12 Simple Stress-Reducing Strategies to Relax and Beat Autoimmune

“Your body’s natural self-repair mechanisms only activate when your body is in a relaxation response.”

– Lissa Rankin, MD & Author, Mind Over Medicine

Between the alarming headlines, constant notifications, and financial uncertainties, it’s no wonder so many of us feel constantly on edge.

When you layer in too little sleep, too much caffeine, and concerning autoimmune symptoms it’s easy to get trapped in chronic stress reaction mode. Over time, this proinflammatory state wears down your adrenals, disrupts digestion, weakens your immune system, throws off thyroid function, and fuels inflammation—a perfect storm for triggering or worsening autoimmune conditions.

If you’re living with autoimmunity and often feel stressed, anxious, or overwhelmed, it’s critical to prioritize daily nervous system calming.

Here’s why: Our bodies were designed to handle short bursts of stress—like running from a predator. In those moments, the sympathetic “fight, flight, or freeze” response kicks in. Stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline flood the system, increasing heart rate, blood pressure, and muscle tension, while digestion halts. It’s survival mode.

But if that stress response never shuts off? Chronic stress without relief becomes distress—and over time, it leads to breakdown.

To heal, we must regularly shift into the parasympathetic “rest and digest” mode—the body’s natural repair state. Dr. Herbert Benson coined this the “relaxation response,” a powerful antidote to chronic stress.

The good news? You don’t need a spa day or vacation to activate this healing state. You can engage the relaxation response easily in five minutes or less. You just need to decide to prioritize your bodymind wellbeing above all, pick some simple strategies and do them each and every day.

These are twelve of my favorite simple, free and science-backed ways to calm your nervous system quickly:

Surrender Your Stressors

Take stock of your life and write down everything causing you stress. What can you eliminate, minimize, or outsource? For the rest, consider practicing surrender—handing your worries over to a higher power, the universe, or whatever helps you release control.

Get Into Nature

Nature is one of the fastest ways to calm the nervous system. Take a walk, sit by a tree, listen to birdsong, feel the sun on your face. Just 20 minutes outside soaking up nature can lower cortisol levels and boost mood. Learn about the healing power of nature.

Meditate or Sit Quietly

Decades of research confirms the numerous health and wellness benefits of meditation including, stress reduction, strengthened immune function, improved sleep, better emotional regulation including reduced anger, anxiety and depression, and greater focus, discipline and clarity of mind. Even a single minute of sitting quietly can be enough to activate the relaxation response.

Practice Soft Belly Breathing

Place one hand on your belly and take slow, deep breaths in through your nose for a count of 4 and out through your nose for a count of 6 or 8. Make the exhale longer than the inhale. Let your belly rise and fall. This simple practice directly activates the vagus nerve and parasympathetic “rest and digest” state.

Do Things That Fill You Up

Make a list of things that nurture you. These can be easy to do and free, like calling a good friend, taking a bath, doing some gentle yoga poses, turning on some soothing or uplifting music, moving your body, or just being — in nature.

Catch and Replace Negative Thoughts

Most of our 60,000 daily thoughts are negative and repetitive. Worry, catastrophizing, all-or-nothing thinking—these distortions drain us. Practice self-inquiry and ask yourself: Is this true? Can you absolutely know that it’s true? Consider Byron Katie’s Loving What Is, Four Questions That Can Change Your Life.

Be Kind to Yourself

Self-compassion is nurturing and healing.² Be aware of how you talk to yourself. Use positive language and treat yourself as you would your best friend or a child. Remember that negative self-talk is harmful self-abuse. How can you be kinder to yourself today?

Help Others Less Fortunate

Studies shows that when we spend time helping others, we receive health and longevity benefits.³ Volunteering is a great way to help others and help yourself, whether it’s making a meal for a friend in need, taking an elderly neighbor to the grocery store, or helping a child learn how to read.

Ask For Help

Ample studies show that being on the receiving end of generosity and compassion has a positive effect on your health and well-being.⁴ Who can you reach out to today? Remember that help can come in many forms, for example, having someone do errands, having a friend to just listen, or receiving healing energy and prayers.

Do a Daily Calming Practice

Whether it’s restorative yoga, hypnosis, progressive relaxation, tapping, guided meditations, brainwaive entrainment, or simple breathwork—make it a daily ritual. Better yet, make your practice(s) bookends, when you wake up and before bed. Even one minute counts. The key is consistency, not perfection.

Listen to Soothing or Uplifting Music

Music has a powerful calming effect on the nervous system. It can lower heart rate, blood pressure, and cortisol levels while boosting mood and activating the relaxation response. Whether it’s nature sounds, instrumentals, or a favorite playlist, let music soothe your mind—and inspire you to gently move your body.

Look for and Savor Glimmer Moments

Glimmers are small, uplifting moments that spark joy, calm, or connection—like noticing a rainbow, hearing your favorite song, or feeling sunshine on your skin. Unlike triggers, which activate stress, glimmers help shift your nervous system toward safety and relaxation. Like gratitude, the more you look for and savor them, the more you train your brain to seek the good, promoting resilience and well-being over time.

Creating health and wellbeing is the result of consistent, small actions that calm your nervous system and support your body’s natural repair processes. The more stress-reducing practices you weave into your daily life, the more powerful the compounding effect becomes. One deep breath helps. A walk in nature helps more. Add soothing music, soft belly breathing, or a moment of stillness—and suddenly, you’ve created a healing environment from the inside out.

The key is to choose the practices that resonate with you—and commit to doing at least one every single day.

Which relaxation practice will you give yourself today?

Take heart in knowing that when you proactively engage the relaxation response, you’re not just feeling better in the moment—you’re strengthening your immunity, repairing tissues, increasing the bonding hormone oxytocin, and becoming more resilient to life’s inevitable stressors.

May you find many glimmer moments—and move through difficult times with grace, strength, and ease.

Take good care. 💛

P.S: Want my help reversing an autoimmune condition?

If you live in the continental U.S. and are determined and committed to your best health, I offer Functional Medicine Total Health Transformation Programs over Zoom in collaboration with a skilled naturopathic doctor (ND). Get on my calendar for a free 30-minute discovery call.

Image Credit: Getty Images

1 The therapeutic use of the relaxation response in stress-related diseases, Esch T, Fricchione GL, Stefano GB, Med Sci Monit. 2003 Feb;9(2):RA23-34, Reference

2 Reference

3 Altruism, Happiness, and Health: It’s Good to Be Good, Stephen G. Post,International Journal of Behavioral Medicine 2005, Vol. 12, No. 2, 66–77, Reference

4 Why Kindness Heals, James R. Doty, M.D. Professor of Neurosurgery, Stanford University School of Medicine; Director, Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education, Reference

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Palmer is a certified Functional Medicine Health Coach who has helped thousands of people reverse autoimmune conditions based on her own two-decade battle to successfully beat multiple sclerosis (MS). She’s the author of the Amazon #1 bestselling book, Beat Autoimmune, which has a powerful foreword by Functional Medicine pioneer, Mark Hyman, MD.

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