And those are the things I find most stressful 
. The most uncomfortable I’ve ever been has been driving through Montana (I was the passenger) where there were likely no one around for hours in every direction.
See, that’s the ONLY kind of driving I even kind of like. Except I would want to be alone with the aloneness. It takes a whole lot of aloneness to make me feel like adding people would be a good idea.
I think this is one of the two most obvious stress-parameters about traveling for me. How many people are around me. Could be enjoyable-stimulation stress or fuck-get-me-out-of-here stress but relaxing it is not. This is why backpacking is for me the most relaxing vacation; the least would be oh maybe Rome, or New York.
The other parameter is planning. Do I have my passport, directions, clean underpants, chapstick, a reservation? The stress of planning is so intense for me that it takes away a lot of the joy of travel. And you know what kind of travel needs the most planning of all? Backpacking. Sigh.
It blows my mind that there are people who go camping with their laptops and games. Screen time is something I and people I know precisely run away from when going camping.
It’s the only thing that can make it palatable 
.
Yes, yes - I know people like that, but they do not travel to camping grounds, since staring at the screen is easily achieved without leaving the room cocoon.
It depends if you are dragged to go camping (I think I’ve made it super clear to my in laws how much I loath camping that they won’t try that again).
Quoting “Toxylon”
“It blows my mind that there are people who go camping with their laptops and games”
Perhaps they need them as a distraction to use for a coping mechanism to deal with the terror, dread and panic that arises in case they accidently contemplate taking a hot shower or going out for pizza.
I’m with you, @Dung_Beetle. I detest background noise: music in restaurants that drowns out conversation, any noise in the car while I’m driving (I can tolerate a little conversation but also feel distracted), and the tv or radio. Birdsong and rain are okay, though.
I also am stressed out by entertaining, talking on the phone, and driving in a city I’m unfamiliar with.
Male-centered because it is inappropriate for women to have shaved heads?
WTF? Where did I ever say it was inappropriate for a woman to have a shaved head? The post I was responding to said that “you cannot mess up” cutting your own hair because if anything goes wrong you can simply shave it bald. Are you really trying to claim that more than a tiny fraction of women would be perfectly OK with shaving their head bald?
I doubt most men would really be OK with going totally bald either, which is why I said that post was nonsense. But it would be easier for men than for women.
I didn’t have much choice in the matter.
Bathrobes. I don’t understand why someone would want to linger in a hot, moist state in a garment simultaneously claustrophobic and loose. After 1 minute in a bathrobe I’m near to panic attack wanting to tear the thing off.
I’m confused by this.
The “claustrophobic and loose” I’ll take as a matter of personal taste. I don’t find it either, to me it’s just a garment. But maybe you are more comfortable in snugger garments, I can empathize with that. But “lingering in a hot moist state”? I wear a bathrobe because it dries me off. It’s made of terry cloth, it’s a giant towel that stays on without my having to fuss. So I’m not “lingering in a hot moist state”, I am wearing the bathrobe to exit that state quickly and conveniently.
This. It’s apparently a ‘thing’ with people with anxiety issues that that stuff has the reverse effect to what it does for people without them. The doctor’s office I went to before I moved, just before I stopped going (because of Corona) put up a TV screen with a virtual fishtank with that stuff as a soundtrack in the waiting room, and my skin was crawling the whole time I waited for my appointment.
Idly chatting with people is like kryptonite for me. I don’t understand why other people find it so enjoyable and relaxing. I get the intent - it builds bonds, and I’ll put a smile on my face and do it - but unless the salmon you had for dinner last night got up and danced, I’m probably just trying to think of a way to get out of this conversation.
And another vote for mani-pedis. And massages. I’m horrifically ticklish on my back, my feet (tops and bottoms) and also my hands. Having a stranger latch onto my feet and willy-nilly attack them with the equivalent of a cheese grater is hardly a relief for me - plus, it takes months to develop solid running calluses.
Yoga with rock music.
Yoga period. I think yoga is good for you, albeit, mainly for your physicality; I’m not into the woo aspects of it. But it doesn’t relax me.
I’ll also second massages when they are by professionals I do not know-- going into a massage clinic is about as fun as going in to have blood drawn-- and given the choice, I’d probably choose the blood draw, because it’s shorter. Backrubs from DH, though, are very relaxing, and I’ve had close friends give me amateur massages that were relaxing. I also had a very good friend many years ago who happened to be a professional masseuse, and my gawd, were massages from her wonderful.
I will make one other exception: when I had PT for extremely painful whiplash (I can’t even begin to explain that kind of pain), part of the PT was the therapist massaging the injured area, which resulted in partial pain relief. I liked that a lot, and was able to relax afterwards because the pain wasn’t as bad.
About 5 years my doctor did that thing where you close you eyes and they randomly touch areas with a little poky thing to see if you have any (Type 2 diabetes) areas you can’t feel. Got to my feet and before I could say “my right sole?” in a very puzzled voice the doctor asked if I could feel anything because I have thick calluses (I’m on my feet a lot at work) and they weren’t sure I could feel much of anything.
My friend feels the same way you do about massages - but loves pedicures.
For me, a pedicure is a torture session. Dunno if my feet are unusually sensitive, or I’m tense because I’m afraid, but they range from uncomfortable to out and out painful.
But I’d have a massage twice a week if I could.
I’ve never had a pedicure. Do they remove your calluses?! I’m quite fond of my calluses, they protect me.