It seems like there is a lot of stress in the world today and we all know that stress causes a ton of physical problems for us. People have a lot of different ways of coping with stress -- some good and effective, some not so good. There's deep breathing, physical exercise, overeating, binge watching tv, withdrawing from society, pausing to pray, and a plethora of other things.
As election season in the US draws to a close, what are your go-to ways of dealing with stress?
Are you able to find a place of peace in the chaos of day-to-day life?
How do you find good feelings in stressful times?
I'd offer these two coping methods. They are both simple, but most people do not do them well. Like most things, doing them well requires practice.
The first is breathing -- not just breathing for oxygen, but focused, purposeful breathing that calms and focuses our thoughts and our whole being. Though I am not an expert by any means, I am able to slow my heart rate, lower my blood pressure, and calm my physical body and emotional being with practiced breathing.
The second thing is rest. I really believe that most westerners suck at resting. I think we have been conditioned to believe that one has to be constantly moving and progressing to be successful and we have been taught that pausing to rest is somehow a bad thing. Every time saving tool or process has been used to be able to do more rather than to be able to rest more. Resting well takes practice. Breathing well helps.
How do you deal with stress?
No judgment please. I realize that not all methods are good methods. If eating a bag of chips or smoking a cigar is your thing, feel free to share that.
Maybe hugging is your thing and now you feel that your go-to stress reliever has been pandemic restricted. Sacrebleu!
Maybe posting pointless rants helps you.
Maybe reading pointless rants helps you.
Well...?
Leave a comment and share your thing.
John
"I really believe that most westerners suck at resting."
ReplyDeleteMaybe we could open a studio and give lessons.