jude.love: March 2010

3.16.2010

Stress Management

I knew something was off when I woke up this morning…. it only took the pale and panic-stricken faces of my classmates to realize that “oh, it’s March 16th…” one month until April 16th. We officially have one month to get everything done for our show. Well actually that’s not even true. REALLY we only have 3 weeks to get everything done b/c we’re supposed to put up our work April 9th, one week before the show. Gag. Needless to say we could all use a little lesson in stress management. I decided [for fun and for procrastinating purposes] to look online for some healthy and unhealthy ways of dealing with stress.

Here are the “healthy ways” to help cope with stress:

Go for a walk.
Spend time in nature.
Call a good friend.
Sweat out tension with a good workout.
Write in your journal.
Take a long bath.
Light scented candles
Savor a warm cup of coffee or tea.
Play with a pet.
Work in your garden.
Get a massage.
Curl up with a good book.
Listen to music.
Watch a comedy

Here are some of the “unhealthy ways” people cope with stress:

Drinking too much
Over-eating or under-eating
Zoning out for hours in front of the TV or computer
Withdrawing from friends, family, and activities
Using pills or drugs to relax
Sleeping too much
Procrastinating
Filling up every minute of the day to avoid facing problems
Taking out your stress on others (lashing out, angry outbursts, physical violence)

Personally…drinking, zoning out for hours, angry outbursts, and physical violence sound like the best plan for me.