Focus!

Stress, anxiety, and frustration are all completely normal reactions to the high demands of life. It is normal and healthy to have some stress, however, it seems that stress never takes a day off, and this can take a heavy toll on your health. So what are you to do about your stress? I have done the research, and found that every relaxation and stress relief technique has one thing in common. They all require your focus. This is because when you have enormous stress in your life, your body releases the hormones that bring you back to your animal like fight or flight instinct (where you don't necessarily think all your actions through), hence poor stress management. Here is what you always need to do.

Take a step back. Analyze your emotions, and figure out if they are appropriate for the situation.

Isolate yourself from the situation.

Here are some options for relieving your stress.

Focus your mind purely on one image that relaxes you or makes you happy (both work just as well). If you need to, repeat calming words or a calming phrase as you focus your thoughts. Refuse to let your mind stray from that until you are sure that you can think clearly and respond appropriately.

Take steady breaths. They do not necessarily need to be deep (this can make you dizzy after a while) but they need to be evenly spaced and steady. Once again, focus. This time, focus solely on your breathing. Do this until you are sure that you ACTUALLY are fine.

Finally, lay down and progressively relax yourself. Most of you believe that when you do this, you have to relax your toes first, then your calves and thigh, and so on and so forth. However, it really is a better idea to go from your head to your toes. Why? You want to relax your mind first, then concentrate on everything else. As you are slowly relaxing yourself, be sure to take those steady breaths. You need to be sure to consciously make the choice to relax your muscles (you need to focus on the muscle to be relaxed for this). Don't forget to also concentrate on your breathing.

Overall, these techniques are among the most commonly advised, but tailor these to fit you. Or do something else completely (I play minesweeper because you have to concentrate on the numbers). As long as you are taking the focus off your stress.