101 BEST Calming Quotes for Stress and Anxiety (2024)
We all face challenges that cause stress and anxiety in today’s fast paced world. It can be difficult to find and maintain our inner peace and calm mind. We face stressful situations with family, work, balance, friendships, timeliness, money, illness and so many other complications that come with life.
But in those tough times of stress and anxiety, reading and reflecting on uplifting words from inspirational leaders can be a powerful method to reduce stress and feelings of overwhelm. Thus, I’ve put together this collection of 101 inspirational and calming quotes for stress and anxiety. So, let’s take a look at these quotes — but remember, they’re not just words. They’re little sparks of hope and calm meant to help us find strength in a chaotic world.
Related Article: 60 Uplifting Quotes and Encouraging Words for Women
Key Takeaways:
- Over 40 million adults in the United States are diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. And there are even more who are not diagnosed.
- There are many valid and researched-based ways to reduce stress and anxiety. It’s important to know how to manage it so it doesn’t cause further health problems.
- Reading and reflecting on uplifting words of wisdom and quotes about anxiety and stress can help reduce the symptoms.
What You Need to Know About Stress and Anxiety
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) reports that “Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health concern in the United States. Over 40 million adults in the U.S. (19.1%) have an anxiety disorder. Meanwhile, approximately 7% of children aged 3-17 experience issues with anxiety each year. Most people develop symptoms before age 21.“
These are scary statistics. But I’ve always said you don’t have to have a diagnosis to have a problem. You just have to have a problem. As such, even more people have stressful days and challenges — but are not diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. Nonetheless, they need help.
Some of the best ways people use to overcome stress include:
- focusing on the good things in their lives and practicing gratitude
- practicing mindfulness and meditation
- creating meaningful relationships with trusted people
- practicing relaxation techniques such aroma therapy, calming music, conscious breathing
- simplifying their lives
- going outside everyday to get fresh air and sunshine
- letting go of the “small stuff” and learning to prioritize
But in those tough times of stress and anxiety, quotes and words of wisdom can also be like a comforting hug that can help bring us peace of mind again. They’re like a flashlight in the dark, reminding us that even in the hardest times, it’s possible to regain peace and solace.
These are the best quotes to help with tough times! Please share them with others who are suffering from the anxiety of life or experiencing times of great stress.
Related Article: 23 Easy Ways to Help Rewire Your Anxious Brain
Calming Quotes for Stress and Anxiety
1. “Smile, breathe, and go slowly.” — Thich Nhat Hanh
2. “Trust yourself. You’ve survived a lot, and you’ll survive whatever is coming.” — Robert Tew
3. “Stress is an ignorant state. It believes that everything is an emergency. Nothing is that important.” — Natalie Goldberg
4. “Everything you have ever wanted, is sitting on the other side of fear.” — George Addair
5. “P.S. You’re not going to die. Here’s the white-hot truth: if you go bankrupt, you’ll still be okay. If you lose the gig, the lover, the house, you’ll still be okay. If you sing off-key, get beat by the competition, have your heart shattered, get fired…it’s not going to kill you. Ask anyone who’s been through it.” — Danielle LaPorte
6. “Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, but only empties today of its strength.” — Charles Spurgeon
7. “You don’t have to control your thoughts. You just have to stop letting them control you.”– Dan Millman
8. “The best thing one can do when it is raining, is to let it rain.” — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
9. “If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere.” — Frank A. Clark
10. “Instead of worrying about what you cannot control, shift your energy to what you can create.” — Roy Bennett
11. “The elimination diet: Remove anger, regret, resentment, guilt, blame and worry. Then watch your health, and life, improve.” — Charles Glassman
12. “When I let go of what I am, I become what I want to be.” — Lao Tzu
13. “You wouldn’t worry so much about what others think of you if you realized how seldom they do.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
14. “Whatever happens to you belongs to you. Make it yours. Feed it to yourself even if it feels impossible to swallow. Let it nurture you because it will.” — Cheryl Strayed
15. “You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.” — Maya Angelou
16. “Today’s a perfect day for a whole new start. Let go of fear and free your mind. It’s time to open your heart.” — Chris Butler
17. “Some days, doing ‘the best we can’ may still fall short of what we would like to be able to do, but life isn’t perfect—on any front—and doing what we can with what we have is the most we should expect of ourselves or anyone else.” — Fred Rogers
18. “Worry a little bit every day and in a lifetime you will lose a couple of years. If something is wrong, fix it if you can. But train yourself not to worry. Worry never fixes anything.” — Mary Hemingway
19. “Keep walking through the storm. Your rainbow is waiting on the other side.” — Heather Stillufsen
20. “If you can’t fly, run. If you can’t run, walk. If you can’t walk, crawl, but by all means, keep moving.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.
21. “We must be willing to let go of the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.” — Joseph Campbell
22. “Sometimes the most important thing in a whole day is the rest taken between two deep breaths.”– Etty Hillesum
23. “Nothing is permanent in this wicked world — not even our troubles.” — Charlie Chaplin
24. “Do what you can, with what you’ve got, where you are.” — Theodore Roosevelt
25. “If you want to conquer the anxiety of life, live in the moment, live in the breath.” — Amit Ray
26. “Nothing diminishes anxiety faster than action.” –Walter Anderson
27. “There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will.” — Epictetus
28. “Do not let your difficulties fill you with anxiety; after all it is only in the darkest nights that stars shine more brightly.”– Ali Ibn Abi Talib
29. “Anxiety is a thin stream of fear trickling through the mind. If encouraged, it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained.” — Arthur Somers Roche
30. “Do not anticipate trouble, or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight.” — Benjamin Franklin
31. “Anxiety’s like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do, but it doesn’t get you very far.” — Jodi Picoult
32. “You must learn to let go. Release the stress. You were never in control anyway.” — Steve Maraboli
33. “It’s OKAY to be scared. Being scared means you’re about to do something really, really brave.”– Mandy Hale
34. “Nothing can bring you peace but yourself.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
35. “Just when the caterpillar thought the world was ending, he turned into a butterfly.” — Anonymous
36. “Every time you are tempted to react in the same old way, ask if you want to be a prisoner of the past or a pioneer of the future.” — Deepak Chopra
37. “There are moments when all anxiety and stated toil are becalmed in the infinite leisure and repose of nature.” — Henry David Thoreau
38. “Anxiety was born in the very same moment as mankind. And since we will never be able to master it, we will have to learn to live with it—just as we have learned to live with storms.” — Paulo Coelho
39. “No amount of anxiety can change the future. No amount of regret can change the past.” — Karen Salmansohn
40. “Your mind will answer most questions if you learn to relax and wait for the answer.” — William S. Burroughs
41. “If you trade your authenticity for safety, you may experience the following: anxiety, depression, eating disorders, addiction, rage, blame, resentment, and inexplicable grief.” — Brené Brown
42. “Not everything that weighs you down is yours to carry.” — Anonymous
43. “Good humor is a tonic for mind and body. It is the best antidote for anxiety and depression. It is a business asset. It attracts and keeps friends. It lightens human burdens. It is the direct route to serenity and contentment.” — Grenville Kleiser
44. “Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations. The best is yet to come.” — Zig Ziglar
45. “Hey you, keep living. It won’t always be this overwhelming.”– Jacqueline Whitney
46. “Keep calm and carry on.” — Anonymous
47. “Worrying isn’t going to change the situation so don’t waste your brain energy.” — Susan Ballinger
48. “No need to hurry. No need to sparkle. No need to be anybody but oneself.” — Virginia Woolf
49. “Stress is an ignorant state. It believes that everything is an emergency. Nothing is that important.” — Natalie Goldberg
50. “I just give myself permission to suck…I find this hugely liberating.” — John Green
51. “How much pain have cost us the evils which have never happened.” — Thomas Jefferson
52. “We must have a pie. Stress cannot exist in the presence of a pie.” — David Mamet
53. “Calm mind brings inner strength and self-confidence, so that’s very important for good health.” — Dalai Lama
54. “Sometimes letting things go is an act of far greater power than defending or hanging on.” — Eckhart Tolle
55. “There are two ways to get rid of an anxiety monster, my friend—you either have a bath or a nap.” — Andrew Kaufman
56. “Going through things you never thought you’d go through will only take you places you never thought you’d get to.” — Morgan Harper Nichols
57. “You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.” — Jon Kabat-Zinn
58. “Comedy is defiance. It’s a snort of contempt in the face of fear and anxiety. And it’s the laughter that allows hope to creep back on the inhale.” — Will Durst
59. “Many of us feel stress and get overwhelmed not because we’re taking on too much, but because we’re taking on too little of what really strengthens us.” — Marcus Buckingham
60. “Anxiety is a lot like a toddler. It never stops talking, tells you you’re wrong about everything, and wakes you up at 3 am.” — Anonymous
61. “Don’t underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can’t hear, and not bothering.” — A.A. Milne
62. “Calmness is the cradle of power.” — Josiah Gilbert Holland
63. “Anxiety happens when you think you have to figure out everything all at once. Breathe. You’re strong. You got this. Take it day by day.” — Karen Salmansohn
64. “In order to move on, you must understand why you felt what you did and why you no longer need to feel it.” — Mitch Albom
65. “Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” — Reinhold Niebuhr
66. “You don’t drown by falling into water. You only drown if you stay there.” — Zig Ziglar
67. “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” — Henry Stanley Haskins
68. “Sometimes the bad things that happen in our lives put us directly on the path to the most wonderful things that will ever happen to us.” — Nicole Reed
69. “The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.” — Confucius
70. “I tell you the past is a bucket of ashes, so live not in your yesterdays, not just for tomorrow, but in the here and now.” — Carl Sandburg
71. “There must be quite a few things that a hot bath won’t cure, but I don’t know many of them.” — Sylvia Plath
73. “In the end, just three things matter: How well we have lived. How well we have loved. How well we have learned to let go.” — Jack Kornfield
74. “Happiness is not a brilliant climax to years of grim struggle and anxiety. It is a long succession of little decisions simply to be happy in the moment.” — J. Donald Walters
75. “Ask yourself, ‘Will this matter in twenty years?'” — Susan Ballinger
76. “The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.” — William James
77. “People become attached to their burdens sometimes more than the burdens are attached to them.” — George Bernard Shaw
78. The life of inner peace, being harmonious and without stress, is the easiest type of existence.” — Norman Vincent Peale
79. “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
80. “Our anxiety does not come from thinking about the future, but from wanting to control it.” — Kahlil Gibran
81. “Learn what is to be taken seriously and laugh at the rest.” — Hermann Hesse
82. “‘The reason why you’re always stressed is because you want this moment to be something that it’s not,’ she said. ‘You just stop and you accept this moment for what it is. Just breathe right into that moment and it takes the anxiety and the pressure away of wanting this moment to be something it’s not.'” — Oprah Winfrey
83. “Reality is the leading cause of stress among those in touch with it.” — Lily Tomlin
84. “A smile can relax hundreds of muscles in your face, and relax your nervous system. A smile makes you master of yourself.” — Thich Nhat Hanh
85. “Doing something that is productive is a great way to alleviate emotional stress. Get your mind doing something that is productive.” — Ziggy Marley
86. “Stress is caused by being ‘here’ but wanting to be ‘there.'” — Eckhart Tolle
87. “In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity.” — Albert Einstein
88. “Take chances, make mistakes. That’s how you grow. Pain nourishes your courage. You have to fail in order to practice being brave.” — Mary Tyler Moore
89. “We all have anxiety about things. We all have little insecurities, but eventually you have to face your fears if you want to be successful, and everybody has some fear of failure.” — Nick Saban
90. “You are still young and you aren’t supposed to have your whole life figured out yet. Don’t stress. Everything will work out.” – Jay Shetty
91. “Swap ‘Why is this happening to me?’ to ‘What is this trying to teach me?’. It will change everything.” – Jay Shetty
92. “We live only a few conscious decades, and we fret ourselves enough for several lifetimes.” — Christopher Hitchens
93. “We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.” — Joseph Campbell
94. “I know but one freedom and that is the freedom of the mind.” — Antoine de Saint-Exupery
95. “Good humor is a tonic for mind and body. It is the best antidote for anxiety and depression…It lightens human burdens. It is the direct route to serenity and contentment.” — Grenville Kleiser
96. “Actually spending ten minutes clearing off one shelf is better than fantasizing about spending a weekend cleaning out the basement.” — Gretchen Rubin
97. “When you walk through a storm hold your head up high, and don’t be afraid of the dark. At the end of the storm is a golden sky, and the sweet silver song of a lark.” — Oscar Hammerstein II
98. “What else does anxiety about the future bring you but sorrow upon sorrow?” — Thomas á Kempis
99. “The universe doesn’t allow perfection.” — Stephen Hawking
100. “Rule number one: Don’t sweat the small stuff. Rule number two: It’s all small stuff.” — Robert S. Eliot
101. “You wouldn’t worry so much about what others think of you if you realized how seldom they do.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
Update: A Few More Words about Stress and Anxiety
Unfortunately, I’ve been under a lot of stress for the past year due to my 90-year old father’s health and subsequent passing. I moved in with him for the last 8 months of his life and my husband stayed here at our house with his 87-year old mother.
As a result, my doctors have been talking to me alot about stress and anxiety in recent months. Although this does not constitute medical advice, I want to share what they told me about the long-term effects of stress on the body.
Please be aware that stress and anxiety can lead to substance abuse, serious mental health issues, chronic physical illnesss like heart disease and GI issues, and even a reduced life expectancy. This is what worried me the most!
In fact, I have been covered in hives for the past week and specialists are trying to determine the cause. Of course, they are looking at stress, but it could be a lengthy treatment regardless of the cause.
So please consider your health and wellbeing when dealing with stress and anxiety. You may want to consider getting professional help. I care about you!
Final Thoughts: Calming Quotes for Stress and Anxiety
Everyone has a bad day now and then. Thankfully, these calming quotes for stress and anxiety can help ease the mind, body, and soul.
Meanwhile, the best thing you can do is take a deep breath and count to 10 — this will give your mind a break and help your body relax — even if momentarily.
And one more important thing — the best antidote for stress is good humor and laugher! So plan some time for laughter in your life! Don’t let stress and anxiety consume you!
Love to ALL! ~ Susan
