NEW YORK – Right before Election Day, it occurred to Beth McRae that her stress levels were rising and affecting the people around her, including the employees of her public relations firm.

“All hell was breaking loose, and I realized, wow, this is an epidemic of stress and that I needed to take better care of myself,” said McRae, whose company, The McRae Agency, has offices in Scottsdale, Ariz., and San Diego.

McRae, deciding not to let the tension and anxiety get the better of her, began a routine of prayer, meditation, yoga and focusing on improving her company. She is one of many small-business owners who are responding to the stresses of today’s economy by taking better care of themselves and their companies.

Some are driving a few more golf balls.

Bretton Holmes had brought some golf clubs and a golf simulator into his Lubbock, Texas, media relations company, just to be able to do something physical during a workday. “Then I realized it was having a stress reduction effect as well,” he said.

“I think everyone’s stress is up,” said Holmes, president of Holmes Worldwide Media.

Many owners have seen stress levels soar in the past two months or so, when the crisis in the financial industry turned catastrophic, sending the stock market plunging and forcing the government to step in and rescue commercial and investment banks. Consumers and businesses cut their spending, and an already sagging economy was pummeled ever further.

The anxiety sent Julie Kampf back to the gym two months ago. “That’s when the stress hit me,” said Kampf, president of JBK Associates Inc., an executive search firm in Englewood, N.J.

By exercising, “my energy is coming back, my focus is getting better. It helps me deal with the ongoing stress of every day,” she said.