Stress Relief

What is your strategy for relieving stress?

For six months, I’ve been conducting a mini-survey by asking that question to a wide variety of friends and acquaintances of all ages. I polled bankers, musicians, educators, auto salesmen, chefs, seamstresses, beauticians, writers, engineers and physicians. The results have been surprising.

The paramount fact to emerge is that stress levels have a great deal to do with personality type. There are some people who gather stress into themselves like a mother hen gathers her chicks. Once they have it, they nurture it, build it and are loath to let it go. They think about it, talk about it and wear it on their sleeves. Others have found unique ways to dispel it.

The musician said, “Music is a great stress reliever for me. When I play the piano, the rhythmic movement of my hands on the keys and the harmonic sounds I create help me to zone out, distancing myself from realities that add tension to my life.”

“I play golf,” said the banker. “Daily I deal with a high degree of stress. As the pressure builds, I remind myself to deal with each situation as it occurs and try not to anticipate the next one. I need to manage my time and energy Monday through Friday, knowing that I will be able to unwind on the golf course for the next two days.”

A teacher reported, “I hang upside down on an inversion board for 10 minutes at 180 degrees. For really bad days, I make it 20 minutes.”

“Bubble baths,” said a beautician. “At the end of the day, in addition to the job stress, I also have aching feet and legs. I light candles in my darkened bathroom, fill the tub and add my favorite bubbles. I soak until I‘m relaxed, then pull the plug and watch all my discomfort swirl away down the drain.”

A busy mother of four with a husband, home and a full time career says, “I hike. At the beginning of the hike, I identify what has me the most stressed. As I walk, I think about the reason for the problem and the different ways I can solve the situation. By the end of my hike, I’ve often found a solution, my head is clear and I can enjoy the scenery.”

I hope you have already found what works for you. If you haven’t, keep searching. There are numerous, effective ways from yoga to baking cakes that can help you cope.