how to reduce stress

[hillview]

I am suddenly a high blood pressure -- hypertension stage 2. It is 100% due to stress IMO. I eat no salt, I am overweight but have lost 10 lbs and have been exercising. Work is a huge amount of stress. Help me be a better manager of stress. I am literally clenched almost all the time. What are you tips?

[SnuggleBuggles]

Can you get to the source of your work stress and fix that in anyway?
Add in a few quick walks. Add a fun, not serious, podcast to your walk or some dance-y music. Binge some total fluff (holiday movies on Netflix are good for that now).

[bisous]

I'm so sorry you are stressed. I feel you deeply. I think this is the second biggest health question for this age, after acute COVID. (And lots of the stress we're feeling is related to COVID! Though perhaps yours is not!)

A couple of things have been working for me. Someone here said exercise HARD and that helps me a lot. Same with meditation apps. Avoiding stressful situations (politics, family drama over COVID) though that is harder to do if work is the stress point. Curating what I listen to at work (white noise, movie soundtracks). I try to go to bed early and I get up at 5:00 and that gives me some blessed time alone.

I've had to avoid certain topics that are too sad/stressful (WWII is fascinating to me but I can't handle the horrors right now).


I feel like what I've learned about operating with a lot of stress is that I have to be so careful with my self-care. When I'm not stressed I can stay up, I can sleep in, I can allow myself to listen to Aunt so-and-so etc. But when I'm stressed the little things act like a belt to hold me together.

[PunkyBoo]

Yoga and daily walking outside. Even the quick 15-30 minute Yoga with Adrienne is such a huge help. But every day since April (weather permitting), I walk about a mile during my lunch break. It is an amazing "reset" in the middle of the work day. On really frustrating days, I listen to good music on my walks, other days I just listen to the sounds of the neighborhood. Feeling the sun on my body and breathing fresh air always feels good.

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[Myira]

Already nice suggestions above. I just wanted to ask is there a hobby or interest of yours that you can spend some time on? Something that you can loose yourself in can really help you get to a happy place for a little bit. Stress is so sneaky, for myself I’ve noticed it tends to weigh on me even when I’m not actively thinking about the stressor.


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[doberbrat]

I go for long walks with the dogs and listen to audiobooks. And by long walks, I mean 1.5+hr. I just got home after a 4.5mi walk and I'm thinking of going back out I'm so angry with DH. The stress is constant.

[erosenst]

Sorry to hear this. IIRC, you are in (senior?) management. When it's happened to me I've tried to literally block 5-10 minutes to figure out exactly what has changed from 'normal and manageable stress' to 'this is too much'. One time it was three REALLY silly things - but I had been trying to get to them for weeks, hadn't, and didn't see when that might happen. I carved 3 hours out one day to do them (and canceled an overnight trip I really didn't need to make so gained the travel time back). It was unbelievable the change that made - I try to remember that. Last year about this time I was asked to take on a bunch of extra stuff - fine, no one else to really do it, nothing I hated doing/owning. But about a week later I was a mess - made a bunch of silly mistakes, snapped at someone at work, etc. Made 5 minutes to think about it - and realized I was basically worried I was dropping the wrong balls. Made time to tell my manager that, while I was fine with the added stuff, he needed to let me know if I was dropping the wrong balls. "All I am doing right now is walking on dropped balls - but deal." Somehow that made all the difference to me - partially just owning and vocalizing what was stressing me. Once again it was like a light switch flipping - I was still somewhat frazzled, but still within 'relatively normal' bounds.

Hope you find what works for you!

[petesgirl]

Have you ever heard of tapping? My neighbor swears by it for stress and anxiety reduction. I just ordered some stuff about it from The Tapping Solution website. There is also stuff on YouTube to get you started. Search Nick Ortner.

[corrie23]

Love this book https://www.amazon.com/Burnout-Secre...7045508&sr=8-2 Brene Brown recently discussed the book on her podcast https://brenebrown.com/podcast/brene...-stress-cycle/

[StantonHyde]

Try the Head Space App--very good with short meditation sessions. I live for my monthly sessions with my therapist. Really helps. Getting enough sleep--then I can deal so much better. Exercise 4-5x a week. Hard cardio for 30-60 minutes. Anxiety meds help me a ton as well.