I go running, and when I have time, I go and play pinball on Friday night for a couple of hours. Takes my mind off everything I don't want to think about.

A poster on another thread told me that none of this is real on EF.

Well, apart from the fact that I am aware of this aspect of a general forum,
the sentiments, advice and dare I say it - opinions - seem to be very real, even if you don't know the person behind the post.
I think last night both Mowvich and me felt a little better after reading the helpful posts and humour on here.
So thanks to all - real or unreal.

Definitely so right, thanks Leni for your kind post

Ok, so before we group hug and sing kumbalaya (and book one or two naked cleaners while we are at it), here is sumfin that just landed in my email from a friend. Looks like a good way to destress and keep our (in)sanity:

To Maintain A Healthy Level Of Insanity


1. At Lunch Time, Sit In Your Parked Car With Sunglasseson and point a Hair Dryer At Passing Cars.
See If They Slow Down.



2. Page Yourself Over The Intercom. Don't Disguise Your Voice. !

3. Every Time Someone Asks You To Do Something, ask If They Want Fries with that.

4. Put Decaf In The Coffee Maker For 3 Weeks . Once Everyone has Gotten Over Their Caffeine Addictions,

Switch to Espresso.

5. In the Memo Field Of All Your Checks, Write ' For Marijuana'

6. Skip down the hall Rather Than Walk and see how many looks you get.

7. Order a Diet Water whenever you go out to eat, with a serious face.

8. Specify That Your Drive-through Order Is 'To Go'.

9. Sing Along At The Opera.

10. Five Days In Advance, Tell Your Friends You Can't Attend Their Party Because You have a headache.

11. When The Money Comes Out The ATM, Scream 'I Won! I Won!'

12. When Leaving the Zoo, Start Running towards the Parking lot, Yelling 'Run For Your Lives! They're Loose!'

13. Tell Your Children Over Dinner, 'Due To The Economy, We Are Going To Have To Let One Of You Go.'


And The Final Way To Keep A Healthy Level Of Insanity

14. PICK UP A BOX OF CONDOMS AT THE PHARMACY, GO TO THE COUNTER AND ASK WHERE THE FITTING ROOM IS.

__________________
"L'homme ne peut pas remplacer son coeur avec sa tete, ni sa tete avec ses mains." J.H. Pestalozzi

“The only difference between a rut and a grave is a matter of depth.” S.P. Cadman

"Imagination is more important than knowledge." A. Einstein

Yes but really don't do these things! Some are illegal...

I have two big guns, blasting away can be very stress relieving

Wrong thread. Here - Wow, I have started acting all Swiss






Ok, I am wondering if one can pull off pointing a hairdryer on a passing car....

In the States, marking cheques "for marijuana" will get you raided on a pretty regular basis. Pointing a hairdryer at passing cars, causing them to veer into a lamp post will get you sued to within an inch of your life. And singing along at the Opera will get you thrown out. And I've always been more Swiss than the Swiss. You may not flush your toilet outside work hours.

I'll happily leave a giant log there....stewy warm. I always sing along at the opera. I try to keep it incospicuous, though.


Of course, some of these things are not really a good idea. Though, laughing at them gave me a good stress relief. Now I will go and page myself, load a water gun and shoot at the fountain in front of our house and toss all the corrections I have to do today. I will ask students to correct my work tomorrow instead...What a good thought.

I've done numbers 6, 10 and 11... I substituted a headache for washing my hair (I was trying to get out of my hens night)
They were great for my stress levels

Simple I know but I've found a good horizontal tango with my husband also tends to alleviate a fair amount of stress (for both of us)

We are always going to have stressors in our lives. It is really all about how we respond to those stressors. Many of us learn how to respond to stressors inappropriately early on in life. The key word is "learn". If we learn how to respond to stress inappropriately then conversely we can learn how to respond appropriately.

Many of us do to want to admit that we respond not well to stress(usually because we think it is a weakness) or many of us are not aware that we respond inappropriately because maybe others around us respond inappropriately also. Some of us may not want to really do anything about our stress or anxiety because we have lived with it so long and it has become part of out identity. In any case if you are suffering from stress or anxiety it most certainly can affect you negatively with sickness, pains,migraines, stomach problems, anger issues, in ability to sleep etc.

Many of the things we do to relieve stress are only temporary. Unfortunately for some, to learn how to deal with stress may take some time and commitment. But it does not take as long or is as difficult as maybe doing yoga, or meditation which are ideal of course. But if you can make the commitment to some time, I guarantee you that you get relief and feel better.

Someone mentioned neurofeedback and biofeedback. I have been a neurofeedback and biofeedback coach for 13 years. I have helped many people from children to adults learn how get a handle on their stress and anxiety.

At one time in my life I suffered from stress and anxiety. I tell you that I would never go back. I feel great, sleep well, no headaches and pains,. Its cool.

Yoga is a great stress reliever esp. yogic breathing (Praanayaama).

As many others have said, you have to find ways to make yourself laugh. Laugh so hard that it brings tears to your eyes. Old movies, slapstick, whatever it takes.

Exercise, sleep, and eating well is important - you have to take care of yourself. Do you get enough light as the days grow shorter? Are you getting enough vitamin D or the various B's, omega-3 oils - these seem to be helpful in countering stress.

But sometimes stress is too great and it's difficult to care for yourself. And while I'm a great believer in relaxation, deep breathing and meditation, proper nutrition and all of that, sometimes it seems that the list of things to do gets too long and you're simply too stressed. So for me to say relax, or laugh is really no help at all.

I've had bouts of anxiety and depression exacerbated by stress. I know all of the self-care things to do, things I've listed above, but when things are so bad I can't get moving, then I seek professional advice. Sometimes you can accomplish what you need with therapies - talking about your problems to someone who will help you figure out what path to take. And sometimes you might require meds to help you become more receptive to following these paths and caring for yourself. Nothing wrong with both, or either as needed.

Good luck! Hope you feel better. When I was younger, I was always able to get through the stress, then crash and burn when it's over. When it crashing and burning was getting difficult to recover from, I had to seek help. I no longer crash and burn, and I manage stress pretty well.

All of the things that people suggested here will work...it just depends on how well you can advocate for yourself, or if you need some outside help. Take care...

Modern life by it self brings stress to our live, sometimes we deal with it but sometimes we choose to ignore it.

There are many ways to deal witn stress.