Stress
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NJsemple
Posts: 41 Member
I’m curious how does everyone manage stress. I got more than enough going on at the moment but my life is and has always been really high stress I won’t bore you with the details I think I manage with it ok in fact if I have a quiet day I think I worry more so how does everyone cope maybe sharing tips can help each other
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Replies
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Regular exercise...sleep3
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Yoga, sleep and walking.2
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My best time is my daily walk just me and my dog but iv been so unwell this last week and only managed once but I put the music on and off we go and now I have started weights but again not the last week I find I almost meditate when lifting and feel so much freedom after.cwolfman13 wrote: »Regular exercise...sleep
Sleep I am lucky to get a couple of hours a night so strange last couple of days I am asleep more than awake but it’s not my normal in a way I can’t wait to get back to normal
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Some stress is unavoidable. Some stress is avoidable, but is worth dealing with because it has other benefits. Some stress is avoidable and should be cut out.
For me, I make sure I have adequate leisure time - not in the sense of vegging out in front of the TV, but time to create and do things for no other reason than to enjoy them - i.e. hobbies.
I try to be efficient and diligent with my work so I'm not wasting time on it that would be better spent doing something else. I stay at home so I'm not beholden to a boss or strict work hours, but I still have a rough routine and schedule and everything runs much more smoothly and I feel much better when I stick to it, including the break times (I could easily be a workaholic I think, so I have to take care to avoid that "productivity" trap - I put those tendencies to work with doing the stuff I already have to do well, and then saying no more.)
If sleep is hard for you I'd say that probably needs to come first. The specific strategies will depend on why you're not sleeping well. I think once sleep works itself out a lot of other things seem to fall into place almost like magic. Some things that have helped me: a set bedtime, using light filters on devices to minimize blue light and putting them away early in the evening, a comfortable bed and bedding, and not eating too close to bedtime because it gives me weird dreams.2 -
Depending on the situation, I try to spend some extra time with the people that matter most to me... either Little Debby or Don Julio.
But seriously... nature seems to be the thing that helps quiet me most/best. Could be something as simple as birds at my bird feeders, a walk in the woods, etc.4 -
Yeah, well...that is pretty vague, @NJsemple
If your life is super stressful all the time? I'd change whatever it is that's causing the stress?
Hate your job? Find another. I've done that when a boss was too stressful for me.
Marriage? Counselling or divorce,
(been there.)
Family? Let them sort through their own issues...they will or they won't and it's none of my business either way.
Kids? Well, again. Vague references to "stress" doesn't give us much
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Exercise. Riding a bike hard can make me too tired to care about my stress, hiking and skiing give me a sense of fulfillment that puts a lot of things that bother me into a new perspective and they don't feel as bad in the scheme of things.2
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Spiritual peace is important.4
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Lol got the divorce and met the man of my dreams. The stress is unavoidable my ex abused my daughter we only just found out my fella is seriously sick the docs told us we won’t get a full life together. I am his and my daughters full time carer there’s much more lol but it’s unavoidablecmriverside wrote: »Yeah, well...that is pretty vague, @NJsemple
If your life is super stressful all the time? I'd change whatever it is that's causing the stress?
Hate your job? Find another. I've done that when a boss was too stressful for me.
Marriage? Counselling or divorce, (been there.)
Family? Let them sort through their own issues...they will or they won't and it's none of my business either way.
Kids? Well, again. Vague references to "stress" doesn't give us much
Don’t get me wrong I’m super happy with my life but can’t avoid the stress
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Radical self-care! Taking full care of my mental, physical, and spiritual needs. Morning 5-minute rituals. Positive affirmations spoken ALOUD. Making light of a situation that gets me feeling down. Promising myself that I am a *kitten* goddess and have untapped creativity and light, and a damn wellspring of love5
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Sometimes you have to let something less important slip in order to get some self care in before you come back to tackling everything on your plate. Dishes can wait, vacuuming can wait, laundry, etc.
For me, I need a little down time each day just to breath and distract myself from all that’s going on around me. Mostly it is getting on here, or reading some articles on personal finance or health topics.
I also echo the walking when you can, it is so beneficial for managing stress2 -
Finding something that helps you "zone out", whatever that is, is really important.
For me that is art, exercise and books/ movies. Everyone is different but you just need something that takes your mind away and gives you something else to focus on for a while.0 -
To manage my stress I spend time in nature. Gardening helps as well as walking and a good nights sleep2
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Finding something that helps you "zone out", whatever that is, is really important.
For me that is art, exercise and books/ movies. Everyone is different but you just need something that takes your mind away and gives you something else to focus on for a while.
I agree with this. Experiment and see what works for you personally, maybe it's walking while listening to podcasts, maybe puzzles, maybe painting or some kind of craft you really have to concentrate on. I find those kinds of activities more restorative than say Netflix, where I am often half watching and half still thinking about whatever was stressing me.0 -
Lol got the divorce and met the man of my dreams. The stress is unavoidable my ex abused my daughter we only just found out my fella is seriously sick the docs told us we won’t get a full life together. I am his and my daughters full time carer there’s much more lol but it’s unavoidablecmriverside wrote: »Yeah, well...that is pretty vague, @NJsemple
If your life is super stressful all the time? I'd change whatever it is that's causing the stress?
Hate your job? Find another. I've done that when a boss was too stressful for me.
Marriage? Counselling or divorce, (been there.)
Family? Let them sort through their own issues...they will or they won't and it's none of my business either way.
Kids? Well, again. Vague references to "stress" doesn't give us much
Don’t get me wrong I’m super happy with my life but can’t avoid the stress
That's a lot, for sure.
You will get through it. Definitely self-care, daily. For me that means enough sleep, a walk outdoors and good nutrition. Those are the three legs of my stool.2 -
I still have trouble maintaining my weight when life is stressful. I have had better luck finding ways to reduce stress. But I do have suggestions to address your sleep problems, or rather, I’m happy to share what worked for me (ymmv). I had a horrible winter with many weeks when I averaged 5 hours a night. I’m much better now, averaging just over 7 hours. Here’s what I did:
- Cut out caffeine completely (reduced over a good month because I was headachy every day anyway and didn’t want anything to add to that)
- Started walking outside in nature and got as much sun as possible, 60 minutes daily regardless of weather, upped the pace as I got better
- Moved to a different bed away from my snoring husband
- During awake times in the night I listen to podcasts or videos (with the screen turned away from me) until I finally get sleepy again
- Implemented a rule that I had to stay in bed until 6am no matter how awake I felt (I almost always fall back asleep eventually)
- Lost a little weight (very slight deficit)
- Opened a window at night
- Changed my blankets to many layers so that I could more easily adjust to the exact temperature I needed at that moment
Sounds like you have lots going on, I hope you find some solutions.2 -
Thanks I am a positive person so that helps lol one day at a time I definitely agree with you I am working on all 3 things.cmriverside wrote: »
Lol got the divorce and met the man of my dreams. The stress is unavoidable my ex abused my daughter we only just found out my fella is seriously sick the docs told us we won’t get a full life together. I am his and my daughters full time carer there’s much more lol but it’s unavoidablecmriverside wrote: »Yeah, well...that is pretty vague, @NJsemple
If your life is super stressful all the time? I'd change whatever it is that's causing the stress?
Hate your job? Find another. I've done that when a boss was too stressful for me.
Marriage? Counselling or divorce, (been there.)
Family? Let them sort through their own issues...they will or they won't and it's none of my business either way.
Kids? Well, again. Vague references to "stress" doesn't give us much
Don’t get me wrong I’m super happy with my life but can’t avoid the stress
That's a lot, for sure.
You will get through it. Definitely self-care, daily. For me that means enough sleep, a walk outdoors and good nutrition. Those are the three legs of my stool.
Thankyou I’m sure things will settle soon I have stopped drinking coffee after 3pm and I drink more water. It don’t matter the weather I always have to have the window open I run hot but these days my hubby is always cold we are still trying to find a balance lol I think I need to look at the blankets situation for sure I hadn’t given that a thoughtHabitRabbit wrote: »I still have trouble maintaining my weight when life is stressful. I have had better luck finding ways to reduce stress. But I do have suggestions to address your sleep problems, or rather, I’m happy to share what worked for me (ymmv). I had a horrible winter with many weeks when I averaged 5 hours a night. I’m much better now, averaging just over 7 hours. Here’s what I did:
- Cut out caffeine completely (reduced over a good month because I was headachy every day anyway and didn’t want anything to add to that)
- Started walking outside in nature and got as much sun as possible, 60 minutes daily regardless of weather, upped the pace as I got better
- Moved to a different bed away from my snoring husband
- During awake times in the night I listen to podcasts or videos (with the screen turned away from me) until I finally get sleepy again
- Implemented a rule that I had to stay in bed until 6am no matter how awake I felt (I almost always fall back asleep eventually)
- Lost a little weight (very slight deficit)
- Opened a window at night
- Changed my blankets to many layers so that I could more easily adjust to the exact temperature I needed at that moment
Sounds like you have lots going on, I hope you find some solutions.
2 -
Thanks I am a positive person so that helps lol one day at a time I definitely agree with you I am working on all 3 things.cmriverside wrote: »
Lol got the divorce and met the man of my dreams. The stress is unavoidable my ex abused my daughter we only just found out my fella is seriously sick the docs told us we won’t get a full life together. I am his and my daughters full time carer there’s much more lol but it’s unavoidablecmriverside wrote: »Yeah, well...that is pretty vague, @NJsemple
If your life is super stressful all the time? I'd change whatever it is that's causing the stress?
Hate your job? Find another. I've done that when a boss was too stressful for me.
Marriage? Counselling or divorce, (been there.)
Family? Let them sort through their own issues...they will or they won't and it's none of my business either way.
Kids? Well, again. Vague references to "stress" doesn't give us much
Don’t get me wrong I’m super happy with my life but can’t avoid the stress
That's a lot, for sure.
You will get through it. Definitely self-care, daily. For me that means enough sleep, a walk outdoors and good nutrition. Those are the three legs of my stool.
Thankyou I’m sure things will settle soon I have stopped drinking coffee after 3pm and I drink more water. It don’t matter the weather I always have to have the window open I run hot but these days my hubby is always cold we are still trying to find a balance lol I think I need to look at the blankets situation for sure I hadn’t given that a thoughtHabitRabbit wrote: »I still have trouble maintaining my weight when life is stressful. I have had better luck finding ways to reduce stress. But I do have suggestions to address your sleep problems, or rather, I’m happy to share what worked for me (ymmv). I had a horrible winter with many weeks when I averaged 5 hours a night. I’m much better now, averaging just over 7 hours. Here’s what I did:
- Cut out caffeine completely (reduced over a good month because I was headachy every day anyway and didn’t want anything to add to that)
- Started walking outside in nature and got as much sun as possible, 60 minutes daily regardless of weather, upped the pace as I got better
- Moved to a different bed away from my snoring husband
- During awake times in the night I listen to podcasts or videos (with the screen turned away from me) until I finally get sleepy again
- Implemented a rule that I had to stay in bed until 6am no matter how awake I felt (I almost always fall back asleep eventually)
- Lost a little weight (very slight deficit)
- Opened a window at night
- Changed my blankets to many layers so that I could more easily adjust to the exact temperature I needed at that moment
Sounds like you have lots going on, I hope you find some solutions.
When I was going through mega hot flashes (on anti-estrogen drugs), one thing that helped with sleep was to get one of those gel packs they make to put on sore joints or whatever - you freeze them, but they stay pliable/soft even when cold. I could put one of those under my neck on the pillow, wrapped in a small towel, and it had a lot of cooling power. If that's *too* cold, maybe put on a body part that doesn't have as large blood vessels close to the surface. (One kind has a velcro strap to hold it in place.) It helps for a few hours at least. Sometimes I put a second one in a small cooler next to the bed, so I could grab it if I woke up in the night and needed it. It's a thing that most of the big drugstores have, here.
Also, do you have any resources for respite caregivers now and then, so you can get some de-stress "you time"? Sometimes friends, relatives, church associates, etc., can come for an hour or two, so it needn't necessarily be a for-pay service. (I know it's hard to ask . . . .)2 -
Thanks I am a positive person so that helps lol one day at a time I definitely agree with you I am working on all 3 things.cmriverside wrote: »
Lol got the divorce and met the man of my dreams. The stress is unavoidable my ex abused my daughter we only just found out my fella is seriously sick the docs told us we won’t get a full life together. I am his and my daughters full time carer there’s much more lol but it’s unavoidablecmriverside wrote: »Yeah, well...that is pretty vague, @NJsemple
If your life is super stressful all the time? I'd change whatever it is that's causing the stress?
Hate your job? Find another. I've done that when a boss was too stressful for me.
Marriage? Counselling or divorce, (been there.)
Family? Let them sort through their own issues...they will or they won't and it's none of my business either way.
Kids? Well, again. Vague references to "stress" doesn't give us much
Don’t get me wrong I’m super happy with my life but can’t avoid the stress
That's a lot, for sure.
You will get through it. Definitely self-care, daily. For me that means enough sleep, a walk outdoors and good nutrition. Those are the three legs of my stool.
Thankyou I’m sure things will settle soon I have stopped drinking coffee after 3pm and I drink more water. It don’t matter the weather I always have to have the window open I run hot but these days my hubby is always cold we are still trying to find a balance lol I think I need to look at the blankets situation for sure I hadn’t given that a thoughtHabitRabbit wrote: »I still have trouble maintaining my weight when life is stressful. I have had better luck finding ways to reduce stress. But I do have suggestions to address your sleep problems, or rather, I’m happy to share what worked for me (ymmv). I had a horrible winter with many weeks when I averaged 5 hours a night. I’m much better now, averaging just over 7 hours. Here’s what I did:
- Cut out caffeine completely (reduced over a good month because I was headachy every day anyway and didn’t want anything to add to that)
- Started walking outside in nature and got as much sun as possible, 60 minutes daily regardless of weather, upped the pace as I got better
- Moved to a different bed away from my snoring husband
- During awake times in the night I listen to podcasts or videos (with the screen turned away from me) until I finally get sleepy again
- Implemented a rule that I had to stay in bed until 6am no matter how awake I felt (I almost always fall back asleep eventually)
- Lost a little weight (very slight deficit)
- Opened a window at night
- Changed my blankets to many layers so that I could more easily adjust to the exact temperature I needed at that moment
Sounds like you have lots going on, I hope you find some solutions.
When I was going through mega hot flashes (on anti-estrogen drugs), one thing that helped with sleep was to get one of those gel packs they make to put on sore joints or whatever - you freeze them, but they stay pliable/soft even when cold. I could put one of those under my neck on the pillow, wrapped in a small towel, and it had a lot of cooling power. If that's *too* cold, maybe put on a body part that doesn't have as large blood vessels close to the surface. (One kind has a velcro strap to hold it in place.) It helps for a few hours at least. Sometimes I put a second one in a small cooler next to the bed, so I could grab it if I woke up in the night and needed it. It's a thing that most of the big drugstores have, here.
Also, do you have any resources for respite caregivers now and then, so you can get some de-stress "you time"? Sometimes friends, relatives, church associates, etc., can come for an hour or two, so it needn't necessarily be a for-pay service. (I know it's hard to ask . . . .)
Along these lines, there may be services available for minimal cost through your state (assuming you are in the US.) Both of my OH's parents got services through Mass Health / Elder Care for just a copay so what they received was a great value for what they spent.
I don't know if he is old enough to qualify, but if he or your daughter is considered disabled there could be services available through that as well. My brother is disabled and gets amazing services through MassHealth.3 -
kshama2001 wrote: »
Thanks I am a positive person so that helps lol one day at a time I definitely agree with you I am working on all 3 things.cmriverside wrote: »
Lol got the divorce and met the man of my dreams. The stress is unavoidable my ex abused my daughter we only just found out my fella is seriously sick the docs told us we won’t get a full life together. I am his and my daughters full time carer there’s much more lol but it’s unavoidablecmriverside wrote: »Yeah, well...that is pretty vague, @NJsemple
If your life is super stressful all the time? I'd change whatever it is that's causing the stress?
Hate your job? Find another. I've done that when a boss was too stressful for me.
Marriage? Counselling or divorce, (been there.)
Family? Let them sort through their own issues...they will or they won't and it's none of my business either way.
Kids? Well, again. Vague references to "stress" doesn't give us much
Don’t get me wrong I’m super happy with my life but can’t avoid the stress
That's a lot, for sure.
You will get through it. Definitely self-care, daily. For me that means enough sleep, a walk outdoors and good nutrition. Those are the three legs of my stool.
Thankyou I’m sure things will settle soon I have stopped drinking coffee after 3pm and I drink more water. It don’t matter the weather I always have to have the window open I run hot but these days my hubby is always cold we are still trying to find a balance lol I think I need to look at the blankets situation for sure I hadn’t given that a thoughtHabitRabbit wrote: »I still have trouble maintaining my weight when life is stressful. I have had better luck finding ways to reduce stress. But I do have suggestions to address your sleep problems, or rather, I’m happy to share what worked for me (ymmv). I had a horrible winter with many weeks when I averaged 5 hours a night. I’m much better now, averaging just over 7 hours. Here’s what I did:
- Cut out caffeine completely (reduced over a good month because I was headachy every day anyway and didn’t want anything to add to that)
- Started walking outside in nature and got as much sun as possible, 60 minutes daily regardless of weather, upped the pace as I got better
- Moved to a different bed away from my snoring husband
- During awake times in the night I listen to podcasts or videos (with the screen turned away from me) until I finally get sleepy again
- Implemented a rule that I had to stay in bed until 6am no matter how awake I felt (I almost always fall back asleep eventually)
- Lost a little weight (very slight deficit)
- Opened a window at night
- Changed my blankets to many layers so that I could more easily adjust to the exact temperature I needed at that moment
Sounds like you have lots going on, I hope you find some solutions.
When I was going through mega hot flashes (on anti-estrogen drugs), one thing that helped with sleep was to get one of those gel packs they make to put on sore joints or whatever - you freeze them, but they stay pliable/soft even when cold. I could put one of those under my neck on the pillow, wrapped in a small towel, and it had a lot of cooling power. If that's *too* cold, maybe put on a body part that doesn't have as large blood vessels close to the surface. (One kind has a velcro strap to hold it in place.) It helps for a few hours at least. Sometimes I put a second one in a small cooler next to the bed, so I could grab it if I woke up in the night and needed it. It's a thing that most of the big drugstores have, here.
Also, do you have any resources for respite caregivers now and then, so you can get some de-stress "you time"? Sometimes friends, relatives, church associates, etc., can come for an hour or two, so it needn't necessarily be a for-pay service. (I know it's hard to ask . . . .)
Along these lines, there may be services available for minimal cost through your state (assuming you are in the US.) Both of my OH's parents got services through Mass Health / Elder Care for just a copay so what they received was a great value for what they spent.
I don't know if he is old enough to qualify, but if he or your daughter is considered disabled there could be services available through that as well. My brother is disabled and gets amazing services through MassHealth.
Thanks but nor my fella or myself would really like that I do get to go out on a dog walk daily and to my moms once a week so it’s not too bad plus I’m happy with doing it all I like to be busy it’s when I stop I have time to think and my past haunts me I am starting to deal with it but even my therapist wasn’t sure where to start lol I know it sounds like maybe I don’t but I do truly love my life and the people in it.
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