stress

The word stress itself doesn't even represent the complete magnitude of the effect it manages. It's deceptive in that it looks like a small word - but it has 6 letters. stress - orange. See the difference? Both have 6 letters and yet stress looks small. Deceptive. If I were king of the world, stress would always be referred to as S T R E S S...because that's exactly what it feels like. Big and bulky. Huge and heavy.
It's pretty hard to get rid of, too.
If you are to be a responsible contributor to society...if you care in the least about the welfare of your family and friends...if you are in any position in which you have to provide for someone or something else... you will undoubtedly never escape stress.
I have met people who are stress free. Unfortunately for them, they do not meet the previous qualifications.
Nonetheless, they are everywhere...and they cause me stress as well.
I've been delving into the different methods of stress relief lately. Some out of curiosity, but mostly out of necessity.
I've shied away from methods that involve medicine - although the thought of popping a little pill and suddenly being able to handle life better is very appealing.
Instead I do things like - blog. I look for the bright spots in life and I write about them. It has to do with positive thinking and the effect that manually changing your outlook can have on your being.
I also see a therapist regularly. I love her. For one hour, I get to talk about me..just me. I don't have to argue a point. I don't have to justify my feelings. I just get to let my emotions flow as they may. We do try and solve problems of course, but the therapy part is the absolute freedom to just be me....tears, laughs, curse words and all.
I've also learned some interesting stress relieving techniques such as tapping. I don't know if it has a proper name and sometimes, I'm not even sure I'm doing it exactly right. It looks funny to an outsider, but it has a strange calming effect on my body, sending it into another zone - another plane for as long as I do it.
There are simpler ways of stress relief. Why, just the other day, I rolled up the windows and blared "Wild Wild West" as loud as I could stand it. God bless the creators of 93.9 Bob FM where "we play anything" is the theme.
My mother had an interesting outlet of stress relief for us as children. She'd send us to chop wood. It's a shame I live in the city today, or I might practice this method from time to time. Mind you the thought of a 12-14 year old with an axe terrifies me as a mother, but she was from an entirely different era. It did the job.
If I were an exerciserr, I'd probably be less stressed. Or maybe a boxer...yes, knocking the lights out of an opponent is a tremendously satisfying thought. But I'm notoriously unsteady on my feet and completely inept when it comes to sports and 9 times out of 10 I hurt myself. Just ask my Jazzercise instructor who I met a total of 2 times before I threw my back out during a routine never to return again.
In short - as if this entry were short - there are tons of ways to lessen the effects of stress, but besides selling everything and living a monk's life in Tibet, I cannot figure out how to avoid it altogether.
So in the meantime, I'll embrace things like this. Phoebe from FRIENDS and her running style.

YouTube - Phoebe running style