How to relax

LegacyUser

Regular poster,going unreg.

Ive had a tough 6 months,
Been under alot of stress(relationship trouble)
All the trouble is now sorted but the felling stressed wont leave.
Now that I have nothing to worry about I am finding myself stressed about silly thing's.
I uest to be very cool and calm and now I worry about thing's that may/may not happen.
It's like ive picked up a bad habbit and can't stop.

Any suggestion's on breaking the pattern?

Victor

Some exercise is a start. Avoiding binge foods, alcohol and smoking will also help. Some people find yoga or massage useful.

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LegacyUser

When you start to feel stressed out, or think you're getting uptight about something, take a mental step back and look at the situation. Counting to 10 might help. Also, Rescue Remedy always helps me. The drops are the easiest imho (plus you can't really taste them that much), although they have new pastilles out now too. I know that's not dealing with the root of your problems (that's something you might need professional help with) but they're immediate things that you can do to calm yourself down when you feel stressed, or before you enter what might be a stressful situation.

Stress is really bad for you, so be careful. There's a litany of things it can do to you, including give you ulcers, so be kind to yourself. Chill out, give yourself time to just relax, treat yourself to a massage, if you can afford it, or just some nice scented candles or oils. Lavender, sandalwood and bergamot are supposed to be calming. Even a lavender shower gel might put you in the right frame of mind. Yes, I know it sounds a bit silly, but I have a pulse point roll-on calming gel (from Boots) and a calming hand cream that I always use when doing something particularly stressful at work, and I find that they really do help, even if it's all just a psychological thing.

Best of luck.

Sleepy

Can you afford a holiday?

If not, regular exercise helps. If the relationship is sorted now, sex is a fantastic stress-reliever!

Moss

www.stressreductiontapes.com

tw0nk

joint?

Marksie

I find simple meditative techniques of ten help, basic exercises to calm the mind

Victor

tw0nk wrote:

joint?

Probably not. Filling yourself with chemicals is not how you beat stress.

---

And putting my mod hat on, we can't advocate that.

metrovelvet

You may be addicted to the arenaline that comes with stress.

sobriquet

metrovelvet wrote:

You may be addicted to the arenaline that comes with stress.

I think this is probably a large component of it. Not addicted, but still high on it and thrilled somewhat by it. I've had a hard time of it too this past year, and last week my father took very badly ill. As soon as it kicked off, I was on a high, as I was when mum was ill and dying. Dad's picked up greatly but I'm still wired to the hilt over it all.

Anyway, a few things I've learned in dealing with it all. First, there's feck all you can do but wait it out. Like a bad alcohol/drug hangover or bad infection. Your mind and body jack up to be able to cope, and you're still there. You need to just give yourself time to wind down again. Getting into a routine of sorts will help, and the other suggestions of sport/exercise/massage etc are good. Helps get away from the mindset.

Second, the day to day dealing with it. I know what you mean about getting worried about stuff that otherwise wouldn't bother you in the slightest. It may be a sort of attribution or externalizing of things you can't control onto things you can, and also the 'addiction' to the kick of high-stress situations. Only thing is to try and remain self-aware of when you're doing it, and discipline yourself to resist the urge to get worked up.

Third, don't fret about it. It'll take time to get comfortable again. Don't feel guilty or bad about how you are now.

Fourth: It will get better. You feel **** now, you might feel grand tomorrow, the day after might be **** again, but overall as time goes by, you'll get back to 'normal.'

I know these sound quite broad but it is the only advice I believe is useful and feel comfortable giving. Best of luck OP.

Hermione*

sobriquet wrote:

I think this is probably a large component of it. Not addicted, but still high on it and thrilled somewhat by it. I've had a hard time of it too this past year, and last week my father took very badly ill. As soon as it kicked off, I was on a high, as I was when mum was ill and dying. Dad's picked up greatly but I'm still wired to the hilt over it all.

Anyway, a few things I've learned in dealing with it all. First, there's feck all you can do but wait it out. Like a bad alcohol/drug hangover or bad infection. Your mind and body jack up to be able to cope, and you're still there. You need to just give yourself time to wind down again. Getting into a routine of sorts will help, and the other suggestions of sport/exercise/massage etc are good. Helps get away from the mindset.

I can definitely relate to this post, and I'd second this advice. A routine may sound boring but if you're skipping meals etc, a routine will help to remind you to eat, and it will help focus you on the present. I'd also recommend yoga as yoga requires you to focus completely on the present in order to extend your body into the poses, which means you end up leaving all your problems at the door. Like sobriquet says, time is also important; thing will be very up and down for a while but eventually it'll be easier.

Good luck

Shanda

i know where your coming from. it might be a short term solution but i would suggest ( if u can ) take a week or two off work, go on a holiday for a nice long break and switch off ur phone. then when u come back take a couple of days. make a list of the things that are stressing u out, even the small things, and try and sort them out one by one.i found there were so many little things stressing me out but individually there not too bad. it worked for me.