[OT] How do you deal with stress?

ciw · Post by **ciw** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 2:22 pm

hambone1 wrote: I'm sure exercise helps. But when I'm stressed, it's the last thing I want to do.

and it's exactly when you're thinking like that, that it's the first thing you need. really.

udp · Post by **udp** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 2:23 pm

I find that exercise is great for overall mental and physical health. Remember that stress is the difference between your expectations and reality of any situation. So one way to lower stress is to carefully plan and set realistic expectations for yourself and others. IE, we've been potty training my 3 year old since she was 18 months old. I sometimes get caught up in thoughts that she should be accident free by now. I get frustrated, then angry, then I start feeling stress and start to express it rather loudly to the 3 year old. None of which helps. I now am learning to lower or lengthen my expectations for her graduation to accident free life. I realize this is a rather simplistic example, but if we can apply this technique to other areas of our life then we shall have less stress. It's partly controlling or thoughts about situations.

hambone1 · Post by **hambone1** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 4:08 pm

Expectations and reality - that sounds like great advice. I know one of my problems is that I set my tasks and standards high, then stress when I feel overwhelmed to the point where I don't get anything done. And the more I stress, the less I get done.

The annoying thing is that even small tasks sometimes become insurmountable in my head (mountains out of molehills), but once I get started, I realize it was never a big deal. But I do it over and over again.

I never seem to learn how to avoid this...

Ball Sack · Post by **Ball Sack** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 4:29 pm

I exercise my wrist...........does the job.

I use my left hand what hand does everyone else use?

rikhyray · Post by **rikhyray** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 4:57 pm

Yoga, if you can find good teacher- be warned- 50 are arrogant idiots who think know something, knowing nothing, 40% frauds who want your money only but still in UK you might be able to find somenoe good. otherwise taichi is good.
I used Yoga all my life instead of medicne or drugs not only to control stress situations but to make yourself fit after some 20 hours ride having 1 hour to rest before going on stage. Or in a studio play the solo of your life after being awake for 2 nights.
The thing is that to use some Yoga tricks, that may take 10-20 minutes to make you top fit, you have to learn, train yourself properly under competent guidance
Our kind of life definitely provides lots of opportunities to check if the techniques work.

ethios4 · Post by **ethios4** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 5:14 pm

As stated above, evaluating expectations and situations can help to alleviate stress. Eliminate/reduce the causes of stress, when possible. I've found it helpful to work on letting go of my perfectionism when it hurts me and others.

Aside from that, exercise really does work wonders! Especially aerobic exercise, which meets these criteria :
1) It must be non-stop
2) Must last for a minimum of 12 minutes
3) It must proceed at a comfortable pace
4) It must exercise the muscles of the lower body.

Aerobic exercies improves mental recall speed, releases endorphines, protects against depression, stimulates nerve cell growth, increases blood flow to the brain, increases reaction times, and increases levels of anandamide - a naturally occuring cannibinoid in the brain that is associated with the high from smoking pot!

jeskola · Post by **jeskola** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 5:21 pm

aye a 30 min blast on the weights every other night does me good as does ensuring a minimum of a 3 mile walk a day, though is ually about 6 or 7 (seems to be a great thing for the mind walking too) – used to run every other day, but found that I just got stressed & pissed of with myself when I missed days, walking doesn’t seem such a bother. i also try not to drink monday to friday cause I’ve found that helps add to stress levels. One thing for me I discovered was just getting stuff done (especially music wise) and out the way helped a lot – sounds stupid, but I found id spend most of time beating myself up - wich led to bad moods and being generally angry all the time.

I also live over a river - the sound of the running water is real calming too!

kennerb · Post by **kennerb** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 5:25 pm

Well I think the best thing for stress is to throw a sexy party!

seriously though. Anything I can find to laugh at helps my stress.

hambone1 · Post by **hambone1** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 5:33 pm

Humor always helps!:D

I don't think there's a single right answer for everyone, but for me a mixture of exercise, healthy eating, organization, breaking larger tasks down into manageable chunks, and focusing on the positive elements in life should work. It's so easy to get bogged down in negativity. That's the bit that keeps me away for too many hours at night with that aggrevating tightness across my arms and chest.

Sorry to get all philosophical, but this thread has really helped me out, and hopefully others can benefit from it, too.

ethios4 · Post by **ethios4** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 5:42 pm

I find that I really have to watch my mental and spoken language, too. Sometimes I catch myself affirming/agreeing to crazy statements, such as "I'm so stressed", "I always get stressed out", "This is so hard", "I am unhappy", "Life is shitty" etc. They sounds like innocent little declarations of feeling, but if you really take alook at them, they are affirmations of very negative things, and affirming them strengthens them.

It's subtle, but the difference between "I'm so stressed" and "I feel stressed right now" is profound. It's good to affirm "Even though I feel a lot of stress right now, I love and accept myself" Always disagree with any thought that limits or degrades yourself, and always end the thought on a positive tip. If you really pay attention to your thoughts, you will find remarkable things going on. Thoughts create reality in many many ways.

Paraphrase of a Cherokee proverb:
a grandfather and grandson are sitting together by the fire. the grandfather tells the child,"there are two wolves fighting inside of me, as there are two wolves fighting inside of everyone. one wolf carries anger, jealousy, sorrow and guilt. the other carries love, joy, appreciation, and grattitude." "which one will win?" asks the grandson. "whichever one i feed."

knotkranky · Post by **knotkranky** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 5:48 pm

Ok, my 2 cents.

Exercise is number one. walk, sex is good. But if you can do 90 minutes of good sweating 3 days a week, even better. 60 minutes minimum. Start slow and build up to it. Squats are the best weight exercise and they'll make your dick really hard too.

Get some sun everyday. If your low on sun, take 1 gram a day of cod liver oil. Avoid sunglasses for at least an hour in the sun.

caffeine and sugar are stress inducers.

baby breathing while trying to sleep. It should feel like your filling your stomach with air. Chest breathing induces a nervous feeling.

Don't watch tv in bed. The bed should be used for sleeping and fucking only. Also, don't fight in bed with your mate.

EFT this works wonders. No joke http://www.emofree.com/

Keep an easy mind. "Thoughts become things"

cheers

rikhyray · Post by **rikhyray** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 6:16 pm

ethios4 wrote: a grandfather and grandson are sitting together by the fire. the grandfather tells the child,"there are two wolves fighting inside of me, as there are two wolves fighting inside of everyone. one wolf carries anger, jealousy, sorrow and guilt. the other carries love, joy, appreciation, and grattitude." "which one will win?" asks the grandson. "whichever one i feed."

In case anyone missed it in longer text- this is the best thing I read on this forum ever. Mastering it means success in both life and Live. Yoga is actually nothing else then the above, the techniques being just additions for beginners.
Cherokee hmmm, maybe Columbus was not that wrong, there is definitely a connection.

polyslax · Post by **polyslax** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 6:33 pm

ethios4 wrote:I find that I really have to watch my mental and spoken language, too. Sometimes I catch myself affirming/agreeing to crazy statements, such as "I'm so stressed", "I always get stressed out", "This is so hard", "I am unhappy", "Life is shitty" etc. They sounds like innocent little declarations of feeling, but if you really take alook at them, they are affirmations of very negative things, and affirming them strengthens them...

These are excellent points imo. I acknowledge that different things work for different folks, but this stuff is absolutely fundamental. By nature I’m an extremely positive, low stress individual, but I think there are some very basic concepts behind it.

It may sound corny, but Stop and Smell The Roses sort of sums up a lot of my attitude. Appreciate small graces, take pleasure in the details that others rush by. Even basic sensory input, a pleasing smell hitting you on a soft breeze, the colour of a leaf, the sound of thunder… I love to soak these things in and think about them.

But back to the point ethios made… many years ago, at one of my first jobs, I noticed virtually everyone spent a great deal of time bitching about just about everything… work, weather, co-workers etc. One day I realized I had fallen into this habit as well, and I thought hey, hold on, this is just not me. The negativity just feeds itself and you turn into this bitter person who’s always complaining. Since that day I’ve made a conscious effort to stay positive even in the face of adversity. Drives some people mad when you tell them you actually like it when it’s minus 40 outside, but… that can be fun too.

Humour, as mentioned above, is another essential in my life. I love to laugh and it really does a body good. Exercise… since having a child I haven’t done much of that… hopefully get back to it some day.

kent_sandvik · Post by **kent_sandvik** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 6:38 pm

rikhyray wrote:Yoga, if you can find good teacher- be warned- 50 are arrogant idiots who think know something, knowing nothing, 40% frauds who want your money only but still in UK you might be able to find somenoe good. otherwise taichi is good.
I used Yoga all my life instead of medicne or drugs not only to control stress situations but to make yourself fit after some 20 hours ride having 1 hour to rest before going on stage. Or in a studio play the solo of your life after being awake for 2 nights.
The thing is that to use some Yoga tricks, that may take 10-20 minutes to make you top fit, you have to learn, train yourself properly under competent guidance
Our kind of life definitely provides lots of opportunities to check if the techniques work.

I agree, yoga. --Kent

leonard · Post by **leonard** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 7:32 pm

fibre supplements like metamucil or something coupled with healthy eating and regular exercise.
the fibre will help clean your digestive tract and leave less remnant waste in your intestines, therefore less toxin will be released into your body over the day nd you generally will feel better. at least thats my laymans description. you gotta have it every day though. and dont have it first off when you gotta be around close quaters with eople cos you'll fart like billy-o for the first week or two. could try a intestinal cleanser, i heard some things about some hydrated oxygen or something, never tried it myself though.