This morning I came across this article about finding time for yourself and quick things we can do to relieve some stress. I really don’t have much stress and I’m very thankful. I don’t work outside the home. Things around the house run pretty smoothly. I have no real family issues. Our health is good.
There was a time when was pretty stressed but most of that was due to my own making simply because I allowed myself to become worked up over things I really couldn’t control much. I learned that at 5:00 p.m., when I left work, I really “left” work. I couldn’t do much about anything once I got home so when I was home, that was my time. Vince and I got married when Chad was 9 and for a while, I thought they would always hate each other but then I learned there was just a relationship those two had to work out. No matter what I did or how much I wanted things to be great between them, they had to “fix” it. I could give them tools, have one on one discussions with each of them and explain what I saw, how I felt and how I would prefer for things to be, but they had to find their common ground, which they eventually did. During the crazy job years, being a single parent, then trying to figure out how to have a successful blended family, I began having migraines and thought I would never be headache free. Over time, I learned that my headaches were stress induced and almost 100% of the time, when there was a heated discussion at home, or a stressful time at work, I’d end up with a headache that often sent me to bed for three or four days. That’s when I learned that the quality of my life depended on how I dealt with stress and things changed.
Not all migraines are stress related and not everyone is able to deal with stress on their own but I’m happy that I figured it out. Sometimes, I think I figured it out better than I should have because now, for the most part, I can walk away from almost any situation, even when it involves me, and just not let it get to me.
The linked article above is good in that it gives pointers for finding things to do that divert your attention from the stress. I can totally get lost in my knitting and become completely oblivious to the rest of the world. That may be a good thing . . may be a bad thing.
Vince cannot do that. I wish he could. He rarely stops thinking about work. He will assure me he isn’t thinking about work, and then he’s doing something work related. I keep saying . . when you walk out the door at 5:00, you’re on my time and I don’t want to share you with work. I can turn those kinds of things off and he cannot. We’re all different.
I have some knitting friends that stress about their knitting so I guess even my stress reliever is a stress reducer for some. I always say “It’s just yarn!” If you mess up, rip it back. If you hate it, donate it. One friend looks at me like I’m crazy when I say that to her. Maybe I am.
Kim in KY says
Stress does not give me migraines. It gives me SVT. It used to be scary–I thought I was going to have a heart attack–until I got it diagnosed. Now it is annoying, inconvenient and, for some odd reason, a little bit embarrassing. I wish I could say I have learned to throw off the stress but sometimes I just can’t. I’m at the tail end of a long, particularly stressful period of my life, and I notice how much less often I am having the SVT flares. I have learned that a little time for ME goes along way towards relieving stress. A little time doing hand quilting makes the muscles relax and my mind slow down from warp speed to a slower pace. My goal for 2017 is to relax and put myself first just a little more often!
Brenda Ackerman says
Through the years that my husband and I have been together, both of us have had small stress issues. Learning to work together and alone is the best remedy for stress,at least for us, but it is something I find has to also be dealt with different occassions. Quilting has been a great help for me. Thank you for sharing.
Jackie says
My hobbies are supposed to be fun and a sure way to stress me out is to put deadlines on that. I have enough of those at work! So I simply don’t do it. It means there have been many years without handmade gifts but then those years I send out things “just because” as they are finished. It works!