It’s natural to feel stressed at times. But sometimes that stress can feel overwhelming.

What’s the best way to deal with it, according to the latest research?

The premier health organization in the world, the World Health Organisation, considered this question and after extensive work, concluded that the insights from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) offer the best way for people to manage stress.

And this is not only for your usual stresses at work and home. These same approaches can also be used for the extreme stresses like loss, war or when dealing with major health issues.

One of the key techniques is a grounding exercise. It’s made up of 3 stages.

Acknowledge you’re facing a challenge. Whatever the difficulty may be, acknowledge that this is a difficult moment. It may be a challenging issue at work. Perhaps something distressing you’ve seen on the news. Maybe you’re facing a difficulty in one of your relationships. Whatever it is, big or small, acknowledge it’s difficult.
Connect with your insides. Connect with the thoughts and feelings like a curious scientist. Just notice them. You could imagine your thoughts are like clouds flowing through your awareness. Let them come and go. You could notice your emotions and label them and be curious about where you feel them in your body.
Connect with your outside. Go through each of your senses in turn and really notice. What different things can you see? What are their colours? What can you smell, taste, hear and touch? This brings you back into the present moment.

This exercise can take just a few minutes.

For more free information from the WHO on ways to manage stress, check out this booklet.

I have recorded a longer version of this grounding meditation for you to use whenever you need it. It is taken from our daily mindfulness club: