Carrie and Danielle - Latest Comments in Mary Jaksch asks: What’s your best way of coping with stress?

Re: Mary Jaksch asks: What’s your best way of coping with stress?

VanessaRae — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 11:54:27 -0000

I go for a walk in the forrest. I read a passage from one of my favorite books. I pray and talk some sense into myself.

Re: Mary Jaksch asks: What’s your best way of coping with stress?

Amy Guth — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 10:51:42 -0000

I'm with Carrie. I give myself permission to ache or be sad or whatever feeling I have and sit in that feeling and let it be. I usually process well and quickly that way, then feel ready to move on in a healthy way.

Re: Mary Jaksch asks: What’s your best way of coping with stress?

Traci — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 10:11:16 -0000

I get pissed. Turning the scared, overwhelmed feeling into anger creates action. Luckily, I've figure out (for the most part) how to keep to myself when I get angry, and I take it out on projects instead of people (again, for the most part). Wearing flat black knee-high boots helps me somehow. This whole thing is probably not healthy, but it works for now.

Re: Mary Jaksch asks: What’s your best way of coping with stress?

crichard — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 09:54:08 -0000

I like the idea of expressing your feelings - I too usually deny that there is stress. I think I am going to try throwing a temper tantrum the next time and see what happens. Thanks.

Re: Mary Jaksch asks: What’s your best way of coping with stress?

Amy — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 11:58:13 -0000

I used to handle stress really badly..... i would blame the world and anything that was around me. i would tell myself that this wasn't my problem and i was not to blame for the path that had unfolded....now however; my mind has taught me the importance of calming my spirit and soul to ease my feelings.....i do this with music ( led zeppelin and pink floyd etc) aswell as painting, running, pilates etc....
it can be many things, but the changing of my attitude and feelings are fundemental in taking responsibilty for these stressors

Re: Mary Jaksch asks: What’s your best way of coping with stress?

alligator_kate — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 01:51:11 -0000

Thanks for sharing this.

Re: Mary Jaksch asks: What’s your best way of coping with stress?

alligator_kate — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 01:48:09 -0000

A walk in the woods is the best medicine. :)

Re: Mary Jaksch asks: What’s your best way of coping with stress?

alligator_kate — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 01:44:12 -0000

Playing and laughing with my dogs lightens me up, diminishing the impact of every day stresses.
I believe that there are some people for whom meditation is a healthy addition to their lives, but that if they don't do it, they find other ways to ground and center. For others of us, it is an absolute requirement. I fall into the second category. I also usually call a friend or family member, and when all else fails, I simply go for a walk to the nearest park and lie on the earth, preferably near a big tree. I often suspect that my stress level would diminish greatly if I moved from city to country, as I hope to in the future. Nothing makes me feel more at peace than being in nature.

Re: Mary Jaksch asks: What’s your best way of coping with stress?

laurie_matthews — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 21:04:47 -0000

For everyday stress my best move is to work out and then soak in a hot tub and meditate. For the big stresses I'm with Carrie - hibernate, be silent and sleep.

Re: Mary Jaksch asks: What’s your best way of coping with stress?

Anna — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 19:42:39 -0000

Well the bad news is I've got an awful lot of stress in my life right now. The good news is I'm in really great shape!! Run, swim, dance, yoga all serve to get me out of my head and into my body.

When I can't do that, or it's not enough, then I have to question my stressful thoughts. "The Work" is what works for me. Byron Katie's work is so incredibly valuable it has taken me to a whole new place of acceptance and softness with regard to what life doles out.

Re: Mary Jaksch asks: What’s your best way of coping with stress?

Kristin_The_Goat — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 18:57:31 -0000

"...even if for only a day."

Sometimes that's all I can do! I like that. I like that line a lot.

Re: Mary Jaksch asks: What’s your best way of coping with stress?

Kristin_The_Goat — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 18:53:23 -0000

I actually own "Monster Ballads" - it is a great stress reliever.

Re: Mary Jaksch asks: What’s your best way of coping with stress?

Susie Hutchinson — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 18:51:54 -0000

Walking, walking, walking. If I don't have it all figured out after the first walk, I start another.

Re: Mary Jaksch asks: What’s your best way of coping with stress?

Kristin_The_Goat — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 18:51:30 -0000

Ooooh, that's sounds nice!

I love that line, too.

Re: Mary Jaksch asks: What’s your best way of coping with stress?

Kristin_The_Goat — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 18:49:06 -0000

Usually when I'm all stressed out it is because I've been eating poorly and haven't had enough sleep. So I will get a nice meal with lots of veggies, drink a glass of water and take a nap. When stress is more "outer" related I just focus for a few minutes, take deep breaths and start thinking positive.

If none of that works, then a good cry helps too.

Re: Mary Jaksch asks: What’s your best way of coping with stress?

Danette — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 18:01:37 -0000

I stand in the middle of the room (empty or not) stomp my foot and announce "I'm cranky!" like a 3 year old. I have found that articulating my stress gives me the go ahead to care for it, and almost immediately eases the pressure.
(I guess for me, most of my stress comes from denying that the stress is there.)
Then I do any of the following: talk to a girlfriend, make art, eat chocolate, write, clean and organize things around the house, cry, take a bath, blast music that suits my mood, nap, drink (wine or scotch, not beer).
I always feel less stressed after a Nia class, but when the stress beats me to it I struggle to find the motivation to actually get my body there.

Re: Mary Jaksch asks: What’s your best way of coping with stress?

Ginger_Laine — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 17:43:22 -0000

I do a very, very bad job of handling stress partly because I think I fail to recognize it until it's too late and I'm already overwhelmed by it. With disturbing regularity I will find myself "waking up" from a kind of a fog and discover that I have accomplished pretty much nothing for days, if not an entire week. Work, home, community service commitments .... all just kind of come to a halt. Only the must-do-or-die gets done. This is one such week.

I simply shut down and no amount of acknowleding it while it's happening seems to shake me out of it. I'll go about trying to do productive things that while nice are not immediately important . Frenzied cleaning and implementing new systems of organizational control are usually what I do to attempt to get a handle on the chaos and lift my mental and emotional paralysis, but often it just feeds the despair.

The one thing that seems to make a real difference is writing. It is only when I get honest on the page with how lousy I am feeling and what is going on in my life, that I seem to be able to understand what is happening to me and make an action plan to start over again. It is as if writing in my journal wipes my brain clean and I can pick up where I left off.

Re: Mary Jaksch asks: What’s your best way of coping with stress?

Kathy — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 17:35:12 -0000

Since I live in the country, I stop the stressful activity whatever it is and walk the forest....not looking at my feet but searching the treetops for the magnicence of the 150 years old pines and heritage maples. In my rubber boots and my oldest jacket, I can reconnect my wiring and gain perspective. The stress melts and I breathe deeply....the oxygen penetrates and I'm back to myself again.
If I'm silly and just begin to feel stressed, I will discover myself vacuuming....then I know that I need to go out for a walk!
KWL

Re: Mary Jaksch asks: What’s your best way of coping with stress?

Sabrina — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 16:41:26 -0000

I like this. I've done this too.

Re: Mary Jaksch asks: What’s your best way of coping with stress?

Sabrina — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 16:40:10 -0000

For intense stress, I need solitude because I feel so overwhelmed. For smaller things, full and deep conscious breaths help a lot because we're I'm stressed I've noticed that my breathing is more shallow. Walks, taking down time with friends or doing activities that I enjoy (Pilates, hiking, authentic conversation with lots of intriguing questions to ponder).

Re: Mary Jaksch asks: What’s your best way of coping with stress?

Kristen — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 16:07:24 -0000

Sat in the middle of "Linens N Things" today in the $1000 shiatsu chair, pressed "full body", and thought to myself "Just keep swimming....."

Re: Mary Jaksch asks: What’s your best way of coping with stress?

Becca — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 15:58:27 -0000

Right now because living in Florida it is still quite "summery" I enjoy destressing by going out to my front yard/garden and pruning, weeding, replanting, etc. Anytime I am out in the fresh air and moving dirt with my hands I feel so much better afterwards, somehow it just melts away my stress, worries, etc. I come away feeling not only more alive and renewed, but also accomplished. Also on a totally different note, even though having two children under the age of 2 1/2 can be very stressful at times, there are moments when they, Aidan and Emme are the only ones who make me feel better. There is nothing more simple and comforting than rocking my 4 month old daughter and reading a book with my son.

Re: Mary Jaksch asks: What’s your best way of coping with stress?

Michelle — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 15:40:16 -0000

One of my ways of coping with uber stress to encourage myself to dive into the emotions and allow what I know call, "the cry before the calm".

Re: Mary Jaksch asks: What’s your best way of coping with stress?

kerrymac — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 14:54:09 -0000

Walking helps, a massage is heaven and like Carrie I tend to hibernate lots. There isn't much room in our house for privacy so my bed is my hideaway when I need to hash things out. www.snickerdoodles.typepad.com

Re: Mary Jaksch asks: What’s your best way of coping with stress?

Lori — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 14:40:07 -0000

I am with Carrie, I go for a run outside, on the beach around the lake, with the ipod,no matter the weather it always clears my head and I can work through things while I run. Bad stress, definitely crawl under the covers and definitely hit up a colleague for an Acupuncture treatment.