Stress Busters?

April 7th, 2010 - Now that I am back home recouperating I am busy trying to wrap myself around some life style changes that I need to make or..... well, let's just say I need to make them. Also since I have been home I have had many visitors, each one bringing me something special to wish me a speedy recovery. Some bring books, some flowers, others bring food. But the one thing they all brought was their remedy to reduce stress or at least cope with stress. While I know the intent is good, there may be some that I may not adapt.

So, one person told me what I need to do when I feel myself getting stressed is to stand up and yell, until my eyes bulge from my head, and the person or persons causing the stress will be so scared they will run away, I will laugh, the laughter will reduce the stress, and life will be good. I am thinking that doing something like that at work may end up with permanent stress for me, when they carry me away or bring me a 'pink' slip. Another well meaning friend suggested I keep 'stress beads' in my pocket and move them from pocket to pocket when I am feeling stressed. Hmm, first assumes I have pockets, and second, trying to keep track of which pocket I am moving things from or to will certainly stress me out. From my saddist friend a suggestion was made that I keep a rubber band band around my wrist and when feeling stressed snap the rubber band, at increasing force until it pulls me back. Somehow the thought of inflicting pain on myself to reduce stress leaves me scratching my head and dealing with welts on my wrist. Of course there is the old stand-by, count to ten...or maybe twenty...or in the case of my stress maybe one hundred thousand, while standing on one foot, with my eyes closed. May not reduce the stress but when I fall over from dizziness I will most likely hit my head knocking me out until the stress passes. Self visualization is also supposed to help. Picture something that is soothing and calm, a nice beach with the waves coming into shore and a cool breeze in the air. Sounds really good until I continue to look at the picture and notice the sharks in the water, getting nearer and nearer to shore, and the skies overhead turning black from the thunder clouds rolling in, and no one to be found to help me take down the umbrella, grab the blankets, gather the kids toys, and get the child out of the water that is now being circled by sharks. Yeah that is really calming.

I guess there are all kinds of ways to reduce stress, but I am thinking I will stick to some a little more tried and true methods, like taking a Yoga class, and a stress management class. And if all that fails, I am going to follow in the foot steps of the perverbial three moneys....See no evil, Hear no evil, and speak no evil.