The day I tried deep breathing exercises, I felt so much better. I took a very deep breath, held it for like some seconds, then exhaled till the last air was out. I felt instant relief. Breathing exercises help our body and minds to fight off stress.

Oh! I thought I was the only one this works for, now I know better.
You know, breathing exercise is the best when it comes to relieving stress and most especially when I'm anxious, just taking a deep breath can get me back on track.

OMG! Music is one of the best ways of calming myself, but I listen to blues mostly it helps me concentrate even when I am reading.

About writing I don't really do much of that when I am stressed, just like you said, everything I will end up writing if at all I do will be gibberish
But I do know some people use writing as a means to soothe themselves by writing down what stresses or bothers them

I equally use sleep as one of the ways to soothe myself if I'm really stressed out, I always bounce back to life if I do