According to the SRRS, if we accrue too many LCUs within a short time, our natural defenses are lowered and we are more susceptible to accidents and illnesses. If we accumulate over 300 points in a year, there is an 80% chance of illness or accident in the near future. Obviously, in order to preserve our health and our sanity, we need to find ways to cope with and manage our stress.
Dr. Susan Thatcher, a psychologist and one of the characters in Mixed Messages, has a lot on her mind both personally and professionally and, as a result, she’s stressed and having trouble sleeping. To calm her nerves and reduce her stress, she uses the same mental image I do, a wonderful memory from a vacation I took a few years ago. I’ll let her tell you.
You look up and marvel at the majestic cliffs and the brilliant blue sky.
When you close your eyes, you can hear two waiters conversing in Spanish at the pool bar and the distant music as the mariachi band practices for their dinner performance. You dangle your hand in the water and splash some on your legs. It cools your burning skin. You’re floating...."
How do you (or your characters) deal with stress?
You're so right Patricia...get your peeps to hop over to 'da beach' and watch the relaxing, step-from-stress video with soothing music. Here's the link: http://lee-carey.blogspot.com/p/ride-wave.html
ReplyDeleteParadise is only a 'click' away. Keep smilin'...it releases stress. :)
Thanks for stopping by, Lee. I hope everyone will check out your blog; I know I will.
DeleteI just went through the sleep/stress breaking point a month ago, and now positive thought, thought process re training has made a huge improvement. the images you posted, and the explanation of how to revert those thoughts, is exactly how I have recently been taught, and is how I am making it one day at a time with stress relief, and removal.
ReplyDeleteJoe,
DeleteGlad to hear you've got it under control. Breathing in through the nose to the count of three and breathing out through the mouth to the count of six helps too.
I think some stress is a good thing, a test of one's strength and one's ability to overcome odds. But stress can get out of control, and that does nobody any good. I have tried a number of tricks to keep my freakouts limited to the productive kind. I don't have the patience for meditation or the energy for great exercise, but moderate exercise is valuable, and although I'm giving away a mild secret, I do take Citalopram every morning and have a cocktail every evening before dinner. So far, I'm still afloat.
ReplyDeleteJohn,
DeleteLike the song says, "Whatever gets you through the night...." Each of us has to find what works best for us.
Okay, here's my magic formula for stress:
ReplyDeleteNiacinamide. It's a cheap B vitamin, also found in peanuts. Don't take niacin, that will make you flush and freak out. I take up to three at once if I'm having a particularly tough day (I took more when I had to deal with my narc detectives as alpha males wear on my nerves).
Poor Christy, I give her many stressful situations to deal with: sergeants, bad astrology charts, Wolfe, crazy family, Lennie pushing her into situations she can't handle. I guess I should tell her to buy some niacinamide. Naw, more fun to see her squirm.
So that's your secret, Sunny.
DeleteI've taken B100 (stress) vitamins when I feel myself starting to be a bit too overwhelmed and they do help but I didn't know about Niacinamide. Thanks!
Excellent post, Pat! I can't always do it in the moment, but I try to find a humorous side to what's causing the stress. And, honestly, reading and writing are very therapeutic. Once in a great while, a good old-fashioned temper tantrum helps. Rarely, but sometimes.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Marja! Good suggestions.
DeleteI agree with you that, when at all possible, humor is a great stress reliever!
Good suggestion, Patricia. I also swear by humor as remedy. Wouldn't it be wonderful though, if simply by closing our eyes and focusing we could be really transported to Cabo or some other tropical haven?
ReplyDeleteYes, John, it sure would be wonderful. Sometimes, when I lean back in my bathtub, close my eyes and visualize that scene, I ALMOST feel as if I'm there.
DeleteBy the way, congratulations on winning Charmaine Gordon's Love Anthology.
When I get stressed I buy antique 3D cameras on e-bay. I have about 300. I get stressed a lot.
ReplyDeleteWilliam Doonan
www.themummiesofblogspace9.com
Well, William, it sounds like you might want to find an alternative stress reducer. What does your wife say about all those cameras?
DeleteI'm another one who reads if I feel myself getting stressed. But, in my case, I read religious material, starting with favorite passages in the Bible, including 23d and 91st Psalms. Reminds me what is really important, and that I am not in this alone. I also spend time reading spiritual material when I first get up every day. Works for me.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Radine! I agree that faith is the biggest stress reliever of them all. Turning our problems over to God takes the burden off of us.
DeleteHaving a book published is 100 stress points! Seriously, handling marketing and writing demands can get overwhelming. A few weeks ago I was getting overloaded and stressed with all I had going on. I went off on a weekend church retreat that helped. I also prioritize what I need to do. What must get done this week? What can wait? What can I scratch off my schedule? Focusing on and finishing one task at a time helps.
ReplyDeleteSally Carpenter
Wow, Sally! I couldn't agree more. Having a book published is definitely at least 100 stress points. I do the same thing you do - I prioritize.
DeleteMy landlord provides me with a lot of stress with his apathtic attitude of taking care of the apartment house. Instead of coming up with quickie comebacks to his moronic words, I should think of different ways to kill him...something I can then put into my stories. Whew, needed that last part before anybody called the cops...
ReplyDeleteStephen, you "kill" me! I love your sense of humor and that's a great idea. I've got one or two people in my life who just may end up murdered - in one of my novels.
DeleteI'll think of your words, and those of the commentators, next time I'm stressed out. "Move a muscle, change a thought" is a slogan I find helpful. Doing the laundry, watering the plants, vacuuming -- they're all better than sitting still in my thoughts when I'm a bad place mentally.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, Eileen. Good point! Instead of wallowing in our problems, if we do something physical, not only do we relieve our stress but we also get some housework done!
DeleteI run to the garden, or just run away from whatever is causing the problem, even if it's just for a few hours. Watching water from the edge of a lake or river is a great stress reliever, and we have our own river right here in town!
ReplyDeleteCatherine,
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing to me how soothing water is. Everything from the bathtub to the ocean, which is my favorite water of all!