Learning to Deal

Dealing with stress is a natural part of life. We all develop ways to cope. Here are some of my favorite ways to deal with stress in no particular order

READ... I guess I must like this method the best because I am always reading. I prefer fiction and a good historical fiction with just enough romance (not gross).. is my favorite. Going to a different place in my mind with a good story helps me forget all my worries and troubles. It really is escapism. From the time I was very young, I would retreat to my room and open up the pages of a book to find some solace. I remember reading Little Women from cover to cover until the book almost fell apart. I liked being in Jo, Meg and Marmee's world, when mine was too hard.

TAKE A HOT BATH.... One of my good friends used to ask me how many baths I'd had that day. Some days it was 3 or 4 if I wasn't coping well. In a good week I don't need as many baths. Combining a good book with a bath is also stress relieving.

LAUGH...Humor is very stress relieving. To be honest, I can laugh at anything and I frequently do. Sometimes you have to laugh at things that others wouldn't think funny. Especially in the medical world. It's called gallows humor and it's saved many a nurse.
Sometimes for me, it's better to laugh than to cry... because over the years, I've pretty much lost my ability to cry unless I am watching a very touching movie or at a funeral. I wish I could cry. Tamping down my emotions during very sad times for years at work has made my tears hard to access. It's just how it is..

BE NUMB... This is going to sound weird.. but sometimes it is stress relieving for me to go into the numb mode. This is where I "don't care". It's a state of numbness. Remember the song lyrics "comfortably numb"? (I think those probably referred to drug or alcohol induced numbness which I don't practice)... but still. Sometimes numbness is comfortable and comforting. If I allow myself a period of "numbness" I don't care about things. This is stress relieving... I 'm not sure if it's healthy but I like it.

EAT CHOCOLATE... A little chocolate goes a long way.

PHONE A FRIEND.... I have a really awesome friend that I can call when I'm stressed. If I'm really really really stressed I have to be careful that I don't overburden my friend or others. When I realize that I've expressed my stress or concern to multiple friends or begin repeating old stories of stress that I should've let go.. I have to make myself stop. Then I enjoy hearing my friends' stories. Focusing on other peoples issues takes some of the stress away from me. It spreads it all out. I tend to fixate on certain issues for awhile. I recognize it doesn't help me. Still working on that one.

BLOG and/or READ BLOGS.... Checking my favorite blogs always relieves my stress.

So there you have it. Ways to de-stress.
Everyone has stress unless they are dead.
Life is stressful.
I'm hoping I'm teaching my kids positive ways to deal.