How do you destress?

At a certain point, if all the the above is not helpful in reducing your stress at the end of the day, you might have to look at eliminating the sources of your stress. Sometimes jobs, relationships, home lives, or schedules are literally too stressful to continue. Try identifying those changeable sources of stress (with the help of a therapist, if you want) and make a plan of small steps to remove/reduce them.

BeezBeez wrote: »

gallicinvasion wrote: »

At a certain point, if all the the above is not helpful in reducing your stress at the end of the day, you might have to look at eliminating the sources of your stress. Sometimes jobs, relationships, home lives, or schedules are literally too stressful to continue. Try identifying those changeable sources of stress (with the help of a therapist, if you want) and make a plan of small steps to remove/reduce them.

You know, thanks for saying this. Anytime you Google "how to relieve stress" or something similar, every article tells you to get some exercise, eat healthy, and try meditation, but nothing ever tells you to evaluate your life choices or dares to suggest that maybe you just need to get a divorce or something. I know some of what's stressing me out is just unavoidable life growing pains type stuff, but there is also some stuff I need to address head on and actually sit down and come up with a solution for. And I know that, but thank you for saying it and not just recommending yoga to me again.

Sounds like you might be in the same "place" as me.

I work fulltime, am a post-graduate student at university, and am my husband's carer. We were a great partnership, enjoying life and long distance cycling and travelling together. Then in March 2018, he had a workplace accident which resulted in a Severe Traumatic Brain injury. He was in a coma for 3 weeks, PTA for an additional 5 weeks, and was finally discharged from hospital into a rehabilitation program in July 2018. He continued the rehab program until October. He's out of rehab now and is making a "remarkable" recovery, but there's still a long way to go. So many medical appointments. And suddenly I became both of us. Because it is a workplace injury, that adds a whole other layer of stress to the situation. And our long distance cycling is not possible anymore.

So, the last 14 months have been ... something else.

And the last thing I need is even more to do.

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This blog: https://blog.myfitnesspal.com/31-ways-to-reduce-stress-in-your-life/ provides 31 ways to reduce stress in your life.

My life is fairly high stress, so I thought I would take a moment to glance through the list.

Some are all right like 1. Go outside. Fresh air and nature have been shown to reduce stress and anxiety. Yes, I find that walking down to the beach after work is something that helps.

But most of the rest add things to a person's schedule. Yes, I'm a little bit cynical here.

4. Get a massage. ... Who has the time??

6. Take that well-earned vacation. Right. I'll get right on that.

12. Rekindle an old hobby like drawing, knitting or woodworking. Like I need more things to do!

16. Take a walk during your lunch break. To my next appointment.

19. Unclutter your desk and your home. I'm looking for someone to hire to do that. Any takers?

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But then I wondered ... what things (and some can be from that list) would actually reduce stress without adding more Things To Do to the list?

Like, for example, I use lavender oil drops on my pillow case. Does lavender actually help relaxation and sleep? Not sure. But it smells nice and it's not stressing me out to do that.


So I've got this ...

• Go outside. Fresh air and nature have been shown to reduce stress and anxiety. I try to get outside at lunch, at least. Even if it is just walking from one appointment to another.
• Get some sun. Vitamin D is a powerful mood booster. As above.
• Same goes for exercise. Do more of it to feel better mentally and physically. As above.
• Stop procrastinating. It’ll just make you more stressed later.
  
• Do one thing ... my addition to the list which goes along with "stop procrastinating". Don't try to do it all. When I feel overwhelmed, just do one thing.
  
• Try some deep-breathing exercises to start your day.
• Listen to music while commuting or working. The right playlist can boost mood and increase energy. I might start doing this on the bus, and I have headphones so I can listen to music at work.
• Drink green tea. It contains an amino acid that can reduce stress. I would actually say, drink tea ... or any favourite relaxing hot beverage. I have a collection of teas which I look forward to late in the evening. None have caffeine.
• Eat some antioxidant-rich dark chocolate to lower stress hormones in your body. Oddly enough, I don't eat much chocolate at all.
• Get more omega-3’s from sources like salmon and avocado. They can reduce stress and anxiety. I take Omega-3 pills, because I don't like salmon and avocado.
• Stretch to relax your body and mind. I'm going to physio for a couple things and stretching is part of the program.
• Try progressive muscle relaxation to feel relaxed from head to toe. I try this when I'm going to sleep - from toes upward - but I'm so tired, I fall asleep by the time I get to my calves.
• Try a diffuser. Aromatherapy can be an effective stress-reliever. This is where I use lavender in the bedroom.
• Get more sleep. I wish!
• Hug someone. Studies show physical intimacy is a great coping mechanism. So glad I can hug my husband again.
• Talk it out. Sharing your stress with a therapist or loved one can be very therapeutic. This is something I miss ... since my husband, my best friend, had his accident, I haven't had anyone to "talk it out" with.
• Take a break from social media. At least for a few days. It can be an unrealistic place. But ... this is how I "talk it out!"
• Pet or play with an animal. Sometimes I wish I had a cat.
• Hire people to do whatever I can possibly outsource! I order groceries online and have them delivered. I have a person who comes and does the yard, and others who come and clean.

But mostly, I have my list of things I need to do, and it keeps growing as I do things ... but I just keep doing the next thing.