Practical ways to reduce stress (that probably don't work in the long run)

This has been a tough year and even though I've cut back on some of my commitments, I still find myself in that familiar place. I'm sitting on my couch with a pit in my stomach because I have so much to do and I've lost important papers and I'm sure I'm going to let people down (again) or I already have (again). So, what's a girl to do in a situation like this where the stress is wearing her down to the bone? Here is my list:

1) Eat. That's right, people say that stress eating is bad for you and there's all these pavlovian connections your brain will make with pain and the endorphic release that food brings...blah blah blah. I like Ice Cream. It makes me happy. The end.

2) Shop. Another dangerous addiction, but I ask you: did I feel better after I got those adorable peep toe, black pumps, with white trim and a bow? For $3.50? You bet I did. Did I still feel better when I wore them to church today and told everyone how cheap they were? Yep!

3) Read. This one is really dangerous because if you invest your time in a really good book and finish it, you feel like you've made an accomplishment. However, if you read a book and it's stupid, you've wasted your time and guilt is added to stress.

4) Clean/Organize something. That's right. When the world around you is falling apart and you cannot find the list of people who want you to order t-shirts and that means you don't know who's paid and how much or where the money is (I mean just hypothetically) there is nothing more therapeutic than making the other messes in your life manageable. I may be a flake, but my CD's are alphabetized - ha! take that!

5) Exercise - this one can be a double edged sword. If the weather is too hot then you just feel gross. If you are out of shape and you can't work as hard as you used to, you feel bad. Stick to things that are relaxing like taking a walk or yoga. If you're angry I find that nothing cures that like a mad run. Tears fall better when the wind can dry them for you.

6) Do other menial tasks that can be checked off the list quickly. I need to grade a bunch of tests. I also need to do laundry. So I cut that watermelon that's been sitting on the counter. Man, that was satisfying. Next, I delivered mail to my neighbor. Whew, feel those checks flying. See that list being accomplished.

7) Do something creative. Like work on your photo album, knit, cook, take random pictures, write a blog about how you need to get work done. When you've completed something tangible, the intangible seem doable too.

8) Call people you were supposed to call back. If you want to talk for a while, it's a good distracter. If you don't, you always have the, "well, I really got to get grading," excuse at hand. Oh, no! Have I used that before. Ummm...ignore that. I'm sure that when I've said that to you I really did hang up and get to grading. No really!

I hope that you can take these tips to heart and put them into practice in your life. Well, I'd love to keep blogging, but I've got some more stress relieving to do - and some grading...no really!

My new blog

I'm still going to keep blogging on myspace, but I thought this would be a nice forum to update people on my summer comings and goings who don't have myspace. I've nothing to say tonight, but I'll fill in more later.