Stress Relief Techniques

[pepperlandgirl]

I'm currently being treated for hypertension with medication. Today my blood pressure was something like 150/92--a bit higher than it was last week. When I told my best friend this, her immediate response was "I'm not surprised." Given that I'm 27 and in mostly good health, I said, "Why?" She pointed out that I'm constantly stressed over everything. There pretty much isn't a moment in my life when I'm not worried about money, my job, my future, my career, my family. When I don't have anything in particular to worry about, I just have a general sense of unease. There are other issues (including the fact that my dad has hypertension and I probably have sleep apnea), but I'm sure that this constant sense of being stressed out is not actually helping the situation. I can tell that it's getting worse now. I carry a lot of tension in my neck/jaw, which aggravates my TMJ, which in turn makes my jaw "pop" out of place so I'm unable to open my mouth. The only way to fix it is for the muscles and tendons to relax--lately it's been popping out for hours at a time.

I'm thinking maybe I should take up meditation or something. Given my issues, self-medicating with food, alcohol, pot, etc is probably not a good plan (and obviously hasn't exactly been helping me up til now). Has anybody ever experienced anything similar? Are there any books or websites that can help me out? Or anything that you've found yourself doing to just, well, relax?

[Exy]

Smoking.

(ps. don't smoke. Also don't meditate, there's no evidence for that shit.)

[Marsilia]

Candles help me a lot, kind of in a meditation way. Something about having the flame to use as a focus.

[Inner Stickler]

Don't sweat the petty stuff and don't pet the sweaty stuff.

Naps. Naps are helpful. Sometimes it's worth it to be a little more rushed later in the day because you took a 10 minute nap. Stretching and yoga positions help me relax and center myself. Another technique I use is to breathe out and imagine I am expelling all my anger and hate in a big black cloud that gets whisked away and when I breathe in I breathe in pure clean happiness and I imagine it filling me up from the toes up. If I feel like I'm being constrained by others, I imagine that I am a marionette on strings and I'm being pulled up as far as I can go and just before I split in half, the strings on my fingers snap and they fall and then the strings on my wrists snap and they fall and so on down the elbows and shoulders until I am bent over at the waist, and I can shake it all out and slowly rebuild myself up imagining all my vertebrae lining up in a row and bringing me up to a standing position. Sometimes it's fun to just lay down on the floor and pretend I am a cat and I writhe and stretch and yawn all over.

[Exy]

Don't sweat the petty stuff and don't pet the sweaty stuff.

Naps. Naps are helpful. Sometimes it's worth it to be a little more rushed later in the day because you took a 10 minute nap. Stretching and yoga positions help me relax and center myself. Another technique I use is to breathe out and imagine I am expelling all my anger and hate in a big black cloud that gets whisked away and when I breathe in I breathe in pure clean happiness and I imagine it filling me up from the toes up. If I feel like I'm being constrained by others, I imagine that I am a marionette on strings and I'm being pulled up as far as I can go and just before I split in half, the strings on my fingers snap and they fall and then the strings on my wrists snap and they fall and so on down the elbows and shoulders until I am bent over at the waist, and I can shake it all out and slowly rebuild myself up imagining all my vertebrae lining up in a row and bringing me up to a standing position. Sometimes it's fun to just lay down on the floor and pretend I am a cat and I writhe and stretch and yawn all over.

Ha yeah not having responsibilities is great isn't it.

Exy renews his call for drug use.

[Orual]

I have chronic problems with stress and anxiety, and I've had both a doctor and a therapist recommend exercise.

It does work, in my experience. It doesn't need to be anything heavy-duty, just something to get the heart-rate up for a half hour or so a day. I walk. Or jog. (Mostly walk, lately.)

Maybe yoga?

[artifex]

Yoga is awesome. I highly recommend it. Also, breathing; just taking a few minutes to really breathe slowly, deeply, and consciously can be a quick calming trick.

For me, I also remind myself that worrying doesn't actually do anything helpful. If there's something that can/should be *done* then do it, but just sitting there fretting and being tense about whatever? Does not do anything positive. I remind myself of that and consciously let go of worry.

[Cluricaun]

[OneCentStamp]

Also don't meditate, there's no evidence for that shit.

I don't think there's any particular value in, for example, sitting in a half lotus and regarding your navel, but meditation is helpful simply by virtue of what it is - quiet time. The very fact that it involves going and being by yourself someplace quiet, and making a conscious effort to clear your mind and de-stress, pretty much guarantees it's going to help. If structured thoughts, mantras, or particular postures are what help certain people get to that mental place, fine.

To pepperlandgirl, my suggestions:
- Get enough sleep. "Enough" varies by person, but keep in mind that you may be able to get by on a bare minimum of sleep without collapsing, but that may not be the optimum amount to actually keep you focused and happy.
- Eat well. Nuts and soy are two good de-stressing foods, but there are tons of them out there. Unsurprisingly, most of them are also good for you.
- Get exercise. I like walking, myself.

[Zuul]

Exercise is a major one that's been mentioned here before. Yoga is good, but for reducing blood pressure you should really be doing something aerobic and most forms of yoga are not. I wouldn't start with something that's particularly hard on the body, but walking for 30 minutes a day is a good start. If you're unsure about how to time yourself to get 30 minutes of walking, find a spot a mile from your house and walk there at a brisk pace and then back. Most people end up going around 4mph.

When you're stressing about something, you need to train yourself to recognize that and defuse it. I'd suggest taking notes every time you start to get stressed out over something and focus on what leads up to it. Do you start gritting your teeth? Making fists? Does your breath get tight? What's going on? The more little signs of stress you can find, the quicker you can recognize when it's starting. Then you can try to defuse it by focusing on something else. It's usually something silly, but it works. Pick up a spoon, pretend it has hot tea in it, and blow on it like you're trying to cool it off without spilling the tea. Do jazz hands and say "lalala, I don't care!" Rub on lotion. Listen to a bouncy song and sing along. If you can, take a bath. Squeeze a cat. Suck on a sugar free Lifesaver without biting it until it completely dissolves.

You'd mentioned in chat you were going to cut down on carbs again, too. I'd suggest making sure you don't have any caffeine in your diet as well. I don't know how often you have caffeine, but stimulants don't do stress any favors.

One thing I'd point out is that there's a lot of pop-psychology about giving into your anger and "letting it out" and stuff like that when you're stressed. Don't. If there is honestly a situation you need to deal with and dealing with it will reduce your stress, then do so in a calm manner, but if you're stressing about things you don't actually need to deal with (or things you have no control over) then you need to stop. Don't give it greater power by focusing on it and expressing it. All that does is reinforce it. This is when you dance around like a moron, wave your hands in the air, and eat Lifesavers.

[OneCentStamp]

Rub on lotion.

This, or else it gets the hose again.

[Zuul]

This, or else it gets the hose again.

Hey! It is very difficult to rub lotion on your hands angrily. If nothing else, you feel stupid doing so.

[Glazer]

Stop several times throughout the day and think of something that makes you happy. Breath slow and think about what happy feels like. Let the feeling of happiness flow through you. It gets easier with practice. And becomes habit with repetition. Feelings are habit forming and changing habits is hard and takes work. If all else fails or even if it's working seek therapy.

[Trojan Man]

http://www.fetchfido.co.uk/games/sma...he_penguin.htm

[Risha]

You might want to get checked for GAD? For me, a low dose of antidepressants fixed constant anxiety over (literally) nothing, which eventually escalated into daily panic attacks. What you describe sounds a lot like I was at the time.

[artifex]

You might want to get checked for GAD?

This is a good point, if the OP is never not worried about something, anxiety disorders should at least be examined.

[pepperlandgirl]

You might want to get checked for GAD? For me, a low dose of antidepressants fixed constant anxiety over (literally) nothing, which eventually escalated into daily panic attacks. What you describe sounds a lot like I was at the time.

That's actually occurred to me a few times, though I've never experienced a full-blown panic attack. I do have episodes where my anxiety is kicked into high-gear and I feel almost like I've become manic, with my mind racing and my stomach churning. Come to think of it, maybe that is a panic attack.

One thing I'd point out is that there's a lot of pop-psychology about giving into your anger and "letting it out" and stuff like that when you're stressed. Don't. If there is honestly a situation you need to deal with and dealing with it will reduce your stress, then do so in a calm manner, but if you're stressing about things you don't actually need to deal with (or things you have no control over) then you need to stop. Don't give it greater power by focusing on it and expressing it. All that does is reinforce it. This is when you dance around like a moron, wave your hands in the air, and eat Lifesavers.

This makes sense. Generally, it's not anything that stressing will legitimately help. It doesn't matter if I worry myself sick over the balance of my checking account, that's not going to magically create more money. Likewise, sometimes I get clutched with "I HAVE NO JOB! HOLY SHIT OH MY GOD!" or even better "I HAVE NO FUTURE! I'VE WASTED MY WHOLE LIFE!" Neither of which is technically true, of course, but both of which sure do have the power to ruin a night, and usually the next day and the day after that. Lately, I've stacked my health concerns on top of that.

I'm going to begin exercising next week, walking 30 minutes a day. I'm also looking for an activity that gives me a distraction and a focus for 30 mins or an hour every day. For example, my mother and Hank from King of the Hill both have their yard work. I want something that will take me off the computer and away from my general routine of the day. Unfortunately, I can't think of what I want to do yet.

[Risha]

That's actually occurred to me a few times, though I've never experienced a full-blown panic attack. I do have episodes where my anxiety is kicked into high-gear and I feel almost like I've become manic, with my mind racing and my stomach churning. Come to think of it, maybe that is a panic attack.

Could very well be. I don't know how you feel about psychiatric medication, but if you're ok with it, you might want to talk to your doctor. My PCP did my original prescription (before I got depression a couple of years later), so it wouldn't even necessarily require a trip to a specialist.