Distressed

Fandango’s provocative question this week is

What do you do to reduce or relieve stress in your life?

Hello. Di here, and playing on words, I’ve entitled my post Distressed (Di-stressed see, sorry)

Stress comes in many shapes and sizes, and in the majority of cases I’m pretty good at coping, but you know the saying, the last straw broke the camel’s back……. well I’ve been there too and it was not pretty.
At least I am now aware of the triggers or signs that things are not going well, and it is always best for me to take myself away from the situation and be on my own.

Music was always my safety valve. It has seen me through depression, bereavement, uncertainty, despondency and ill health. My Dad always said he knew when something was on my mind, not by what I played, but the way I played it.

Walks with Maggie were always therapeutic. It didn’t have to be miles, but just getting outside and the rhythm of my footsteps on the pavement was enough to get my head under control and see things in a better perspective.  She was also a soother and sometimes would sense my tension and jump up on the arm of the chair, sitting half on my lap. I could stroke her for about ten minutes and feel the stress just evaporate, then she’d jump off and lie on her cushion or at my feet.
Old picture from the cottage.

I don’t do it so much now, but a long hot bath with plenty of bubbles, a good book and the radio used to relax me. Once suitably pruned, whatever was stressing me out usually drained away with the water.

Writing is another outlet and I have mentioned before my Moan Book as a teenager. I’d write down anything and everything that was getting to me, then read it the following day or day after, usually have a damn good laugh about it, then rip out the pages and tear them up.

When stressed at work, I always used to dream about toilets…… busting to go but unable to find one or if I did, reasons why they were unusabe (one had the toilet on the ceiling).  I analyzed it as being unable to relieve the pressure I was under.

I love to do jigsaw puzzles and Hubby bought me two for Christmas. I won’t start them until we have frames for them because once finished, they go up on the wall, not back in the box. I get so engrossed in the simple task of sorting the pieces and fitting them together I lose track of time.

I have my cards of course. That’s very relaxing (until things start to go wrong LOL) and I get a lot of pleasure out of making them.

Then there’s cooking. I’d have a baking session making pies and cakes, but these days that is not such a good idea as I’m trying to maintain my weight and Hubby couldn’t eat a lot of the things I used to cook at the moment, but we are getting there.

But probably the most important thing to de-stress me is talking………. Hubby and I do that a lot. We understand each other so well, we know when there is something on the other’s mind. It might take a while for us to get our thoughts in order, but we will talk about whatever it is in due course and work together to sort it out.
It is true, a trouble shared is a trouble halved.