When you are stressed what do you do to ease the stress?
Depends on the stress,so I do a variety of thins
mediatation, Diva Premals version of the Gaya mantra is my fav
Dance: tribal belly dance my fav
Play video games on my xbox–Halo, Carsanone, rock band–wahtever
practice at the guitar (just finished an hour long practice)
my friends preference is to go to the dollar store, buy cheap glass/stomeware plates, throw them at a concrete wall (at least she uses safety glasses and makes sure no one else is where they can get hurt)–and uses the pieces to do mosaic work…
sewing and quilting, of course! Some very complicated hand work is best, but if I am in a big worry, make fabric yoyos - very theraputic!
It depends what’s making me stressed out…music usually helps though. Very very very loud music. 
Quilting usually handles my day to day stress , but if highly stresed I am prone to making errors that I later have to take out. Also makes my quilting not so even…
WHO recognized stress as a precipitating cause for diabetes in those susceptible,are not we all are now susceptible to type 2 diabetes. The epidemic is frightening.
Well, it depends of what is stressing me out. Rationally I will say I try to do something about whatever problem I have… that usually helps. If the problem is too big or too complex that it makes me feel helpless… I know it is time to let go… not an easy task anyway…
Sometimes I can, sometimes I can’t… an ongoing struggle. It helps me to do things with my hands, walking with my bare feet on the grass, hug my son out of the blue on the hallway, looking at my husband by my side, painting is always a pleasure, or realizing all the things that are actually over wheels in my life… (the glass is half full kind of thing)
However, many times I find myself going in cycles in my head, revising old issues, not sleeping well at night, overworking, or overeating. Or all of them together… I try to be aware of this signs and do something about it… it is an ongoing thing, part of life i guess.
Chronic Stress-----high s cortisol…supress immunity
RELAX: how?
Loud music–salsa, old Motown, anything that gets me wanting to move & dance & get out of my head.
Hugging my dogs, especially my Brock. He’s a blind, bulldog/pit mix. Brock has the most complacent, easygoing nature that I’ve encountered in any creature. He’s a big teddy bear. I curl up next to him & listen to him breathe. Brock helps me realize that most things aren’t worth the effort of stressing over. That works wonders for me, if I’m home.
Walking really fast.
Deep breathing.
When I was a student & supporting myself in the restaurant biz, I would go out on the back deck & throw empty liquour bottles into the dumpster. Crash! Felt great. Wish I had something like that now!
I have an anxiety disorder so I’ve basically designed my entire life around the goal of minimizing stress. I keep things as simple as possible – I don’t keep a lot of possessions, own a car, or have kids. I live in a small house in the country and a few years ago I left my corporate commuter career and took a lower-pressure, local job I can ride my bike to. I spend a lot of quiet time outside. Getting enough sleep makes a huge difference, too.
For acute stress my main strategy is to write. I just keep writing down every thought that comes into my head until I can’t think of anything else to say, and once I’ve cleared it all out I usually feel pretty good. I’ve been journaling for stress relief since I was 9 years old!
I also meditate every day, whether I feel stressed or not – sort of as a preventative. It’s awesome!
Other methods include talking or walking with friends, hugging my dogs, taking a bath, singing, listening to music, doing something nice for someone else (to get my mind off myself), or if all else fails, running on the treadmill until I can’t run anymore is great for using up all that extra adrenaline.
When stressed,it is writing & drawing which help me to relax.Our cat is very important,just playing with him make me feel better.
If I could just drown the world out by sticking my headphones on - listen to music & surf the internet - I would LOVE it!
If I could find a quite place, light a candle, and read a book - I would LOVE IT!
Yes, the above things help me to deal with stress. I just have to learn to shoe everyone away so I find the “Me” time I so dolly need Smiles
Your answer is a beautiful poem.We have a poetry club for lovely poets like you.
yesterday morning (bg 180), I felt so overwhelmed by my diabetes I felt I was losing my mind! Lucky for me, it was a day my art quilt group was meeting. We have been working on a collaborative piece, a painting by Matisse, that we “divided” into seven sections, and each person interprets a section in cloth. Well, we got it together yesterday, and it looked so awesome, we were all jumping and hugging and stuff like that. Needless to say, when I left (bg 105), I felt so happy! So I say, get together with your friends and do a project together! (here is a picture of the collaboration - it is not 100% finished yet) My section is third from the top. See a picture of our group on my profile page!
It is so beautiful Marie.Getting out of ourselves & doing nice things with friends is stress releiving.
I blog, I write and vent my feelings on the discussion forums, I listen to music, I watch movies, I read silly books that make me laugh, I phone my mom, I talk to my mentor. And then, once I have calmed down, I do something about the cause of the stress! I just wish I didn’t get so hyped up about things. I would be a lot more productive.
I just want to comment on what great stress relievers everyone who has said so far!!! All of it sounds nice and healthy!!! Good on you!!! I too enjouy the art side of things, so I have been tinkering and planting in my garden and resurecting some sad art projects around my home…
Wirh my plate very full at the moment, I love to get lost in the garden and stuff…it seems to make it more clear when I don’t think about things so much??? sounds weird I know, but it seems to work
The world wide economic crisis is affecting all of us.Panic is spreading,but it happened before and things do improve.Prayers,then getting with friends for fun eases the worry.