work, family, or life responsibilities?

Leah: Overwhelm isn’t a condition you’re stuck with, but a mood revealing you’ve lost touch with your sovereignty and internalized others’ expectations. Ask yourself: “Whose rules am I following that I never agreed to?” Maybe you’re always checking your phone with the belief that “I must answer emails/messages instantly.”

A quick breathwork ritual can help reset:

• Inhale: “My time and energy belong to me.”
• Hold: “What ‘should’ is draining me?”
• Exhale: “This isn’t mine to carry anymore.”
• Pause: “I make the rules here.”

Repeat this daily, especially before checking emails, when family demands pile up, or at bedtime, to reclaim your sense of agency and release the “I didn’t do enough today” guilt.

Ofosu: I would begin by practicing self-compassion. Look at your situation and think of what you might say to a friend or a loved one who was in the same situation as you. Whatever words of kindness, support, or even advice you might offer them, you can offer to yourself. Being your own friend and companion is crucial in life in general, but even more so when you are feeling overwhelmed or facing difficult times.

Through self-compassion, relating to yourself the way you would relate to a friend, you may find ways to make adjustments in your life that either reduce the sources of stress you are encountering or change how you interact/relate to them.

Q: What’s one small habit that can make a big difference in how we handle stress long term?

Leah: Try a 10-second “Pause and Reclaim” ritual when a stress trigger hits (like an argument, deadline, or sense of overwhelm):

• Freeze (don’t react)
• Touch your collarbones (a physical anchor, like a neural circuit breaker)
• Whisper, “I choose my next move.”

This grounds you through the vagus nerve, interrupts the amygdala’s stress response and reminds you that you are responsible for your reactions. Over time, you’ll begin associating stress triggers with choice, not danger. The goal isn’t to avoid all triggers but to meet them as invitations to reclaim your power. It’s a tiny habit that rewires your whole relationship to challenge.

Ofosu: Once again, the answer is self-compassion. We often compound our stress by being unkind to ourselves and judging ourselves harshly. Stress is unavoidable, but we can gradually change the inner critic by developing a kind inner voice.

This is something to practice even in mundane times, relating to yourself and speaking to yourself in the language of a caring friend or loved one. Doing this regularly will allow this supportive, inner voice to come to the forefront when stress inevitably arises. Making a habit of being kind to yourself, for me, is paramount.

Build consistency with the Balance app

Stress management is about creating sustainable habits, and the Balance app can help. With personalized meditations, quick mini-sessions for stress, and tools to track consistency, Balance makes daily practice easy and effective.

Download Balance today, and start strengthening your resilience one practice at a time.

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