I’ve heard that that is just one way to activate the parasympathetic nervous system. Other ways include
[ul]
[li]Touching your lips with your fingers[/li][li]sticking your face in cold water[/li][li]breathing with your glottis semi closed (I never got the hang of this one)[/li][/ul]
What works for other people for stress relief or to help when you’ve had too many stressors over the course of a few months?
Tai Chi? Meditation? What do other people find effective.
I’m really bad at it… but ‘play’ the banjo. I only know a few simple songs. But it takes my mind of things. I need to find a teacher again.
And oddly, work around the house. Hard to get motivated at times. But it helps once I get going. Just feels good to get something done. May only be laundry. Or it could be a project.
Cook. Create.
Of course the best way to de-stress, is to tackle the thing your stressed about. Even if it’s just a corner of it.
If you mean how to cope with sudden, harsh anxiety – almost of the panic-attack type – slow-breathing exercises, and the old classic, “Count to ten.”
But at a slower level of relaxation – what we call “decompression” sometimes – I read!
I READ! I totally immerse myself in a book. It’s wonderful! It’s almost paradoxical, as time seems to stop entirely – yet two hours can go by without my perceiving it. During those two hours, I have no anxieties whatsoever. It’s heaven!
Two things you aren’t going to think go well together ------- meditation/prayer and target shooting. In my defense, I mostly shoot flinters so all the time to load and fire properly is kind of relaxing and “centering”. But I can see how going out and blowing through some clips could give the same effect.
I walk on a regular basis, and it keeps me from getting to the high anxiety states that used to be my baseline. I think walking tricks my mind (and body) into thinking everything is okay since it’s such a happy-go-lucky activity. I think when my legs start going, my mind figures I must be happy or else why would I be walking? It’s circular, but it works.
I have my routine that I stick to, and that also helps. People may laugh at how predictable and boring my life is, but hey, it keeps me from being a basketcase (at least a giant one). I plan my meals in advance so that what I’m going to eat for lunch/dinner is one less thing I have to fret about. I do all my prep work for the day the night before so that I can maximize how much sleep I get without running around like a headless chicken in the morning. I intentionally live close to work so that I don’t have to stress over traffic or transportation. I intentionally live in small quarters so that I don’t lose stuff. I avoid people who get on my nerves.
I also try to stay on top of my health. Sleep, vegetables and fruits, water. Not a lot of TV (although I am addicted to screens).
So most of what I do is prevention. That’s because I’m really not good at handling stress once I am knee-deep in it.
If I can combine something physical, social and creative I get the best results. Ony one or two of the above seem to work wonders. In my case building primitive bows or working on my bonsai trees, heading to the coffee shop for some social interaction. All these seem to help me a lot.
Ya learn something new every day: I’d never before heard of a “baritone ukulele!”
I do a lot of nice, long, slow walks. Decent exercise, and very soothing. It’s also useful for me as a would-be writer: I have lengthy imaginary conversations with my characters. (Hey, Hillary Clinton does it, so I get to!) You learn a lot about your characters when you take time to listen to them.
The greatest stress reliever for me is to get a good night’s sleep, so I try to go to bed at the same time every night (and wake up at the same time every morning). At least if a person sleeps well (wakes up refreshed) it helps a lot with stress. Also, with the warmer weather almost here, in my area, I plan to exercise more.
