Anyone who says sunshine brings happiness has never danced in the rain.
—Anonymous
There are short-cuts to happiness, and dancing is one of them. —Vicki Baum
And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.
—Friedrich Wilhelm NietzscheSocrates learned to dance when he was seventy because he felt that an essential part of himself had been neglected.
—Anonymous
The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.
—e.e. cummingsWhat soap is to the body, laughter is to the soul.
—Yiddish ProverbOK, take a deep breath. Now put your hand on your belly. Imagine your stomach jiggling, as if you are starting to laugh. You may have just taken a step toward reducing stress hormone levels.
—Kelley Colihan, WebMD Medical News
A lot is going on in my life right now…nothing earth-shaking, and most of it fun. But I’ve been easily startled by noise and have been feeling “nervous”. So I looked in my bag of stress management tricks and have been experimenting with some of my favorites:
- Singing and dancing,
- Laughing out loud, and
- Using a biofeedback device
The device I use is called the StressEraser (I don’t get paid for this plug, but it does work for me.) I use it at bedtime to sleep relaxed at night, and to check how I’m doing during the day. As I said, I’m experimenting to see what works best for me. I’ll let you know what I find out in next week’s post.
In the meantime, what about you? What techniques do you use? What are your stress secrets? Please share your experience in the comments section.
Thanks to bikehikebabe, Robert, Mark, and Jackie for commenting on last week’s post.
My stress is communicating with my husband (of 51 years). Our minds work so differently, that they don’t mesh like people who think on the same track. What I need to do is give more information. This is tedious when in a hurry.
Jean, $299 for the StressEraser is a lot of $. But I’ll get one if it works.
Going to sleep at night is hindered if I think about my day; what I’m going to do tomorrow. I listen to a Book on CD & forget about myself. zzzzzzzzzz~~snore
Listening to music usually helps or taking a long hike enjoying the nature. Having fun with my kids, hugging, playing and laughing will surely do the trick also!
And of course, exercising.
Lately I’m taking the bike to work (yep, the Netherlands ;-)), which helps reduce stress, gives me the opportunity to think things over, enjoy the weather/nature, and do some exercise at the same time!
Before going to bed, I try to write in my journal. To get the thoughts running around in my brain sorted out, to quiet down, and come in contact with myself again. This almost always takes away lot of the stress!
And you know, visiting the right blog or two, like e.g. yours usually helps me too. Just sit down, read great advice, and take the time to think about my own point of view (and write it down in understandable English ;-))..
Thanks Jean, for providing me with just that!!
bikehikebabe,
I agree, CDs or tapes can be great sleeping pills. About stress–remember, stress is your reaction to what’s going on, not the situation itself. I find that distinction empowering. The StressEraser isn’t magic, it’s just a convenient way to calm down if we take the time to use. That’s the hardest part. 😉
Ellen,
Thank you for the kind words. I don’t have kids around, so I often have to have fun by myself. I actually got my teddy bear out this week. He’s 27″ long and a great hugger. But I agree about exercise and journal writing.
bikehikebabe walks in nature a lot. I used to walk everyday but I’m photosensitive and tend to stay out of the sun now. So I use my jogging trampoline and my NordicTrack treadmill. I think it’s great that you can bike to work.
Thank you both for sharing!
Ellen,
🙂 I forgot to add how impressed I am by your command of English.
Hi Ellen, Your life is like our lives in USA, so far from the Netherlands. It’s a small world. I know you (from your comments) & think of you as a friend. (I’m also impressed by your English–& your insights.)
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