Hi Maria
I’m going to answer this because I KNOW what to do, not because I am so great at doing it right now. (And maybe that will help me as well to remember what to do!)
Most of us can’t do much to eliminate the stressful things in our lives, such as our jobs, school, family stresses, finances, etc. But we can minimize stressors and then do some things to compensate for all that is left. Minimizing could be not taking as many class units or not being the one in our job to volunteer to take on all the extra little tasks. Or it could be being willing to “live with” the house not being spotless during the week, or paying to hire someone to clean. Or setting limits with people in our lives who set demands on us that we feel we have to agree to.
As for what to do with the rest of the unavoidable stress? I really believe in taking “mini-vacations”. This could be a day when you turn off the phone, the computer and hide your to-do list and just do fun relaxing things. Good luck with that, huh? Americans get the least amount of vacation time of any of the developed countries and some people don’t even use what they have. Or they use vacation for “projects” and then need to rest up from their “vacation”.
But mini-vacations can also be something you do every day and can take up as little time as five minutes. So many of us sit at a computer all day and only budge for lunch. That causes muscle strain, eye strain and gives diminishing returns in how long we can concentrate. Take breaks! Walk around the building or to a nearby place for a drink or snack. Do stretches. Chat with your coworkers. Become aware of signs of stress in your body and do progressive relaxation (tighten and then relax one muscle group after another) or close your eyes and just breathe deeply. It really helps! Some people like things like yoga or meditation which teaches us to empty our minds and simply be. it’s incredible when we realize how much “chatter” goes on in our minds all the time. Sometimes we are even doing arithmetic endlessly trying to work out our finances in our head!
On another somewhat silly thread on the same topic I put the Diabetes ratio I am giving myself currently (I’m trying to adjust to insulin use for the first time and obsessed with all there is to learn): One hour diabetes: 15 minutes hammock time. People say they are too busy and pressured to do fun things, but that is when you can’t afford not to! Whether it’s a hammock or a nice candlelit bubble bath or time out for a silly video with the kids, the time you put in is well worth it for the relief it gives you. Eating and sleeping well and on fairly regular schedule is also very important for stress. And exercise releases endorphins which help with mood and stress as well. All the things we need to do for our diabetes anyway. If you have trouble sleeping due to all the things on your mind, close your eyes and imagine yourself somewhere tranquil, or else visualize putting your concerns away in a locked box for the night. Or actually write them down on a list for the next day so they are out of your head for the night.
We all have personal things we like to do for stress, whether it is knitting, games, mindless tv. One of mine is my cat. They have actually done studies on how petting an animal can lower blood pressure!
It might sound like something more to put on your plate but volunteer work, because when we spend time thinking about someone else it takes us outside of ourself and stops us obsessing about our own situation for a little while.
Some people say a glass of wine after work relaxes them but of course if you rely too much on a substance to relieve stress it can cause a problem of its own.
The last thing I want to say works for me to lower stress is to avoid stressful people. I don’t allow drama in my life! It took me many years to learn to set that boundary. Because I am a “helper” I tried to help people I now realize were emotional vampires and only dragged me down. It’s amazing how much stress is relieved by just being around healthy people who like to give as well as take in a relationship and whose own approach to life is positive.When I am needing to relax I pretty much shut everyone out, by letting the answering machine get the calls. I think we are WAY to accessable all the time and it can be exhausting!
Those are just some things that come to mind. What do you teach, Maria? I teach community college, only online now as I live in Guatemala. I teach Psychology. Can you tell…LOL
