[OT] How do you deal with stress?

hambone1 · Post by **hambone1** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 7:56 am

Lots to think about! Therein lies another reason for my sleeplessness - I think WAY too much about everything!

Eliminating the root cause of the stress, when possible, must be the best solution. Some stress is life is unavoidable, and that's where the exercise, nutrition, etc can help.

I like the 'live for the the day' concept. It really is pointless to worry unnecessarily. It's easier said than done for some of us, though...

Pitch Black · Post by **Pitch Black** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 11:01 am

hambone1 wrote: 'live for the the day'

ah bro, there's your problem!

Angstrom · Post by **Angstrom** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 11:44 am

I go with the : exercise, breathing in a vaguely yogic manner, go for a walk, see friends, meet random people in a bar and start a conversation, that sort of angle.

I have friends who think that smoking weed makes them relax, which is pretty funny because I know they don't relax when they smoke they get more stressed! They go all internalized and start over-analyzing everything. I'm not talking about 18 year olds here either - my friends are generally oldsters.

I think the regulated breathing that comes with smoking is more likely to calm you down than psychotropics - which make most people focus more on the behaviour patterns that are stressing them.

it can help with the bodily part of de-stressing though. Weed and sex, that would calm you down. I agree with that!

subterFUSE · Post by **subterFUSE** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 12:45 pm

Lately I have not been sleeping well, because I recently moved into a new home.... and my bedroom now has wall-to-wall carpeting. I am severely allergic to dust mites, and they thrive in carpeting. I need to get that carpet ripped out and hardwood floors put down. I can hardly breathe at night.... I wake up congested, and with little energy.

By the end of the day, I feel energized because I've been out of that room long enough to recover.

Most people are allergic to dust mites, and they are in just about every bedroom. If you don't sleep well.... wake up congested or with itchy nose, sore throat or itchy eyes... they could be the culprit.

Things to do to prevent dust mites:

1. Mattress and Box Springs need to have plastic zippered casings.
2. Pillow casings with zippers.
3. Wash all bedding in 150+ degree water every 2-3 days.
4. Avoid using carpet, or fabric drapes/curtains.
5. Keep room temperature below 65 degrees and 50% humidity.

udp · Post by **udp** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 3:27 pm

Edit: no time to do this now. Will impart wisdom later.

udp · Post by **udp** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 6:19 pm

Ok, now I have some time. One of the greatest sources of stress in our lives is our relationships, whether at home or at work. Realizing that the stress is the difference between our expectations and the reality of what is happening, brings us to the conclusion that the stress we feel in our relationships is a result of: 1) our over active imagination (expectaions), and 2) our lack of controlling our reactions to unpleasant situations others help create. We can't control what others do or say. Trying to change others is frustrating and futile. Instead we should focus our attention on ourselves and controlling our thoughts, reactions, and therefore or emotions. All of which we are completely capable of doing, if we simply slow down and look at ourselves through the lens of the other person. So if they call us a name, we should ask ourselves what brought them to the point of calling us that name, rather than quickly getting defensive and retaliating. I FAIL AT THIS EVERY DAY. I am, however, getting better at this. If we all tried this approach I think we'd all benefit in our relationships and thereby relieve a tremendous amount of stress.

brightonalex · Post by **brightonalex** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 7:04 pm

That's just great UDP. So each time my monster of a girlfriend tells me off for something new I will smile and apologise and try and improve myself. By the end of next week she will be beating me senseless with a blunt instrument for having the temerity to wake up in the morning.

grainshifter · Post by **grainshifter** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 9:45 pm

true...different strokes for different folks

but what works for me is proactively putting myself in a place of peace, as opposed to reacting to stress

breathing is so crucial: as often as i can remember to take a "conscious breath" using aforementioned techniques (exhaling with diaphragm...)

i do it... for me i've created a pattern that whenver i see the number 8 i stop what i'm doing and take a deep breath

excercise is necessary

smoking weed definitely chills me out at the end of the day

and importantly, i think it helps to turn my mind off which helps by being away from as many artificial radiations and frequencies...which means no TV, radio, computer...but the stillness of my room or a park where i can listen to my breath for a few moments...

have a nice day!

Adonis · Post by **Adonis** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 9:58 pm

Lately it's been all about the gym in the AM

keeping myself busy helps as well - tests and quizzes and shit like that stress me out but that's different than say worrying about money, women or something like that

but it helps to go to the gym before work - either lifting or just sitting in the Sauna - sitting and thinking about nothing...learning to meditate helps a lot. that way when you're overwhelmed or stressed you have the skills to just sit back and chill

It's weird I turn into a complete mess on Fridays when I have no school and no responsibilty for 2 days (at least until Sunday night when the WIRE comes on)

I'm one of those kinds of people who needs something to do all the time - this is good in some ways - I can work on a beat, play video games, watch TV, do homework, cook and chat with friends all at once

If I have nothing to do - it's baaaaaaaaaaddddd

I'm different like that

peace

macca · Post by **macca** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 11:07 pm

I fire up live....music helps me forget about all the work, money stress that go's with life.....like a nice bottle of red wine to chill out...

Also do some weights and go for a jog once a week....

forge · Post by **forge** » Thu Nov 02, 2006 1:18 am

brightonalex wrote:That's just great UDP. So each time my monster of a girlfriend tells me off for something new I will smile and apologise and try and improve myself. By the end of next week she will be beating me senseless with a blunt instrument for having the temerity to wake up in the morning.

oh dude!!

are you still in that relationship???

I rememebr getting scolded by pitch black and hambone for making a dark cynical post about it

I really laugh because I can really relate!

udp · Post by **udp** » Thu Nov 02, 2006 2:08 am

brightonalex wrote:That's just great UDP. So each time my monster of a girlfriend tells me off for something new I will smile and apologise and try and improve myself. By the end of next week she will be beating me senseless with a blunt instrument for having the temerity to wake up in the morning.

Anything that doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

She may find many things to yell about, you can't control that (with the exception on leaving, and you're still not controlling her yelling). You can control what you think about her yelling. She may be emotionally too young to know how to express herself properly. Anytime she goes off, she actually pushing your "fear" button. We all have one of two core fears: We either fear not being loved or we fear being controlled. I don't know which it is for you, but if you think about it, what is it she says that makes you react the hardest to try to get her to stop? When you answer this, you'll know your core fear. Then at least you'll understand what is happening inside you when she's hammering on and on. Once you understand that, then you can start to overcome that fear by absorbing the blows and realizing that your reaction is under your control. Believe me, this information is new to me and I'm just learning to put it in practice, but I'm seeing good results in my relationships.

Pitch Black · Post by **Pitch Black** » Thu Nov 02, 2006 3:07 am

I do truly believe that inside your deepest fear you will find your greatest reward. It's what will make you.

easy to SAY...

Another thing about fear that helped me was to think of "evil" as a subset of "fear" - rather than the other way round.

Evil is a subset of Fear. When you think of it like that you have it's measure. Don't be afraid of evil, the fear IS the evil. One you see the fear, recognise it, as udp said, you begin to have a way to learn from it, and then hopefully grow.

HTH

hambone1 · Post by **hambone1** » Thu Nov 02, 2006 8:44 am

It's a vicious circle. Fear of the future causes stress, which prevents me from taking the actions necessary to prevent the very situations that are causing the fear.

The pointless exercise of going over past mistakes again and again and being angry and frustrated that I didn't make better decisions doesn't help, either.

I so wish I could think about nothing! My mind spins a million miles an hour with so many thoughts and issues, some real, some perceived. If only I could make it stop, or at least slow down, things would get better.

Thanks for all the info. It really helps me, and hopefully others, too.

brightonalex · Post by **brightonalex** » Thu Nov 02, 2006 10:16 am

yeah I'm still in that relationship. If I were Jack Bauer I wouldn't put up with it.

"Alex would you mind not constantly leaving your underpants down the back of the sofa?"

"God DAMN it yes I mind. In 1 hour Los Angeles is going to suffer the worst disaster in its history; the death of literally millions of innocent people. The only chance we've got is for me to torture this random hapless ethnic minority person I've found just in case they know something. Now will you please just pass me that live electrical cable and LET ME DO MY JOB".

"OK well can you at least torture people in the kitchen? I'm sick of clearing up after you".

[OT] How do you deal with stress?

tsk