10 Products I Swear By For Soothing My Stress-Induced Body Aches

According to my shopping history, I have tested 13 different ice pack brands since my chronic pain started, so trust me when I say these Magic Gel ice wraps are The Best for calming stress-induced aches—no rips, leaks, or disappointingly fast melting times. I have four of them in my freezer right now, and I love velcroing them around my lower back, glutes, shoulders, and neck to cut through the pain and help me focus on my work during high pain days.

Anyone who knows me knows about My Mat—how I desperately need My Mat, love My Mat, and yearn for My Mat when I’m away. This acupressure mat has been my go-to source of relief since my chronic pain started, and I’ve spent most of my year leaning and laying against these prickly, somewhat painful spikes, just to distract my brain from focusing on the widespread aches.

Let me clarify something first: Despite their popularity, TENS units have not been proven to treat or cure someone’s chronic pain. In fact, a 2014 systematic review on the efficacy of TENS therapy for pain relief highlighted a lack of convincing data, but suggests that TENS therapy may be helpful in soothing certain pain conditions when used at certain intensities. Basically, it’s a your-mileage-may-vary treatment.

But what I do like my TENS machine for is a counter-stimulation tool. Counter-stimulation is a technique that uses distracting stimuli (like vibration, massage, heat, cold, etc.) to temporarily distract your brain from pain. We all do counter-stimulation naturally, like rubbing your elbow after hitting it on a door frame, and I’ve found it to be the quickest and easiest way to get some relief when my brain is screaming for help.

I just stick the reusable electrode patches on my aching muscles, turn on the unit, play around with the intensity of the stimulation, and live my life. The vibrations and contractions help to redirect my mind, so I’m free to focus on anything other than the pain.

I have two of these heating pads—one for my couch, and one for my bed—and they’re basically my security blankets for tummy cramps, stomach aches, and nausea. They’re cute (and come in bright blue and muted teal, if you’re not a floral fan), fuzzy, machine washable, and can reach super hot temps, so I can get some actual pain relief, rather than just lukewarm distraction.

Yes, I bought the TikTok-viral headache cap, and yes, it has truly changed my stress-filled life. I have a bad habit of trying to “escape” my anxiety and pain by scrolling endlessly through social media, which inevitably leads to a tension headache. I then try to ignore said headache by watching more TikToks, creating a vicious pain cycle. Truly a 2023 problem.

But this squishy headache cap (which can be used hot or cold) slips over my eyes like a weighted blanket, enveloping my head in chilly or warm goodness that’s incredibly disarming—in the best possible way. When I feel myself spiraling, I lay on the couch, slide on this cap, and do some meditative belly breathing for 15 minutes to help reset myself.

As someone who has always preferred a heavy-handed, deep tissue massage, I like to approach my tight, tense muscles the same way: with a heavy hand and a spiky roller. This stick is equipped with three spiky balls that I roll, rub, and dig into my thighs, glutes, and arms every night to help massage my achy muscles without having to leave my house.

I’ve been a consistent user of Flowly for over a year now, and it has taught me how to calm my nervous system better than any other breathing app. It uses a tiny heart-rate monitor that attaches to your ear or finger, along with a virtual reality headset (though I prefer to use my phone instead) to help you manage chronic pain, anxiety, and insomnia through biofeedback— a technique using real-time data to teach you how to self-regulate your heart rate and breathing patterns.

In short, Flowly is a tech-y way of doing diaphragmatic breathing, which has helped my data-driven soul to stay consistent with the habit, even when my brain and body are in major fight-or-flight mode.

I think I’ve eaten about a million of these ginger chews since high school to help soothe my stress-induced nausea. Not only are they made with real ginger (which research has consistently shown to be effective in calming nausea), but they also have a sharp, spicy bite to them, which helps to temporarily pull my focus from my stomach so I can snap back into the present. I keep a handful of these chews in my purse, car, desk, and nightstand for whenever my brain and tummy decide to team up again.

Before reading this book, I had never been able to stick with a self-help book—probably because I’d rather avoid my stress and pain than actively read about it. But this workbook is filled with study after study illustrating just how powerful our brains are, especially when it comes to creating and enforcing pain as a response to trauma. Reading this book has helped me feel less alone and terrified, while also giving me concrete tools to learn how to become indifferent to my pain, rather than just feeling helpless.

My pain tends to feel the worst in the mornings, which means I have to actively work against the depression spiral before it takes over my day. One of the best changes I’ve made to my morning routine is doing a quick five-minute breathing session with this Insight Timer app—which also happens to be a favorite of Dr. Polyné’s. It has a mix of no-frills timers and free guided meditations, which is all I need when I’m doing my diaphragmatic belly breathing.

“Through awareness of our breath, we can create deep, slow, expansive abdominal breaths that lower our heart rate, activate the vagus nerve, and reroute us back to the present moment,” says Dr. Polyné.