Hey What Do You Do To De-stress ?

[thumper]

Hey All,

I love the CSI humor going on right now I laughed so hard. I agree that humor is great to destress but I also have found out that stress certainly makes my symptoms worse. I just started to feel alittle better and then wham came the stress.... I do things like reading, knitting, crocheting and walks when I am not running to the bathroom...lol..

I would just like some fresh ideas and would love to hear from everyone what they do to unwind..

Thumper

[missy'smom]

Once the weather clears up I like to do yardwork and gardening. I don't plant alot but nuturing even a few things is rewarding and relaxing. A friend gave me cherry tomato plants last year. This year I plan to grow them again plus some herbs and a zucchini plant or two.

[Morrisun]

I like to take baths and listen to music....sounds totally corny huh?! LOL I also like to read, but my favorite is probably taking a long, hot, bath.

[celiac-mommy]

Running or kickboxing. Kickboxing is great for a really bad day!

[gdobson]

I'm a big fan of yoga and playing the piano is quite soothing.

[Katester]

Have you tried a heating pad? That might help. Using one of those while knitting or something like that may help a little.

[tarnalberry]

yoga, hiking, suduko.

[Sweetfudge]

i love to garden, especially veggies! i also love taking baths, or curling up with a hot bean bag and a good chick flick. sometimes having a sappy-movie-induced-cry is very detoxing

[Mom23boys]

I scrapbook.

[sickchick]

I meditate for 20 minutes every day

[kenlove]

For me it's gardening. Not the fruit trees that my job requires but small potted plants and finding or making strange pots to hold them. I have a small coffee tree growing inside a old coffee pot -- rubber tree growing inside a tire. Back yard full of veggies.

Even bought a used fridge we keep outside so I can grow flowers that need a dormant cold time that we dont get in Hawaii.

Digging in the dirt as always relaxing!

Hey All,

I love the CSI humor going on right now I laughed so hard. I agree that humor is great to destress but I also have found out that stress certainly makes my symptoms worse. I just started to feel alittle better and then wham came the stress.... I do things like reading, knitting, crocheting and walks when I am not running to the bathroom...lol..

I would just like some fresh ideas and would love to hear from everyone what they do to unwind..

Thumper

[missy'smom]

sometimes having a sappy-movie-induced-cry is very detoxing

So true.

[JNBunnie1]

I read a lot to relax, but my major problem de-stressers are sex and laser tag. And DVD comedians like Carlos Mencia and Lewis Black.

[confused]

I read a lot to relax, but my major problem de-stressers are sex and laser tag. And DVD comedians like Carlos Mencia and Lewis Black.

yep sex is the best de-stressor i know of. I also play iwth my kids or play my online games on pogo or take an walk, or an bathe, or sometimes i just count to 10 and im un-stessed. I really dont get stressed to often and having 5 kids, you would think i would lol

paula

[Wonka]

I read, cook(I love cooking), garden (I have a big garden and I can get lost for hours in it), read, sudoku, go for long walks at the beach (I live close to one), ride my bike and like a few others have stated, sex is the best for destressing (now if only I could get my hubby home from work, the workoholic). lol

[HAK1031]

Baking, learning a new piece on the piano (which I'm terrible at so it really takes a TON of concentration and takes my mind off the stress lol), playing the violin (which I'm not terrible at!)

but the biggest one...YOGA. Seriously, it's amazing. And I'm not really into the whole new-age thing, half the time I probably don't do the breathing or poses right. But the quiet, dark room, music, candles, and stretching works WONDERS. If your joints are in bad shape, you can do very simple classes. But it's so worth it. Many places offer a trial class for free, I took a few classes and now I just do it occasionally on my own with a DVD.

[Wonka]

I've done yoga most of my life (I used to do the yoga, that was on TV, with my grandmother) but with my fibromyalgia I have chronic sciatica. I have it under control, with the help of my chiropractor, but any exercise that involves dural stretching activates the sciatica (I had no relief from sciatica for 3 years until I found this chiro) and every yoga class I have ever tried, including the gentlest ones, have me running to the chiropractor. Which was just way too costly. I miss yoga and I have had to re-define exercise and what I can do before I have flare ups.

[imsohungry]

For me it's gardening. Not the fruit trees that my job requires but small potted plants and finding or making strange pots to hold them. I have a small coffee tree growing inside a old coffee pot -- rubber tree growing inside a tire.

Your creativity is interesting and fun. Coffee tree inside a coffee pot...rubber tree inside a rubber tire...hee hee! That's awesome!

Personally,

I like to write poetry and short stories, read non-fiction, watch a comedy on TV, decorate my house, cook (still can't find my dang cookbooks) , and work on small craft projects.

Of course, sometimes nothing is as therapeutic as sleep or a good cry.

-Julie

[melrobsings]

I meditate, but my all time fav. is to put on some music, play it LOUD, sing with it, rock out and dance around the house. To me there is nothing better to do when destressing....unless it's a bath with bubbles, music and a glass of wine in my hand!

[Lisa16]

I cook! There is something about it that just puts me in a happy place. Even when what I make is a total flop destined for the squirrels or the trash. And I listen to music and dance around while I do it. You just have to be careful not to accidentally splash yourself with hot sauces or step on the errant pepper or peanut. I make my boyfriend clean up

And I paint, garden (I love spring bulbs! Such a joy to look forward to in this climate) or play elaborate (nice) jokes on my poor colleagues. Sometimes I leave them surprises like organic kumquats or chocolate bars tied to baloons stuffed in their office and I laugh hysterically to think of them finding it in the morning. Especially when they are having a hard time. For example, I bought our secretary roses to celebrate her divorce on V-Day-- that sort of thing. There is a lot of joy in the planning and exection and it just takes my cares away. Plus it makes work much nicer.

And I love movies. I go on movie binges where I might watch 2-3 in a row or 5 during the course of a weekend. But scary movies are not really very effective, I think. I like foreign films.

And then there is the classic-- shopping! I shop for shoes. Love shoes. Have a room for them (lots of stress!) Or kitchen gadgets.

And of course, hot baths (with a decadent lotion application afterwards), fires, long walks outdoors, massages, getting your hair done, reading a fantastic novel and cuddling with your beloved. I also like to paint my townails a color I would never dare use on my fingers. It is like having a little happy secret surprise!

[dksart]

Wow, some really great answers here. I also love to cook, paint, sing along to some great music, cry with a sappy movie etc. but I definitely agree that sex is an awesome de-stresser.

I can't believe no one said one of my favorites. Fish. I adore watching my fish tanks. We have one in our bedroom and a big one in the office. They are so relaxing; to see the corals sway back and forth and the different types of fish, some schooling, some perched, others lazily meandering around the caves and rocks. Watching odd sand sifters scooping mouthfulls and letting it fall behind as they swim away. Just observing behaviors of crabs busily picking off and consuming algae or cleaner shrimp grooming a fish while they take pleasure in the service. And, ahhhhh, nothing beats the soothing sounds of flowing water.

Oh yeah, all that is good, but sometimes the best thing in the whole world is (first smelling, then...) eating a warm chocolate-chip cookie fresh out of the oven. I'm going to make cookies!