What’s the most powerful de-stressing thing I can do in a small amount of space for a small amount of money?
Okay, the SECOND most powerful de-stressing thing.
(My next Pit thread title: I’M NEVER GONNA SCORE!)
A version of the first one only without a partner.
Blow bubbles.
Watch the cat chase them.
Watch the cat freak out when they pop on his nose.
Find an oldies station on the radio and sing along LOUDLY. It takes your mind off anything else, and the controlled breathing helps calm your body. Works for me!
ooh! bubbles!
chase, chase, chase, POP!
Eeeeeeeeeeeeek!
well, i think the most powerful de-stressing thing in the world is cuddling up with another cat and purring. amazing, what it’ll do for you…
Play with fire. No, really, just build a small one somewhere. Something about the act of feeding it, stoking it is very primal. The idea that you’re generating this essential warmth, the control over nature that a properly built fire represents is calming. Spending some time outside, especially if it’s at night, in front of a fire is an experience that can contract the world into a small, flickering circle of warmth. Problems seem very far away. That, or you could just take a gallon of gasoline and some matches to the source of your problem.
bah, throwing gasoline on your problems… that’s so juvenile.
I use thermite on their engine block. so much more efficient. chlorine gas capsules in their glovebox works wonders, too.
ohhhhh, that was a joke…
Run. Just go out and run for oh, about 20-30 minutes.
Any pace will do.
If you jog along, you can appreciate the scenery and enjoy the day.
If you actually run, run, run you’ll wear yourself out.
Either way, I find it very difficult to stay stressed out after a run.
You could meditate, read a book, do push-ups until your arms fall off, go to a target range and shoot shit with guns all day, or, my personal favorite, play drums violently until your body goes numb 
It’s an amazingly nice day outside (at least in Madison)… I can see literally no clouds from my window, it’s warm enough to go outside in a t-shirt, and the trees are still bursting with fall color. Why not go for a nice, long walk? It’s free, getting all that fresh oxygen and light exercise will make your brain very happy, and you can even do a little light reflection and meditation while you walk.
Good comedy is also a powerful cure for stress… it’s impossible for me to feel angry or depressed if my sides are in stitches.