Everyone struggles with stress and to some, this can become a serious problem. There are numerous physical effects from prolonged stress such as susceptibility to illness, a lack of energy, and problems with sleep. We totally understand what you’re going through that’s why we’ve put together a list of stress quotes that you will surely relate to. Enjoy!
Stress Quotes
1. There are times when we stop, we sit still. We listen and breezes from a whole other world begin to whisper. — James Carroll
2. Breath is the power behind all things. I breathe in and know that good things will happen. — Tao Porchon Lynch
3. Within you, there is a stillness and a sanctuary to which you can retreat at any time and be yourself. — Hermann Hesse
4. Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor. — Thích Nhất Hạnh
5. Calmness is the cradle of power. — Josiah Gilbert Holland
6. Simply let experience take place very freely so that your open heart is suffused with the tenderness of true compassion. — Tsoknyi Rinpoche
7. Don’t try to force anything. Let life be a deep let go. God opens millions of flowers every day without forcing their buds. — Osho
8. Understand this and be free we are not in our bodies; our bodies are inside us. — Sean A. Mulvihill
9. Set peace of mind as your highest goal, and organize your life around it. —Brian Tracy
10. Many a calm river begins as a turbulent waterfall, yet none hurtles and foams all the way to the sea. — Mikhail Lermontov
11. Doing something that is productive is a great way to alleviate emotional stress. Get your mind doing something that is productive. — Ziggy Marley
12. Give your stress wings and let it fly away. — Terri Guillemets
13. The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another. — William James.
14. In the woods, we return to reason and faith. There I feel that nothing can befall me in life—no disgrace, no calamity leaving me my eyes, which nature cannot repair. — Ralph Waldo Emerson
15. Breathe. Let go. And remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure. — Oprah Winfrey
16. The more tranquil a man becomes, the greater is his success, his influence, his power for good. Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom. — James Allen
17. When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky. — Buddha
18. The time to relax is when you don’t have time for it. – Sydney J. Harris
19. One of the best pieces of advice I ever got was from a horse master. He told me to go slow to go fast. I think that applies to everything in life. We live as though there aren’t enough hours in the day but if we do each thing calmly and carefully we will get it done quicker and with much less stress. – Viggo Mortensen
20. Much of the stress that people feel doesn’t come from having too much to do. It comes from not finishing what they’ve started. – David Allen
21. In times of great stress or adversity, it’s always best to keep busy, to plow your anger and your energy into something positive. – Lee Iacocca
22. It is not a daily increase, but a daily decrease. Hack away at the inessentials. – Bruce Lee
23. The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another. – William James
24. We can easily manage if we will only take, each day, the burden appointed to it. But the load will be too heavy for us if we carry yesterday’s burden over again today, and then add the burden of the morrow before we are required to bear it. – John Newton
25. It’s a good idea always to do something relaxing prior to making an important decision in your life. – Paulo Coelho
26. Take rest, a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop. – Ovid
27. Stress is caused by being ‘here’ but wanting to be there. – Eckhart Tolle
28. The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one. – Elbert Hubbard
29. Its not stress that kills us, it is our reaction to it. – Hans Selye
30. There are thousands of causes for stress, and one antidote to stress is self-expression. That’s what happens to me every day. My thoughts get off my chest, down my sleeves and onto my pad. – Garson Kanin
31. For fast-acting relief, try slowing down. – Lily Tomlin
32. Somehow our devils are never quite what we expect when we meet them face to face. – Nelson DeMille
33. A crust eaten in peace is better than a banquet partaken in anxiety. – Aesop
34. If people concentrated on the really important things in life, there’d be a shortage of fishing poles. – Doug Larson
35. If you ask what is the single most important key to longevity, I would have to say it is avoiding worry, stress and tension. And if you didn’t ask me, I’d still have to say it. – George Burns
36. Do not anticipate trouble or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight. – Benjamin Franklin
37. How beautiful it is to do nothing, and then to rest afterward. – Spanish proverb
38. One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one’s work is terribly important. – Bertrand Russell
39. When we long for life without difficulties, remind us that oaks grow strong in contrary winds and diamonds are made under pressure. – Peter Marshall
40. Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under the trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time. – John Lubbock
41. When I look back on all these worries, I remember the story of the old man who said on his deathbed that he had had a lot of trouble in his life, most of which had never happened. – Winston Churchill
42. Don’t underestimate the value of doing nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can’t hear, and not bothering. – Winnie the Pooh
43. Don’t let your mind bully your body into believing it must carry the burden of its worries. – Astrid Alauda
44. When you find yourself stressed, ask yourself one question. Will this matter in 5 years from now? If yes, then do something about the situation. If no, then let it go. – Catherine Pulsifer
45. An hour of anxiety cannot change my circumstances, but a minute of prayer can alter everything. – Al Byrant
46. Stress is not what happens to us. It’s our response to what happens. And response is something we can choose. – Maureen Killoran
47. If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself but to your own estimate of it, and this you have the power to revoke at any moment. – Marcus Aurelius
48. You must learn to let go. Release the stress. You were never in control anyway. – Steve Maraboli
49. Stress is the trash of modern life we all generate it but if you don’t dispose of it properly, it will pile up and overtake your life. – Danzae Pace
50. Stress should be a powerful driving force, not an obstacle. – Bill Phillips
51. When we commit to action, to actually doing something rather than feeling trapped by events, the stress in our life becomes manageable. – Greg Anderson
52. Everyday brings a choice, to practice stress or to practice peace. – Joan Borysenko
53. Some of the secret joys of living are not found by rushing from point A to point B, but by inventing some imaginary letters along the way. – Douglas Pagels
54. Being in control of your life and having realistic expectations about your day to day challenges are the keys to stress management, which is perhaps the most important ingredient to living a happy, healthy and rewarding life. – Marilu Henner
55. Our anxiety does not come from thinking about the future, but from wanting to control it. – Kahlil Gibran
56. Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated. – Confucius
57. Say no to the demands of the world. Say yes to the longings of your own heart. – Jonathan Lockwood Huie
58. Stress is an admission of weakness, a cry of defeat to the world. – Carrie Latet
59. No good comes from hurrying. – Yiddish Proverb
60. It isn’t the mountain ahead that wears you out, it’s the grain of sand in your shoe. – Robert W. Service
61. When you feel the need to hurry, remember that everything in life is a choice. – Jonathan Lockwood Huie
62. Worrying does not take away tomorrow’s troubles, it takes away today’s peace.
63. Today I refuse to stress myself out about things I cannot control or change.
64. It’s not stress that kills us, it is our reaction to it. – Hans Selye
65. Be like a little kid, with no stress, no worries, or a care in the world.
66. Remember, most of your stress comes from the way you respond, not the way life is. Adjust your attitude, and all that extra stress is gone.
67. Don’t stress yourself with useless people who don’t even deserve to be an issue in your life.
68. 99% of things you worry about never happen.
69. Working hard for something we don’t care about is called stress. Working hard for something we love is called passion.
70. Don’t stress. Do your best. Forget the rest.
71. If you want to test your memory, try to recall what you were worrying about one year ago. – E. Joseph Cossman
72. A diamond is just a piece of charcoal that handled stress exceptionally well.
73. God will never give you anything you can’t handle, don’t stress. – Kelly Clarkson
74. Stress spelled backward is desserts. – Loretta Laroche
75. Take life day by day and be grateful for the little things. Don’t get stressed over what you can’t control.
76. The people in your life should be a source of reducing stress, not causing more of it.
77. Stop focusing on how stressed you are and remember how blessed you are.
78. Stress happens when you try to control your life experiences. Relax and remember the only real control you have is over yourself.
79. Stress is the inability to tell the difference between what is happening and what you think is happening.
80. Trying to be a perfectionist brings increased stress and hinders performance. – T. Whitmore
81. Sometimes the best thing you can do is not think, not wonder, not imagine, not obsess. Just breath, and have faith that everything will work out for the best.
82. The major cause of stress is the inability of people to discover their real nature. Discover your gifts, follow them and you will never feel stressed.
83. When you realize how perfect everything is, you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky. – Buddha
84. An ignorant state, stress is.
85. Don’t stress the could haves. If it should have, it would have.
86. Don’t cry over the past, it’s gone. Don’t stress about the future, it hasn’t arrived. Live in the present and make it beautiful.
87. God doesn’t give us what we can handle. God helps us handle what we are given.
88. Gratitude can reduce your stress and anxiety. – Bree Miller
89. Focus on how blessed you are.
90. Stress is the gap between our expectation and reality. The bigger the gap, the more stress, so, expect nothing and just be.
91. Eliminate the people, things, beliefs, environments, and memories that cause you stress, and you will live a more happy and peaceful life.
92. Regardless of what status you hold, life can get stressful at times.
93. Sometimes we have to deal with financial setbacks, health problems, workplace challenges and all sorts of difficulties.
94. But no matter what stress we might experience, we cannot allow it to make us crumble. Just like mentally strong people, we must be able to thrive regardless of any added tension.
95. In order to handle stress effectively, we have to accept that stress is part of life, accept that we cannot control everything and maintain a positive attitude. We have to put our stress in perspective, replace negative thoughts with positive ones and be proud of our achievements, no matter how small.
96. When stress takes over, it can be really challenging to return to your happy state. To help you get back there, here are some inspirational, wise, and uplifting stress quotes, stress sayings, and stress proverbs on how to manage it.
97. It’s not stress that kills us, it’s our reaction to it. – Hans Selye
98. There’s a lot of stress but once you get in the car, all that goes out the window. – Dan Brown
99. Problems can be experienced as a chance for renewal rather than stress. – Marilyn Ferguson
100. When I’m under stress, I do yoga. It’s when I’m happiest that I have a problem with junk food. – Britney Spears
101. Don’t let your mind bully your body into believing it must carry the burden of its worries. – Astrid Alauda
102. Stress is the trash of modern life we all generate it but if you don’t dispose of it properly, it will pile up and overtake your life. – Danzae Pace
103. Trying to be a perfectionist brings increased stress and hinders performance. – T. Whitmore
104. One of the best ways to reduce stress is to accept the things that you cannot control. – M. P. Neary
105. I think one of the biggest things that sleep does is help with emotional stress. – Joe Zeller
106. I enjoy an evening stroll. It helps me to reflect and eases stress. – Blac Chyna
107. I’ve chosen to treat my life more like a party than something to stress about. – Martin Short
108. In times of great stress or adversity, it’s always best to keep busy, to plow your anger and your energy into something positive. – Lee Iacocca
109. Over-thinking causes unnecessary stress and worry, and tends to blow things out of proportion. – Melissa Eshleman
110. Laughter helps bring balance to a stressful situation. – Kala Stevenson
111. Much of the stress that people feel doesn’t come from having too much to do. It comes from not finishing what they’ve started. – David Allen
112. In a year you’ll barely remember why you felt so stressed, so why stress about it now?
113. Stress can actually help you focus better and can be positive. Having small amounts of stress can stimulate you to think. Being able to manage your stress is key. – Frank Long
114. Some stress is necessary in our lives when we want to stimulate creativity, or to promote learning. – Christian J. Borg
115. Each moment of worry, anxiety or stress represents lack of faith in miracles, for they never cease. ― T.F. Hodge
116. Sometimes we can focus so much on nothing that we make it a big something of nothing. ― Ricky Maye
117. Today I refuse to stress myself out about things I cannot control or change.
118. Gratitude can reduce your stress and anxiety. – Bree Miller
119. Much of the stress people encounter is derived from dishonesty. People first lie to themselves and then to others. – David DeNotaris
120. Give your stress wings and let if fly away. – Terri Guillemets
121. Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is relax. – Mark Black
122. A good way to overcome stress is to help others out of theirs. ― Dada J. P. Vaswani
123. Sometimes the most important thing in a whole day is the rest we take between two deep breaths. – Etty Hillesum
124. We must have a pie. Stress cannot exist in the presence of a pie. – David Mamet
125. In times of stress, the best thing we can do for each other is to listen with our ears and our hearts and to be assured that our questions are just as important as our answers. – Fred Rogers
126. Our stresses, anxieties, pains, and problems arise because we do not see the world, others, or even ourselves as worthy of love. – Prem Prakash
127. When you are stressed on mind…to pour it out, is the behaviour, most kind. – Sujit Lalwani
128. Where there is a lack of rest, there is an abundance of stress. – Lysa TerKeurst
129. Everyone is struggling under stress and fear. Only with right attitude we can avoid regrets. – Kishore Bansal
130. The human body can be placed under huge stresses before death will result. ― Steven Magee
131. The stresses and strains of life mould us into our mature selves. The key to life is to accept the wisdom of our later years while maintaining our youthful enthusiasm and curiosity for the world. ― Stewart Stafford
132. And what use would that be to anyone? ― J.K. Rowling
133. If you want to conquer the anxiety of life, live in the moment, live in the breath. ― Amit Ray
134. To achieve great things, two things are needed a plan and not quite enough time. ― Leonard Bernstein
135. I was a little excited but mostly blorft. Blorft is an adjective I just made up that means ‘Completely overwhelmed but proceeding as if everything is fine and reacting to the stress with the torpor of a possum. I have been left every day for the past seven years. ― Tina Fey
136. I promise you nothing is as chaotic as it seems. Nothing is worth diminishing your health. Nothing is worth poisoning yourself into stress, anxiety, and fear. ― Steve Maraboli
137. If the problem can be solved why worry? If the problem cannot be solved worrying will do you no good. ― Shantideva
138. The mind can go either direction under stress—toward positive or toward negative on or off. Think of it as a spectrum whose extremes are unconsciousness at the negative end and hyperconsciousness at the positive end. The way the mind will lean under stress is strongly influenced by training. ― Frank Herbert
139. If you really want to escape the things that harass you, what you’re needing is not to be in a different place but to be a different person. ― Lucius Annaeus Seneca
140. Sleep is such a luxury, which I can’t afford. ― Robin Sikarwar
141. Pain is a relatively objective, physical phenomenon, suffering is our psychological resistance to what happens. Events may create physical pain, but they do not in themselves create suffering. Resistance creates suffering. Stress happens when your mind resists what is. The only problem in your life is your mind’s resistance to life as it unfolds. ― Dan Millman
142. My body needs laughter as much as it needs tears. Both are cleansers of stress. ― Mahogany SilverRain
143. Be strong. Everything is just temporary, including your negative emotions.
144. PTSD is a whole-body tragedy, an integral human event of enormous proportions with massive repercussions. ― Susan Pease Banitt
145. Where’d the days go, when all we did was play? And the stress that we were under stress at all just a run and a jump into a harmless fall. ― Paolo Nutini
146. How well I know with what burning intensity you live. You have experienced many lives already, including several you have shared with me- full rich lives from birth to death, and you just have to have these rest periods in between. ― Anais Nin
147. The only difference between a rut and a grave are the dimensions. ― Ellen Glasgow
148. Toxic relationships are dangerous to your health, they will literally kill you. Stress shortens your lifespan. Even a broken heart can kill you. There is an undeniable mind-body connection. Your arguments and hateful talk can land you in the emergency room or in the morgue. You were not meant to live in a fever of anxiety, screaming yourself hoarse in a frenzy of dreadful, panicked fight-or-flight that leaves you exhausted and numb with grief. You were not meant to live like animals tearing one another to shreds. Don’t turn your hair gray. Don’t carve a roadmap of pain into the sweet wrinkles on your face. Don’t lay in the quiet with your heart pounding like a trapped, frightened creature. For your own, precious and beautiful life, and for those around you seek help or get out before it is too late. This is your wake-up call. ― Bryant McGill
149. Come back, the caterpillar called after her. I’ve something important to say. This sounded promising, certainly. Alice turned and came back again. Keep your temper, said the caterpillar. ― Lewis Carroll
150. Stress level extreme. It’s like she was a jar with the lid screwed on too tight, and inside the jar were pickles, angry pickles, and they were fermenting, and about to explode. ― Fiona Wood
151. At such times, the heart of man turns instinctively towards his Maker. In prosperity, and whenever there is nothing to injure or make him afraid, he remembers Him not, and is ready to defy Him; but place him in the midst of dangers, cut him off from human aid, let the grave open before him, then it is, in the time of his tribulation, that the scoffer and unbelieving man turns to God for help, feeling there is no other hope, or refuge, or safety, save in his protecting arm. ― Solomon Northup
152. Garraty wondered how it would be, to lie in the biggest, dustiest library silence of all, dreaming endless, thoughtless dreams behind your gummed-down eyelids, dressed forever in your Sunday suit. No worries about money, success, fear, joy, pain, sorrow, sex, or love. Absolute zero. No father, mother, girlfriend, lover. The dead are orphans. No company but the silence like a moth’s wing. An end to the agony of movement, to the long nightmare of going down the road. The body in peace, stillness, and order. The perfect darkness of death. How would that be? Just how would that be? ― Stephen King