Tried & True Stress Relievers

Before delving into a favorite topic of ours, ‘How to deal with stress’ — I should first chat about what stresses me out. Actually, life in retirement seems comparatively stress-free. But, I find I can still get riled up by responsibilities, dealing with people, feeling rushed, making goof-ups, unmet expectations. And stress often manifests itself, suddenly and inexplicably, in a reaction of anger — hard to defuse and so unhealthy.

anger

Let’s all have a good laugh at my inability to cope with my grueling life . . .

If I find myself frustrated with not being able to lead a sane, peaceful, happy existence, I turn to some tried-and-true stress-relieving methods that I’ve mentioned in our annals before.

Taking deep breaths — Big gulps of air will help clear the mind and make everything more manageable.

Gulping down water — My stress invariably goes up in the mid- to late-afternoon when I’m in calorie deprivation mode. Also, stress and the munchies seem to go together. But rather than encourage the bad habit of feeding my stress, I’ve learned to drink lots of water to abate the anguished feeling.

Talking about it — It feels great to bend the ears of pretty much anyone I encounter who will listen. “Being Stressed” is a topic that people can relate to and is an excellent conversation-starter. A lot of people like being a sounding board and they don’t usually mind offering their own experiences and ideas on the best ways to deal with stress.

Exercising — Rather than letting stress get in the way of daily workouts, I have to remember that my top priority is going to the gym and working out. It’s important not to let myself start thinking that there are other things more important than working out. It’s all-too-easy for a busy schedule to become an excuse for NOT going to the gym. Once it becomes a habit to NOT go to the gym, that’s a very bad habit and very hard to overcome. What a slippery slope!

Elevating the legs — This is a super stress-reliever.

recline_position

Getting help — But some caution needs to be exercised when you’re on the verge of transferring your burden to some easily-stressed poor soul, and make sure you give them the opportunity to ‘Just say no.

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