How to manage the stress ?
Cuddles!
My favorite stress reduction technique:
Picture yourself near a stream.
Birds are softly chirping in the crisp cool mountain air.
Nothing can bother you here. No one knows this secret place.
You are in total seclusion from that place called "the world."
The soothing sound of a gentle waterfall fills the air with a cascade of serenity.
The water is clear.
You can easily make out the face of the person whose head you're holding under the water.
Look. It's the person who caused you all this stress in the first place.
What a pleasant surprise. You let them up... just for a quick breath... then ploop!...back under they go...
You allow yourself as many deep breaths as you want.
There now... feeling better?
I agree with @FriendlyFemale , the answer is cuddles. But I suspect the OP, having asked that question here on CC, already knew the answer.
It's like walking into a restaurant and asking, "how to manage the hunger?"
Cuddles help a lot.
Personally, my daily early morning runs on the sand have often been used to relieve 'stress'. The pace of a stress reducing run is to punish my body early in the run which allows my mind to then work on how to manage or eliminate the cause of the stress. Often I feel a mental reset after working out the solution for the day ahead.
Fortunately, I don’t have to deal with stress very much but here’s my recommendation: Breathing, visualization, focus, fresh air, choose the company you keep very carefully. And of course, cuddling does help some people.
Also video games, music, reading, walking (or other exercise), creating art, petting animals, soothing scents, scenic drives, weighted blankets.... I think we have to try different techniques and find the things that work best for us. And we have to be self-aware enough not to keep defaulting to the same unhelpful behaviors over and over, expecting them to suddenly start working.
I like to put my headphones on, listen to music, and hit my pen. That helps with immediate stress..
Long term stress is best managed with therapy imo 🙂
I just got back from a massage session. I feel much more relaxed and less tense now.
It depends on what type of stress and the cause . Not a simple answer .
If you’re own your own nothing… stay stressed.
Radical acceptance of what is is the only thing that helps me.
Acceptance that things aren't the way I want and that I am not feeling what I want either.
And sometimes all I can do is accept that I cannot accept something. But even that little bit helps. And I usually find that once I accept either mentally, or even with my body by relaxing, I feel better.
It's like when it's freezing cold outside. I brace against it and it hurts. But if I just let myself be cold, let my arms hang down and the wind hit me, I always feel better. And it's not as big of a problem.
There will ALWAYS be stress if you can't accept things as they are. That doesn't mean don't try to improve things. You should if you feel called to. But don't close your body, mind, and heart to what is actually present in your life and in your self.
It's hard. But it's the only answer so far as I can tell.
My mom is dying. And she can't talk. She just shakes and mumbles. I just spent a week with her. The only thing that got me through was opening up to the experience. Just as it was. And it hurt. A lot. But before that, I had been fighting it. And it was killing me.
@billiam
Acceptance that things aren't the way I want and that I am not feeling what I want either. And sometimes all I can do is accept that I cannot accept something. But even that little bit helps. And I usually find that once I accept either mentally, or even with my body by relaxing, I feel better.
This is a really good point. One thing I've been focusing on a lot lately is locus of control. When I'm focusing on all of the things beyond my control, it's closing my mind to all of the things that are in my control. And what's crazy is that when I start doing that, I realize that there's more that I'm in control of than what I thought. And once I see some of those things, I start feeling really empowered, and that helps with the things that are difficult.
@billiam sorry to hear about your mom. That’s a tough one. I really appreciate you talking about the situation. It’s important to talk about death and dying.
So glad you found a way to get through it. Keep moving forward and be well
For me, being alone helps. I particularly like going out alone on day hikes. Working out at the gym helps too as does losing myself in a good book.