Praying is basicly talking to yourself, if that gave you comfort before, talk to yourself, out loud if you have to. If it was th fantasy that was so attractive, close your eyes and let your mind wander, visualize what you will and work with it. The answers were always within you. reach out to others.

Take out the source of stress - it just makes life not worth living, so why try to live with it.

Weed and then writing.

You had faith in God. It's time to put faith in people and government and assume that most will do the right thing, from teachers, to politicians, to everyday people. And that those who don't will be caught by practices and protocols set in place.

I meditate, journal, have a cup of tea, play mindless video games, read, write stories...

YouTube debates with flat earthers!!!

Smoke a lot of weed!

Hiking, biking, podcasts, music, mindless games, sex/masturbation, cooking elaborate things and eating tehm after. Really hard days at gym, series/movies with popcorn... Depends on the source or stress

Meditation is going to be the closest comparison to what you used to do. I suggest meditating.

Blow a reef and crank Brandenburg Concertos 2 & 3.

Sex..except when I'm stressing out over sex..

I used to do it through drink and music. The drink part doesn't work so well any longer. These days my time is spent between 2 of my computers (I have 3) and keeping them in top shape for music, movies, TV, etc. all around the world. They are my "projects." These days I'm greatly into IPTV and also using my router to block ads and totally change my DNS.

If a woman was around we might try sex. That needs a lot of experimentation and practice also.

I use to light up a doobie, but after joining the military I can't do that anymore. Now whenever I'm stressing I either watch something that will make me laugh, or go for a run/workout session.

Every morning, I start my day by going to the local YMCA (usually walking). I swim for twenty minutes, doing the backstroke with my eyes closed, and meditating in the pool. As best I can, my thoughts and focus are solely on my breathing and the movement of my body as I move through the water. When I am finished, I feel both relaxed and a bit exhausted from the workout.

Reading a book to learn something. When im done, i know more than before start the book. And thats amazing, and comes with amusing feelings.

I took a 'Dealing With Stress' class once. One of the techniques taught was to sit in a chair, arms extended at your sides, and head leaning back. You close your eyes, and start imagining you are in some exotic place, you've always wanted to go. After awhile, you can "feel" the stress leaving your body through your fingertips. I've tried it. This actually seems to work!

Everything is just temporary. Glass of wine, temporary. Work out, temporary.

I just try to trick my brain into releasing the chemicals I want. Ever just hug somebody for like 30 seconds? Works amazing for killing stress.

Of course, that requires cooperation and advanced warning. You can't just like wrap somebody up for that long without their permission.

Eliminate the things that cause you stress, remove yourself from stressful situations. And for the rest a healthy dose of fuck it.

Keep putting yourself in successively more stressful situations on a regular basis until eventually everyday stress becomes an exercise in monotony and you can no longer understand why trivial things bother some people. Then de-stressing will no longer be required because you won't get stressed in the first place.

I go on to Agnostic dot com and start winding somebody up, the more wound up they get, the more relaxed I am.

I meditate. I talk to people. I positively affirm what I most desire. I lighten up. I get massages. I practice self care. I take a nap.

Sex, garden, hike

I head outdoors for a hike, or watch nesting desert birds from looking over our yard railing.

Photo I just took of a male curve-billed thrasher guarding his nest in a sagebrush thicket growing in desert area adjacent to our yard.

By the way this particular male comes to my sliding glass door at night to say "good-night" to me with a loud "WIT! WIT!" until I nod to him. His mate also calls to me from the thicket, and I can hear other thrashers all over the mountainside also echoing the "wit, wit" call before the male dives into the thicket and everything goes silent for the night.

Breathe slow and loud; get into a good book; work up a sweat, usually a fast walk or an uphill hike; smoke a bowl; sip an alcoholic beverage; clean house; silly YouTube videos; sex (only this far down the list because I’m solo)
But mostly I avoid things that cause stress to spike, like TV news, any Trump news, cities, drama. Stress still rears is ugly head, hence the big bag of tricks listed.

Nothing relieves my stress better than a long hike