How Can You Relieve Stress in One Minute?
By Marie Matteson, MS LMT CHt
How can you relieve stress in one minute? It sounds too good to be true, especially if you are a first responder, a nurse, a dispatcher, or anyone who carries the weight of other people's emergencies. But this question is exactly what I set out to answer, and I recently sat down with Conrad Weaver on the First Responder Wellness Podcast to talk about it.
You can watch our full conversation above, or keep reading for the story behind the technique, the science that supports it, and what to do next.
Why I Started Looking for a One Minute Answer
I became an EMT in 1990 in a small Wisconsin town, then continued serving as a volunteer in Washington State until 2011. Alongside emergency medicine, I built a career as a medical massage therapist and earned a master's degree in applied health studies. My niche has always been the same: helping those who help others.
The idea for the One Minute Stress Release began on a ride along. I was the extra set of hands while paramedics managed a patient who was medically stable but very upset. I placed my gloved hand on the patient's forehead, and her pulse rate dropped. When she became agitated again, I put my hand back, and the medics noticed. Their instruction was simple. Keep doing that.
That moment sent me on a mission. Most problems leave clues, and this was a big one. Something measurable was happening, and I wanted to understand what, why, and how to make it repeatable.
The Proof: Everyone's Blood Pressure Came Down
I do not expect anyone in emergency services to take a stress technique on faith. Measurable change is the language that medical directors, doctors, and psychologists understand, so that is what I went looking for.
I approached an EMT instructor and set up a simple study with a class of EMT and paramedic students preparing for their final exams. Real stakes, real stress. Some of them needed to pass to keep their jobs. Each student measured their own blood pressure while thinking about the upcoming test, wrote the number down, performed the stress release process, then measured again while still thinking about the test.
Every single blood pressure came down. A measurable change, exactly what I needed to bring this work to medical professionals with credibility.
How Can You Relieve Stress in One Minute? Meet the Reset
The One Minute Stress Release, or OMSR Reset, is a simple stress release process designed to interrupt stress patterns and restore clarity. It is not breathwork, and it is not meditation. It is a pattern interrupt that combines a specific hand position on the forehead with a guided eye movement while you consciously hold a stressor in mind.
Here is the why behind it. When you walk into a scene, your brain takes in a staggering amount of information in seconds. The sights, the sounds, the empty pill bottles on the counter, the position of every person in the room. Your conscious mind can only process a fraction of it. The rest gets layered and stored, call after call, year after year. Over time, that stored stress stacks up.
The Reset asks the body to bring that stored information forward and separate the fight or flight charge from the memory itself. It does not erase what you went through. The memory stays, but it becomes data without the emotional charge, so you can look at it objectively instead of reliving it.
One more essential piece: Happy Place will bring you back to baseline. If at any time you become overwhelmed, think of your happy place to immediately return to your centered baseline.
I demonstrate the full technique in the video above, and I walk you through it step by step in my book.
A Real Story: The Officer Who Could Not Qualify
One police officer I worked with suddenly could not qualify with his weapon. He had served his country and his community for years, and then a family stressor tipped him over. It did not show up as nightmares. It showed up on the range, where he could not hit his target, and his job was on the line.
We worked incrementally. We started with the family stress, processed it with the stress release, then moved step by step toward holding his empty weapon, then loading it, then firing. Two weeks of small, deliberate steps. He qualified, and he has not missed a qualification since.
That is the pattern I see over and over. Stress creates noise. Clarity returns when the noise settles.
What to Do Next
Start small. Do not take your biggest stressor head on. Pick something minor, like traffic on the way to the airport, and work your way up incrementally. Watch the demonstration in the video above so you can see exactly how it is done.
Then take these steps:
Grab the book, One Minute Stress Release, and learn the complete process at your own pace. You can find it on my Amazon page
If you lead a department or team, visit my responders page to learn how to bring this training to your agency.
Have questions? Book a free 15 minute Q&A with me. No pressure, just answers.
You respond to everyone else's emergencies. This is one minute you can give back to yourself.
This content is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical or mental health care. If you are struggling, please reach out to a qualified professional. In the US, you can call or text 988 for support at any time.
© Marie Matteson. All rights reserved.
