Stress Relief and Relaxation Techniques
A Practical Guidebook for Parents & Caregivers
Practical tools for when stress, worry, or overwhelm show up. Use them for yourself, share with your teen, or practice together.
How to Use This Page
✦ Try a stress relief and relaxation technique below when stress shows up.
✦ If something feels uncomfortable, stop and try a different one.
✦ All techniques are designed as printable cards you can keep handy.
Grounding — 5-4-3-2-1
Card 1
Helps With
Anxiety spikes · Panic feelings · Racing thoughts · Feeling overwhelmed · Emotional overload
Why It Works
A sensory-based mindfulness exercise that brings attention back to the present moment. By focusing on your senses, the nervous system shifts from a highly alert state to a more balanced level of awareness. This stress relief and relaxation technique calms the body surprisingly fast.
How to Do It
1. Sit or stand in a comfortable position.
2. Take a few slow breaths in and out.
3. Stay where you are and slowly look around you.
4. Find the following:
👁 5 things you can see
👂 4 things you can hear
🤲 3 things you can touch
👃 2 things you can smell
👅 1 thing you can taste
Notice them quietly in your mind or say them out loud. Stay in place while observing. Repeat if helpful.
Examples
See: a picture, a colored chair, a plant
Hear: birds chirping, cars passing, voices
Touch: your clothes, the chair, the floor
Smell: a flower, shampoo, coffee nearby
Taste: water, a piece of candy, gum
Breathing Techniques
Card 2
Helps with: Stress · Anxiety · Tension · Emotional overwhelm · Difficulty settling down · Preparing for sleep
Why breathing techniques work: Breathing slowly and intentionally activates the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and recovery), while reducing the sympathetic nervous system’s fight-or-flight response.
Use when feeling stressed or tense · At the start of the day · Before sleep · Anytime you need to calm your body
Intentional Breathing
Card 2A
Helps With
Mild stress · Tension · Emotional overwhelm · Mental overload
Helps reconnect mind and body, gently guiding toward relaxation. Can also improve mood.
How to Do It
1. If sitting, try standing up. If standing, sit down comfortably.
2. Begin breathing slowly and steadily — nothing rushed.
3. Pay attention to how air flows into your lungs.
4. Notice how your chest and abdomen move as you exhale.
5. Breathe out through your nose or mouth.
6. Continue until you feel calmer or notice your heart rate slowing.
If stress feels more intense, try Boxed Breathing (Card 2B).
3-3-3-(3) Boxed Breathing
Card 2B
Helps With
Stronger anxiety · Panic sensations · Feeling highly stressed or activated
Calms people quickly by activating the parasympathetic nervous system — the system active during rest and digestion.
How to Do It
Breathe in → 3 seconds
Hold → 3 seconds
Breathe out → 3 seconds
Hold again → 3 seconds (optional)
1. Sit or stand comfortably.
2. Follow the pattern above. Repeat until you feel calmer.
3. With the fourth step, the pattern forms four equal sides — hence “boxed” breathing.
Variation: Try counting to 4 instead of 3 for each step (4-4-4-4 breathing).
Belly Breathing (Diaphragmatic)
Card 2C
Helps With
Stress · Shallow breathing · Chest tightness · Anxiety · Body tension
Strengthens the diaphragm and helps the lungs fill more efficiently. With practice, this becomes more natural during stressful moments.
How to Do It
1. Sit or lie down comfortably.
2. Place one hand on your chest, one on your abdomen.
3. Breathe in slowly through your nose.
4. Feel your belly expand and rise.
5. Keep your chest moving less than your belly.
6. Breathe out slowly — feel your belly return.
7. Continue for as long as feels helpful.
Progressive Muscle Relaxation
Card 3
Helps With
Stress · Anxiety · Headaches or migraines · Sleep difficulties · Muscle tension
Developed by Dr. Jacobson in the early 1900s, this is one of the best-known stress and relaxation techniques. It works by tensing and relaxing different muscle groups. By intentionally releasing tension, the body signals the nervous system to shift toward a calmer state. Works by tensing and relaxing different muscle groups. By intentionally releasing tension, the body signals the nervous system to shift toward a calmer state.
Set Up
✦ Lie down or sit comfortably in a quiet space
✦ Close your eyes to reduce distraction
✦ Gentle music or nature sounds may help
✦ Avoid TV or other distractions
How to Do It
Begin with a few slow breaths. Move through each muscle group from feet to head. For each group: tense for 5–10 seconds → release for 5–10 seconds. Breathe in when tensing, breathe out when releasing. Skip any area that causes pain.
Muscle Group Sequence
Toes — Pull toward you, relax. Point downward, relax.
Feet — Arch and point downward, then relax.
Lower legs — Tense calves, right then left.
Upper legs & pelvis — Squeeze thighs, right then left.
Buttocks — Squeeze and release.
Stomach & chest — Tighten as if preparing for a sit-up, relax.
Back — Pull shoulder blades together, relax. Gently arch, relax.
Shoulders — Pull up toward ears, then relax.
Arms & hands — Straighten arm and make a fist, right then left.
Head & neck — Slowly move head in different directions, relax. Look up gently, relax.
Face — Raise eyebrows, relax. Grin widely, relax. Squeeze eyes closed, relax.
Final step: Make your whole body stiff for a moment, then release completely.
Quick Reference
Feeling panicky or overwhelmed? → Start with Grounding 5-4-3-2-1 (Card 1)
Need to calm down quickly? → Try Boxed Breathing 3-3-3 (Card 2B)
Mild stress or want to wind down? → Use Intentional or Belly Breathing (Cards 2A, 2C)
Body tension, headaches, or trouble sleeping? → Progressive Muscle Relaxation (Card 3)
Print this page to keep these cards handy — each is designed to fit on a single printed page.