The Stress Prescription

Seven Days to More Joy and Ease

By: Elissa Epel PhD

Narrated by: Elissa Epel PhD

“A preeminent expert sheds light on how to handle the daily hassles of life. It’s not just a manual for managing stress—it’s a toolkit for preventing it.” —Adam Grant, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Think Again

From world-renowned psychologist and New York Times–bestselling author Dr. Elissa Epel, a simple yet powerful plan to turn your stress into your strength in just seven days

We can’t avoid stress. But we can embrace it and transform it.

Whether we’re facing deadlines, difficulties with family or friends, personal crises, or just the uncertainty of the world—stress is the ocean we swim in. Even our negative thoughts can trigger our body’s stress response so we rarely experience periods of ease and deep restoration.

In The Stress Prescription, Dr. Epel distills decades of research, infused with wisdom, into a practical yet transformative seven-day plan of science-based techniques that can help you harness stress through more positive challenge and purpose.

The seven-day prescription will lead you through these exercises:

Day 1: Things Will Go Wrong . . . And That’s All Right
Day 2: Control What You Can . . . And Put Down the Rest
Day 3: Be the Lion
Day 4: Train for Resilience
Day 5: Let Nature Do the Work
Day 6: Don’t Just Relax . . . Restore
Day 7: Start Full, End Full

Dr. Epel shows us how we can “stress better”—by training our minds and bodies to shift towards a flexible, beneficial stress response that can actually enhance health. You will develop a more robust mindset, build the resources you need to turn stress into strength, and fill your days with more joy, connection, and ease.


* This audiobook edition includes a downloadable PDF which contains all the Today's Practice exercises, the Mind States graph, the Your Stress Mindset test, the My Core Values list, the Stress Prescription chart, and the Further Reading and Resources list from the book.

Great book

Great book for building resilience and managing stress. Loved the practical tips and strategies provide.

Very helpful

Simple and helpful ways to help manage stress. I would highly recommend this book to others.

Data- based recommendations to lower stress

I’ve listened to the book twice and loved it each time. Dr.Eppel’s work is inspiring and hearing the recommendations in her own uplifting voice is a treat. I have not tried them all but can attest to the benefits of many of her recommendations.

Rx Delivers

Epel’s interview on the Huberman Lab podcast made me want more, and the book was even better. Outlined in a way where it can be read and worked into your own behavior practices in a week, she breaks the work down in manageable and understandable ways. Her reading is approachable & engaging, yet holds the inflection and weight of an expert in her field of stress science. Really excellent!

Humane, compassionate and practical

I loved everything about this material. And bonus: The author’s voice was amazingly soothing!

Thank you for this contribution to the body of knowledge supporting being an active participant in one’s resilience!