Stressed Out

NorthCascades

Danp wrote: »

I used to come home from work every day completely stressed out. I would toss and turn at night worrying about the pressures of my job.

Then one day I had an idea. There was a really large tree just outside my front door. It was the first thing I passed when I left for work in the morning and it was the last thing I passed as I came home. This tree became my "Worry Tree". Each day when I came home from work I'd stop for just a second at my worry tree and quickly let the tree know all the things that were stressing me out at work. Now I did this mentally, just in my head, I didn't want to look like a lunatic talking to a tree but I'd 'unload' all my stresses onto the worry tree. The next morning, as I left for work I'd stop by the tree again for just a second and pick up all the stresses and worries that I'd unloaded there last night. I also did this in reverse. Anything that was stressing me in my private life got left on the worry tree when I left for work so that my personal issues didn't impact on my work performance.

This worked wonders for me. I knew that each day when I got home form work I could unload all my stresses, concerns, worries and problems onto my worry tree and relax and enjoy my home life safe in the knowledge that they would all be there waiting for me ready to tackle at work the next day.

Pretty soon this became so ingrained in my personality that I didn't even need the tree any more and actually started to filter through to other areas of my life. I naturally started to stop stressing about things that I couldn't immediately address. Work stress was addressed at work. Home stresses were addressed at home. Relationship worries were addressed when the person was present and so on. I found that stress wasn't as stressful when it was relevant, in fact stress was beneficial in the right setting.

I also HIGHLY recommend watching the Ted talk by Kelly McGonigal about making stress your friend. It will change your perspective on stress being a bad thing.

... but how did the tree handle it?

Glad you're feeling better, anxiety is a *kitten*.

meagan8376

Aromatherapy. a diffuser with lavender oil. Sounds corny but it actually helps,lol.

jennifer_417

Is there any way for you to resolve some of the stress? That's where I'd start. Feeling even a small measure of control over one's circumstances can be incredibly helpful.