1. Want to get periods immediately before attending a religious event? Check this out for tips...
    Dismiss Notice

Stress Relief Ideas ?

Discussion in 'Healthy Living' started by madras2018, Aug 26, 2016.

  1. madras2018

    madras2018 Platinum IL'ite

    Messages:
    660
    Likes Received:
    1,699
    Trophy Points:
    263
    Gender:
    Female
    I am going through some major life changes in my personal life and feel highly stressed much of the time. Consider it a mix of grief, sadness, worry & stress. I am usually good at dealing with stress of the everyday variety but this is altogether a different level & looks like I have hit a wall.

    Would anyone be willing to share stress relief ideas or practices that actually worked for them ? Could be popular method or little known stuff that either you made up or is out there. But it must be something that actually worked for YOU.

    Please avoid advising social stuff that everyone does - like meeting with friends etc.

    Optional - if you wouldn't mind mentioning the kind of issue you were grappling with.
     
    Last edited: Aug 27, 2016
    vaidehi71 likes this.
    Loading...

  2. blindpup10

    blindpup10 Platinum IL'ite

    Messages:
    1,245
    Likes Received:
    1,996
    Trophy Points:
    290
    Gender:
    Female
    @madras2018- I am sorry you are feeling stressed.
    What I did was just mindlessly work out in the gym. This has helped me before... Just being in the gym and my favorite activity was the rowing machine workouts or cycling.-- This was when I was job hunting
    Right now with the baby around not able to go to gym- I mindlessly play games on my mobile phone. It is my stress buster. ----Right now finances and planning to go to school again.
    It doesn't resolve the stress. I stop thinking about the issue for awhile.
    Hope this helps.
     
    Last edited: Aug 27, 2016
    cliona, dc24, vaidehi71 and 5 others like this.
  3. Laks09

    Laks09 Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    6,682
    Likes Received:
    11,157
    Trophy Points:
    440
    Gender:
    Female
    Yes, I have dealt with something like this. That's when I started running. Actually, I went to see my doc for getting some anti depressants, she went through a checklist and told me I wasn't clinically depressed. Instead she counseled me a lot and then told me that I had to work out and go back and see her in three months. In those months I completed the couch to 5k program and couldn't have felt better about myself.

    Then, I just added things to my routine. I regularly take breaks for myself. People suggest meeting with friends because it helps. It helps getting out with girl friends. I do it regularly. You do need the right kind of friends for it though. I do things just for myself. Mani/pedi, going to the movies alone, just chilling by the lake etc helps. For me, getting out of my regular routine and giving myself a lot of down time and cutting myself a lot of slack helps. I'm not hard on myself anymore for not having a spic and sparkly house, not having the laundry done on time, not having a variety of food cooked daily (things that I always did regardless of my condition).

    Oh and I had to take care of my dh too. I started seeing him feeling the same way too. I started doing more for him, taking over most of the financial responsibilities - bills, investments etc. That helped me too. I also started taking efforts to just spend time with him one on one. We used to hire sitters and go out once a month or so. For a while, I did it every week and then every two weeks. That helped both of us. When we are out we generally talk a lot about things we rarely get a chance to catch up on.

    In time, you will be able to hopefully make peace with your situation. Counseling helps especially for situations where you need an unbiased person to talk to.
    Also, stress can affect you physically. Make sure you get a health check, stay physically healthy and active.

    Hope this helps and hope whatever it is that's bothering you resolves.

    Good Luck!
     
    dc24, madras2018, jskls and 6 others like this.
  4. Rihana

    Rihana Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    12,481
    Likes Received:
    30,224
    Trophy Points:
    540
    Gender:
    Female
    Regular exercise. Make it a habit. Has to be at least moderately taxing, else the mind continues to brood. Exercise alone or around strangers, not with friend. Listening to curated music. Issue was some stuff related to folks in India.

    And also adult coloring books. Was leery of them, but they did help.

    But, nothing works, if a regular exercise routine is not there.
     
    cliona, Dreambaby, madras2018 and 5 others like this.
  5. momsky

    momsky Gold IL'ite

    Messages:
    464
    Likes Received:
    751
    Trophy Points:
    180
    Gender:
    Female
    Walking in the park very early in the morning with a cup of coffee or tea is a good stress buster for me and keeps me in a good mood for most of the day. If I become stress in the evening, I soak in the tub with a sheet mask on (not clay or cream mask).

    Hope you will find something that will work for you.
     
    Shanvy, madras2018, Laks09 and 2 others like this.
  6. blindpup10

    blindpup10 Platinum IL'ite

    Messages:
    1,245
    Likes Received:
    1,996
    Trophy Points:
    290
    Gender:
    Female
    @madras2018 -Hang in there.. it will get better. It always does. Everytime I am stressing my face lights up with acne's and dark circle's. All major things in my life visa interview/ board exams/ wedding- I have acne flaring up.
    Few more stress busters--
    Postpartum recovery- Browse through online clothing stores. I am not an impulsive shopper- I should have researched or saw it/desired it enough before I buy. So mindlessly browsing helped.
    Waiting for 10th results - Jeez worse phase of my life- read Harry Potter like they were textbooks. I like fantasy fiction coz I can be a part of something which isnt reality.
    Marriage- finished reading the whole series of A song of Ice and Fire.
    Yes, hanging out with right people helps.
    I miss Indian bazzar's. It's way to relaxing just to window shop by walking down the streets.

    I do something I am good at-Which can give me the satisfaction of doing something that I don't have to exert too much energy and there is a sense of relaxation at the same time.
    If you are not like me-- try to challenge yourself try to learn something new- where you will be exerting more time or energy into it.
     
    Last edited: Aug 27, 2016
    cliona, dc24, madras2018 and 2 others like this.
  7. vidhyalakshmid

    vidhyalakshmid IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    2,641
    Likes Received:
    1,751
    Trophy Points:
    325
    Gender:
    Female
    Whatever be the exercise , surely it is stress buster. I do yoga and breathing
    exercises. It helps to a great extent by producing more feel good hormones (endorphines)
     
  8. jskls

    jskls IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    6,896
    Likes Received:
    24,888
    Trophy Points:
    490
    Gender:
    Female
    1. Exercise helps for sure! Try whatever fits in your routine little by little.

    2. Listening to your fav music also helps

    3. Try expressing one single incident that makes you feel upset. Note down all the details. It will be like reliving the whole thing. But trust me once u put it down on paper you will feel light. It can be trashed immediately. Now try to move on to next incident! This works. BTDT!

    4. Get some ME time and entertain yourselves.

    Good luck hope you feel better soon.
     
  9. Laks09

    Laks09 Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    6,682
    Likes Received:
    11,157
    Trophy Points:
    440
    Gender:
    Female
    I forgot to mention this in my earlier post. It always helps me to delineate between things I have control over and things I have no control over. I tell myself that there is no point stressing over something that I have absolutely no control over. I also make sure I remind myself of all the things I'm doing right. It's an affirmation that I'm doing all I can for things I have control over and the things I can't control are just that. Stuff that I can't control.

    I also was told by someone I trust to come up with plan a/b/c for things that can go wrong(reasonably). Instead of stressing over "what if this situation doesn't work out", it personally helped me to already have two back up options worked out in my head. So when it didn't work out, I just picked an option and worked on it. It was still stressful but at least I knew what I had to do.
    This person was right, I'm always less stressed when I have plans to pick from.
     
  10. Dreambaby

    Dreambaby New IL'ite

    Messages:
    15
    Likes Received:
    7
    Trophy Points:
    8
    Gender:
    Female
    I'm sailing in the same boat after two miscarriages. To top it my grandmother passed away and i feel it's a little too much for me to handle though i was pretty good at managing day to day stress...though i have a very supportive husband and i myself have helped a lot of friends in dealing with their problems but now feel so lost and blank. I'm thinking of starting a exercise routine and also purchased some adult coloring books to see if it helps.
     
    madras2018 likes this.

Share This Page