stress relief participation welcome

I got to thinking about how stress can really affect us with this disease and thought everyone might like to give some input as to what they do to relieve stress. I bet everyone has great ideas!

1.) Now that I am feeling up to it I hit the gym 5 days a week for mild/moderate workouts

2.) Reading. And I am old school and don't use kindle or ipad. I love the feel and smell of books.

3.) Playing and hanging out with my almost 5 year old niece. They say the funniest stuff and they say laughter is a great medicine.

4.) quiet time at work. Thankfully I work from my home so I can lay down on the nice comfy daybed in my work area and put on soothing music for my 15 min breaks

5.) Petting my kitty cat. I realized last night after he jumped on my lap that I completely zoned out while petting him for 30 minutes! I literally did not think or worry about anything.

6.) Posting here. I find it is relieves my stress when I can vent to people who don't judge and understand. 

You have some great ideas. One of the things I find is that as my husband gets back to normal from being sick, we go back to not paying attention to our sleep schedule. And getting too little sleep is one of the worst things you can do for yourself in terms of stress. So, we try to keep a regular schedule, even if he's feeling normal. For us, this means wrapping up whatever you are doing, and heading to the bedroom by 10 pm, and turning off the lights by 11 pm.

Also, before going to bed, a short meditation to clear your mind off the events of the day, and to focus on a feeling of well being has been helpful for both my husband and me. Going non-stop during the day, you have a lot of thoughts bouncing around in your head, and a lot of times, I used to find that my sleep was disturbed or I'd wake up in the middle of the night because of these thoughts. Now, I try to calm myself down, and focus on my breath and my sense of well being, and get myself in the right frame of mind to get a good night's rest.

We also do a short meditation in the morning, to kinda center ourselves before we begin the day. I find that reinforcing the mindset that you need to take things one day at a time, to not get stressed out about the future, or all the things you have to do really helps set the mood for the day, and helps keep stress levels lower during the day . . . because you don't let things get to you that easily.

Also, on Saturday afternoons, rain or shine (as long as hubby is feeling well), we go out to eat at a local Chinese hole in the wall, and take a long lunch with friends. It really helps to hang out with folks, eat some good food, and just chill.

My husband also goes to a weekly meditation group on Sundays, where they meditate for 40 minutes, and then pick a book to read, and discuss passages/philosophy. It seems to help him.

I think in general, a good routine is great for stress relief.

PV

i have a cleaning routine i do each morning then i come on here...
later i will read
love nature so try going for walks
write in my journal
first thing in am im out on bk porch feeding the squirrels
i hv a few that now eat outta my hand
talk to friends ive met thru the yrs here

great idea ty for the thread
huggs
lyn

While all the normal relaxation things do help. If I'm having a really stressfull day I love to drive with heavy metal blasting from the radio. Don't ask me why but all the screaming guitars and voices soothe me -- I know, I know I'm strange! But whatever works right?

BTW -- I'm not a young kid, I'm a 40 something grandmother and I work in corp. America.