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2010.02.05 09:19:48

Mariah Beckman

Mariah Beckman → On Spreading Yourself Too Thin...

This week, I have fretted and worried to now end, almost completely about pointless things. Don't get me wrong: I have real things to worry about. I have actual concerns. But the things that worry me aren't tangible or important things: I fret over things such as how to begin a conversation, or whether or not I have the correct opinion about something, or about how something that I have no control over AT ALL will pan out...and then I like to base my whole waking existence around these unknowables. I don't, however, seem to worry about deadlines at work or school, bills (which I should, since I certainly have enough of them), or how frequently I'm changing my cat's litter box. Real things that I can do something about. And sometimes I like to switch it up, really drive myself nuts with things like my weight, the condition of my hair, whether or not there'll be a future for me in a career of my choosing--you know, the usual suspects.

 It is a truly precarious way to live.

 I have invested some time in looking up some stress relief tips, and encourage my fellow Girlfriends to suggest their methods of stress relief as well.

1) Avoid, alter, accept or adapt to the stressor.  So, in the case of me weighing about as much as a baby rhino, I can  a) avoid food, b) change the foods I cram into my facehole, c) accept my large mammal status and consider bulking up to pursue a career as a giant bearded lady, or d) just accept my  body and shrug it off. We'll see how that goes.

2) Avoid:

• Smoking
• Drinking too much
• Overeating or undereating
• Zoning out for hours in front of the TV or computer
• Withdrawing from friends, family, and activities

• Using pills or drugs to relax      
• Sleeping too much
• Procrastinating
• Filling up every minute of the day to avoid facing problems
• Taking out your stress on others (lashing out, angry outbursts, physical violence)

So I guess I can't head down to the liquor store and take a bunch of muscle relaxers, freak out at strangers and threaten violence to my customers.  However, probably like most of you, I haven't tried most of these...so we'll just pretend  that I never read this.

 3) Start a stress journal, and include in it things like:

• What caused your stress (make a guess if you’re unsure).
• How you felt, both physically and emotionally.
• How you acted in response.
• What you did to make yourself feel better.

Okay, this would be a good solution for me, but I'd probably just stress out about not paying enough attention to my stress journal.

 I'm starting to get stressed that I'm not leaving enough "me" time, so I'll leave you  with this link to more helpful stress tips, and sign off. 

stress | stress relief | worries | relaxing