How do you de-stress?

Jaymes · Apr 26, 2007

Lately I've been super stressed from classes, family, and trying to come out to my friends as trans. The tiniest things have been setting me off; I'll either read or hear something and become furious, or break down and start sobbing.

And I'm sure that's not healthy in the slightest.

So how do you guys de-stress? I usually feel that I don't have time to do anything to de-stress during the day; from 7:15 to at least 6 or 6:30 Monday - Thursday I'm taking my sister to school, running back home for a quick bite of breakfast, then going to school myself. At the most I have a two hour break between two of my classes, which I usually spend studying since more often than not I'm too burned out at night to do so. I'm only online right now because I have a day off, thank god. I usually spend Fridays studying, then Saturday-Sunday going down to Athens to see my girlfriend.

Wow, that ended up being more of a rant. Condensed version: What are some de-stressing techniques you can use regardless of how little time you have to do them?

Aqualung · Apr 26, 2007

How do I de-stress? I don't really stress at all. I have this awesome ability to just not care about what's going on around me.

I will say, however, I became highly stressed recently because I wasn't able to find a roommate for next year (and in fact, still haven't). What I did was subconsciously told my body to physicalise the stress into something I could handle, ie, nausea. Yep, I'm just that cool. (So, as you can see, I don't deal with stress very well, probably because I don't stress that much so it's foreign).

Jaymes · Apr 26, 2007

Aqualung said:
How do I de-stress? I don't really stress at all. I have this awesome ability to just not care about what's going on around me.

I will say, however, I became highly stressed recently because I wasn't able to find a roommate for next year (and in fact, still haven't). What I did was subconsciously told my body to physicalise the stress into something I could handle, ie, nausea. Yep, I'm just that cool. (So, as you can see, I don't deal with stress very well, probably because I don't stress that much so it's foreign).

Gah, I envy you.

I have the innate ability to stress about any and everything. Including but not limited to thinking every tiny pain or ache I have is either cancer or my appendix about to explode.

Guitar's Cry · Apr 26, 2007

Meditation. Taking just 5 minutes to sit, calm my mind, and focusing on breathing really breaks a lot of tension.

If I have less than five minutes, I will close my eyes, breath in (visualizing positive energy being inhaled into my body), then breath out (imagining negative energy leaving my body). Often I will do hand movements, like pushing away from my body while visualizing all the stress being forced away from me.

Tea is also a good friend! Tension Tamer from Celestial Seasons is a godsend!

I will also grab my electric guitar, crank up the gain, and blast out my stress in a flurry of riffs and power chords. That's my last ditch solution!

Aqualung · Apr 26, 2007

Jaymes said:
Gah, I envy you. I have the innate ability to stress about any and everything. Including but not limited to thinking every tiny pain or ache I have is either cancer or my appendix about to explode.

Oh, good point... I am a bit of a hypocondriac. (I'm sure others would contest my use of the phrase "a bit of", but hey, that's their fault

) I was thinking more in terms of work/school/daily requirements, which don't really bother me. On the other hand, they don't really challenge me, either. It could just be that I don't stress because I am rarely challenged, in which case it's not an innate ability but rather simply lack of opportunity.

Sunstone · Apr 26, 2007

I de-stress by spreading jelly on my chest and letting the upstairs neighbor's dog lick it off. Works like a charm!

evearael · Apr 26, 2007

I de-stress by crocheting or knitting. It's a very soothing way to work through tension and anxiety and, hopefully, end up with something beautiful in the end. A small project is highly portable if you aren't adverse to knitting in public. I'm planning on knitting in the delivery room.

I also recommend massages. It is amazing how relaxing a simple hand or face massage can be and it is relatively easy to do it yourself. I find gently pulling hair at the roots (not pulling it out) to be wonderful because of all the tension that can build up in the scalp, especially if I have a headache. A lot of my tension goes straight to my shoulders, so I'll try to work at those a bit too.

Mike182 · Apr 26, 2007

shopping. lots and lots of shopping.

Gentoo · Apr 26, 2007

Music and meditation... really, it works wonders for me.

Bishka · Apr 26, 2007

Meditating, bubble baths, video games, reading, sleeping in the sunshine, hugs.

Mike182 · Apr 26, 2007

beckysoup61 said:
Meditating, bubble baths, video games, reading, sleeping in the sunshine, hugs.

yes! lots and lots of hugs!

i always get hugs off my friends anyway, but when i'm in a stress or a mood, i demand lots more! gosh, i actually require quite a lot of attention from my friends

Shadow Wolf · Apr 26, 2007

Listening to music, buying a good drink I really enjoy, visualise or breathe it away (which is difficult at times), meditate, drugs (legal ones, for the sake of the forum), playing my bass, doing something that requires too much focus to be stressed, focusing my stress into something that can be destroyed, and destroying it, such as walls, glass, computer mouse, blank CDs, etc., making and igniting bombs (I have also been injuried by this method many times), or playing violent video games. Also, a conversation with a friend helps. Not necesarilly to vent, but just to say "hey whats up?"

ALifetimeToWaitFor.... · Apr 26, 2007

My punching bag to get me too tired to think about anything and my les paul standard to rearrange my mood by playing something toward the direction i want to be going.

Interesting the amount of responses that had to do with music. I wonder if that is one of the reasons music was so widely developed and is now used as method of "de-stressing" as life becomes more and more complicated.

Listener · May 21, 2007

Classical music does the trick for me. If I'm having a particularly tough day I might indulge in a cigarette. If life is really punching me in the face gin on the rocks make great life preservers.

jacquie4000 · May 21, 2007

I go to the gym, or take a long walk with my dog. Then I come back and relax with a glass of wine when I have the time.

Hema · May 21, 2007

Hugs and cuddling. :yes: Designate someone as your official human teddy-bear.

Okay, if not possible at that particular point in time, you can roll your head in a clockwise and then anti-clockwise motion. Also, bring your shoulders up to your ears a few times and drop them back down. Take some slow deep breaths.

Lie down in the night and look at all the stars in the sky. Realize how small the earth is in relation to the whole universe. Realize how small you are in relation to the universe. Realize that your problems are even smaller. Tomorrow might never come. The present is all we have. Enjoy this little time we were given.

No one is guaranteed to live another second. You can also make mental notes of what is great in your life right now...what you are happy about.

Set aside some time for yourself. Get a massage or watch a funny movie.

Aqualung · May 21, 2007

Listener said:
Classical music does the trick for me. If I'm having a particularly tough day I might indulge in a cigarette. If life is really punching me in the face gin on the rocks make great life preservers.

I find that very interesting in people when they take a stimulant (nicotine) if they are mildly stressed and then a depressent (alcohol) if they are more stressed.

giant space amoeba · May 21, 2007

ALifetimeToWaitFor.... said:
My punching bag to get me too tired to think about anything

Wish i had one.

Ok my destressing thing is Karate.

Shadow Wolf · May 22, 2007

I find that very interesting in people when they take a stimulant (nicotine) if they are mildly stressed and then a depressent (alcohol) if they are more stressed.

Some people also use nicotine for extreme stress. I forget the situation, but when I was working at a gas station, some customer had me going to the point I smoked two cigarettes at the same time.

lillitruthseeker · May 30, 2007

i use a punching bag too -- i punch it and hit it until i have spent every single ounce of my energy and my rage is gone -- i can be really moody and depressed and i get in a rage and want to hurt someone or something -- i know i have a cloudy brain and it helps me -- i also run when i feel like that and i cant get to the gym to hit the bag -- i run as fast as i can until i have to stop and rest or i will pass out -- sounds crazy but it works for me

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