Stress Relief

How do you handle stress? Everyone experiences it differently – some thrive under it and some buckle. I think I’m somewhere in between. I can handle a lot of things thrown at me, but once I reach that breaking point :: GAME OVER.

There has been a lot of stuff going on this month, both personally and professionally and I’ve been feeling the edges of myself start to crumble. My father-in-law was in the hospital at the beginning of the month for a nasty fall so we’ve been trying to help out as much as possible over at their house (my main job is taking care of the animals so at least that is fun!) while K does all the yard work, fixes things around the house and gives his mom a break. We’re still trying to stay on top of everything at our own house and it feels like the days are waaaaay too short. Our new windows are going to be installed soon (woo the old girl is getting an energy-efficient face lift! No more broken window panes and dirty gross screens and plants growing into the windows…) so we’re going to have an added bill on our finances on top of trying to save for our summer vacay/my work conference. On top of all that, my work is imploding around me and I’m desperately trying to not bring it home but I’m fighting a losing battle.

So that question again – how do you handle stress?! My top 3 are working out, zoning out in a book, and a really good glass (bottle?) of wine or bourbon. Sadly, we both decided to not drink this month (is it sad that I said sadly to that? I really enjoy my wine downs hahaha) so its exercise and books for me. I had one brief meltdown when I got some bad news from work but I got a good cry in with no one around and was able to move on with my emotions.

My goal has been to really focus on taking care of myself and keep whatever stress is weighing on me from actually keeping me down. When I leave work, I mentally shut a door in my mind and its gone until I come back. Planet Fitness opened a new spot right next to my office so I’m walking there on my lunch breaks and getting that endorphin rush before I go back for the next shift, and I’m really pushing myself during my OTF workouts. When I go over to my in-law’s house, I take the dogs for a long walk/run plus K and I have started running after work. And within the span of 2 weeks, I took a mental break and read 7 books. I also keep an aromatherapy “inhaler” in my purse that gives me a calming lavender boost with one good sniff.

I’m not going to lie, it can be a constant struggle and sometimes my brain feels like mush but I’m trying! Figuring out what works for me has definitely helped and is really the only advice I can give someone else. That and buy a punching bag.