I Can't Deal With Stress

Sometimes it feels that stress is like water filling up a bucket, but all I have to keep that bucket from overflowing is a teaspoon. I scoop out the water as fast as I can, but the stress just keeps pouring in by the gallon.
I've tried meditation but, admittedly, that takes a lot of willpower for me because my thoughts tend to race so much and my minds wanders. I'm going to have to start regularly meditating again because it seems to be the only promising method of getting the stress under control without medication. I've tried medication before, but can't deal with the side effects.
In the meantime it is just one day at a time for me, because I can only live in the present.