Stress

To some in my life it won't come as a surprise that I severely suffer from the effects of Stress. What amazes me is that de-stressing, relaxing, and letting things go are learn skills that many never learn. So far I have fallen into that category. The phrase "Don't worry about things you can't change" is something I can't seem to get through my head. It has taken me about 16 years to realize that my body just can't handle this anymore. Doctors can't seem to find a reason for my chronic headaches, muscle pain, troubles sleeping, physical and mental exhaustion, and etc. Psychatrists can't figure out why anti-depressants and mood stabilizers don't work or even make things worse. Seems the answer might be as simple as stress. I don't handle it well. Most around me can attest to that. Now the question is what do I do about this.

Meditation is thought to have many healing properties and is said to be helpful in relaxing and reducing stress. But it seems there are about as many thoughts on meditation and ways to meditate as there are people. Which is not the most helpful thought when it comes to figuring out what to do. Like I said before this is a learned skill, one which is completely foreign to me. Seems there are 4 basic elements to meditation: focusing your attention, relaxed breathing, quiet location, and a comfortable position.

There are other methods to help manage stress. Some of these are physical activity, relaxation techniques, yoga, and tai chi. But most methods seem to have one downside... can't be done with 3 kids running around. Seems I am going to have to figure out how to have the kids watched along with trying to attempt to approach reducing my stress.

More searching brought me some things that seem a little more possible to do daily and with kids. Ways to reduce the effects of daily stress: simplify your life, manage your time wisely, be prepared, let go, adjust your attitude, relax, take a break, exercise regularly, eat smart, laugh, and change the pace. It'll be a challenge actually accomplishing this. Accepting that worrying about things only makes me feel horrible and doesn't help the situation is hard. Nick and I have already started on the simplifying our life and changing our pace. Of course adjusting my attitude, relaxing, and letting go are going to take work to get figured out how to do that.

Massage is a great method for reducing the effects of stress. Seems simple and straightforward enough. I also found a recipe for making my own. 8 drops essential oil and 6 tsp carrier oil mixed well. Warm before use. Carrier oil is extra virgin or cold pressed vegatable and nut oils. They help create a buffer so that you aren't just putting essential oil on your skin which can cause irritation. Some commonly used carrier oils are sweet almond, grapeseed, hazelnut, safflower, and olive.

My plan as of right now is to continue my decluttering and exercise regularly. I also planning on attempting to meditate and start learning how to sit back and relax. I guess I'll see how this all works. My new mantra needs to be Don't Worry about things you Can't Control. Maybe it'll work after several repitions!