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How do you relieve stress? - 5/5/2013 2:33:39 PM

lovethyself

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I've made some changes in my life recently, and while I'm happy overall with where I am, I'm finding that my tolerance level for stress and frustration is much lower than it used to be. One of the things I've changed is my drinking. So, instead of coming home from work and relaxing with a drink, I've added to my stress by having to resist the temptation. I'm looking for alternative ways of letting off steam, or relaxing.

So, what do you do to unwind? Is there a certain activity that you finds helps when you find yourself overwhelmed with the little things? Do you have a way of finding your balance when things throw you off?

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RE: How do you relieve stress? - 5/5/2013 2:46:29 PM

lizi

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I talk with friends, sleep, come here to the CM boards, listen to music/watch videos on youtube, cook a large pot of something...

Edited to add: I make lists. I'm a great list maker and it helps relieve stress if I feel organized

< Message edited by lizi -- 5/5/2013 2:47:25 PM >

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Post #: 2

RE: How do you relieve stress? - 5/5/2013 3:55:52 PM

ARIES83

Posts: 3648
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You could try lovin thy self.

I've found practice makes perfect when coping with
stress. I find an excellent place to practice is when
driving! I sometimes get annoyed at other drivers
but I absolutely hate feeling annoyed, so when I find
myself being annoyed at say "being stuck behind a
slow person" I will stop focusing on them, set my
cruse control to a few KMs under their speed and put
it from my mind.

Here, let this easy going Australia icon sooth your
troubled soul.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tenNBr6bwvU

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RE: How do you relieve stress? - 5/5/2013 3:59:57 PM

DesFIP

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The stress hormone is cortisol. Recommended ways to reduce it are in here:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-athletes-way/201301/cortisol-why-the-stress-hormone-is-public-enemy-no-1

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RE: How do you relieve stress? - 5/5/2013 4:01:52 PM

Spiritedsub2

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My favorite way to de-stress is to take my mind completely off of myself. I'll do something for my dogs usually; take them for a longer walk, give them baths, cook them something out of the routine for dinner. It soothes me to reorient my focus away from me. Organizing something at home is another favorite focus-changer.

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RE: How do you relieve stress? - 5/5/2013 4:48:19 PM

Level

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I love lizi's list making suggestion, it helps calm the feeling that things aren't getting done.

Meditate. Sooooo freaking effective.

Lifting weights.

Magnesium.

Bubble bath.

And yes, loving thy self.

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RE: How do you relieve stress? - 5/5/2013 4:51:59 PM

Kaliko

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quote:

ORIGINAL: lizi

I talk with friends, sleep, come here to the CM boards, listen to music/watch videos on youtube, cook a large pot of something...

Edited to add: I make lists. I'm a great list maker and it helps relieve stress if I feel organized

Oh, I love making lists as well. Entire spreadsheets, even, with due dates and action plans and if necessary, a budget.

Then I Facebook a bit and take a nap. :)

Two things really do help me when I'm stressed. One is to exercise. It sounds so cliche, but it's just so true. The other is...I go on YouTube and I watch something funny. Something really funny, none of that Evolution of Dance shit. Deep laughs always make me feel better.

(in reply to lizi)

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RE: How do you relieve stress? - 5/5/2013 5:34:32 PM

Rule

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Go and sleep for a bit after work. Do not watch television.

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RE: How do you relieve stress? - 5/5/2013 5:53:25 PM

outlier

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Spiritedsub2

My favorite way to de-stress is to take my mind completely off of myself. ..... It soothes me to reorient my focus away from me. ...

For me this is the essence of it. And I can understand how pets can do that.

But for me now, it is music. I have a large music library. I have good music
equipment I compose my own playlists and I make my own CDs. So for me
it is listening to Rostropovich play Bach in the abby church of Veseley, France.
On a system that can give me the illusion of being there.

Or it is listening to Bill Evans both solo and with his trio play the soft thoughtful
music he was so brilliant at. I call that CD "Spaces" because when I was putting
it together I thought that the notes he chose not to play and the spaces he left were
just as significant as the notes he plays. I can just feel the stress going away.

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RE: How do you relieve stress? - 5/5/2013 5:57:50 PM

lovethyself

Posts: 1818
Joined: 11/4/2012
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: ARIES83

You could try lovin thy self.

I've found practice makes perfect when coping with
stress. I find an excellent place to practice is when
driving! I sometimes get annoyed at other drivers
but I absolutely hate feeling annoyed, so when I find
myself being annoyed at say "being stuck behind a
slow person" I will stop focusing on them, set my
cruse control to a few KMs under their speed and put
it from my mind.

Here, let this easy going Australia icon sooth your
troubled soul.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tenNBr6bwvU

While I agree that loving myself is a great stress release, it's not always something that I can indulge in.

I rarely get stressed from driving, so taking a long drive up the highway is nice and relaxing. I did that yesterday in fact.

(in reply to ARIES83)

Post #: 10

RE: How do you relieve stress? - 5/5/2013 6:06:07 PM

lovethyself

Posts: 1818
Joined: 11/4/2012
Status: offline

These are all great suggestions, and I will definitely be trying some of them. I excercise regularly already, I rarely watch tv (except for maybe 3 shows that I'm following, and the pvr records those for me), and I've recently started doing more artwork again and that's been helping somewhat.

The problem I'm finding is that all of these things, while they help calm me down, I'm not actually processing and releasing the stress. As soon as something else comes up that stresses me out (or the same thing comes up again), all of the previous stress seems to come back, which is making it harder for me to deal with the new problems. The newer problems then feel magnified because of the old stresses.

(in reply to lovethyself)

Post #: 11

RE: How do you relieve stress? - 5/5/2013 6:13:08 PM

lovethyself

Posts: 1818
Joined: 11/4/2012
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: outlier

For me this is the essence of it. And I can understand how pets can do that.

But for me now, it is music. I have a large music library. I have good music
equipment I compose my own playlists and I make my own CDs. So for me
it is listening to Rostropovich play Bach in the abby church of Veseley, France.
On a system that can give me the illusion of being there.

Or it is listening to Bill Evans both solo and with his trio play the soft thoughtful
music he was so brilliant at. I call that CD "Spaces" because when I was putting
it together I thought that the notes he chose not to play and the spaces he left were
just as significant as the notes he plays. I can just feel the stress going away.

This is brilliant. I haven't completely immersed myself in a piece of music in a while. I'm hoping that my next place (soon hopefully) will have enough room for an electronic piano. I used to find peace from just sitting at the piano and playing for hours. Currently I only get to do that at my parents house every couple of months.

Btw, I love how you describe the spaces left between the notes. A lot of my artwork deals with the negative spaces as well (as taught to me).

I think it's time to go through my music collection.

(in reply to outlier)

Post #: 12

RE: How do you relieve stress? - 5/5/2013 6:14:09 PM

angelikaJ

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Joined: 6/22/2007
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Yoga is great.

Journaling is a way of dumping the stress by writing it down and giving it a place to go.
Writing it out can be a good pathway to processing and releasing it.
If you find yourself going back to the same issue then write more about it.

However, if you are not drinking and the not drinking is causing stress then is it possible that some kind of recovery program might be of help?

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Post #: 13

RE: How do you relieve stress? - 5/5/2013 6:32:32 PM

TheLilSquaw

Posts: 2340
Joined: 10/24/2012
From: Middle River, MD
Status: offline

- meditate
- write poetry
- watch cartoons
- annoy the hell out of my primary (my fav. stress relief)

I used to run, although I don't anymore not as a stress reliever anyways.

< Message edited by TheLilSquaw -- 5/5/2013 6:33:20 PM >

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RE: How do you relieve stress? - 5/5/2013 6:48:35 PM

TheHeretic

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I try to spend at least a little time each day being an asshole on the internet.

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RE: How do you relieve stress? - 5/5/2013 6:56:27 PM

lovethyself

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Joined: 11/4/2012
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: angelikaJ

However, if you are not drinking and the not drinking is causing stress then is it possible that some kind of recovery program might be of help?

The not drinking isn't causing me too much stress. It's more that it has been a crutch in the past, and taking that crutch away is a minor stress for me, just as any habit breaking would be. Same with working towards quitting smoking. I'm sure that these things are adding to my stress level, which in turn is using up some of my patience when dealing with other stresses. But that's why I'm looking for alternative releases. I want to get rid of some of my unhealthy habits and replace them with healthier ones.

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Post #: 16

RE: How do you relieve stress? - 5/5/2013 7:33:04 PM

littlewonder

Posts: 15659
Status: offline

First, I talk to Master. He lets me rant when I need to and helps me to release all my frustrations. Sometimes he knows it's just ranting. Other times he tells me how to solve the issue so it's less stressful.

Other things I do is walk....it helps me to clear my head and also to think about why I'm stressed and what to do about it.

I pray, meditate, get some sleep, go online and waste time, watch a stupid comedy and laugh...something mind-numbing so I don't have to actually think.

ETA: It seems like you are building up one stress on top of the other. Have you taken a vacation lately? Even if it's just a weekend trip somewhere? Doesn't have to be far away. Doesn't have to be something busy. It can be just renting a cabin and just chilling or a trip to the beach or whatever. I find that when I get too stressed out like you describe, I know it's time for a mini vacation.

< Message edited by littlewonder -- 5/5/2013 7:35:57 PM >

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RE: How do you relieve stress? - 5/5/2013 8:09:47 PM

MasterCaneman

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Not that everyone can do this, but when I am truly stressed, I go target shooting. There is something about the act of controlling my breathing, relaxing, and focusing on a sight picture that calms me inside. When I'm on the range, I forget my problems. I'm not angry, sad, happy, or worried. I'm just shooting. It's just me, my rifle, and the target. For a little while, that's all this and all that matters.

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RE: How do you relieve stress? - 5/5/2013 8:39:33 PM

LaTigresse

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For ME, it's making sure I am taking really good care of me. Eating healthy, plenty of sleep, a lot of time with nature, doing something creative and artistic.

Right now, the last two weeks, I've been dealing with something stressful I've never had to deal with. It is keeping me from doing nearly all of the things I really love and enjoy. I am countering the situation by allowing myself to relax more and ask for help when needed. To not stress at what I cannot do but remind myself of the temporary nature of my situation and to be more patient.

I've always had such high expectations of myself, felt that I could accomplish anything if I worked hard enough for it. Right now a lot of what I want it just a matter of time. Frustrating big time.

I think a lot of us really suck at being patient with ourselves.

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RE: How do you relieve stress? - 5/5/2013 8:48:02 PM

FelineRanger

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My personal favorite is martial arts classes. I've taken karate and ninjutsu in the past and now am taking tai chi. For me, the combination of learning a new skill and forcing my frustrations through that new discipline does wonders to relieve stress. It also helps that you can occasionally beat the living shit out of someone (to a point)

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