How to deal with stress/anxiety...

[RuneBrush]

Incidentally, I'm surprised nobody has recommended this for stress relief: read a book. Takes your mind out of the here-and-now, and doesnt blither your eyeballs like video games do. Depending on the book, it can be quite relaxing. I'm reading China Mieville just now, and have been chain reading em one after another. I'd definitely recommend this chap. Perdido Street Station is a good place to start. Steampunky, but very original and not really like much else I've read.

I was actually going to mention similar when I read the post before yours.

If you need to get some sleep or relax your mind reading is much better to help you nod off than doing something on a computer. Less parts of your brain are being used, you only have to concentrate on one thing (the story) and it's not as intensive on your eyes. I don't necessarily mean a book either - a magazine, painting book (FW masterclass is good for this)

pete.

 

[cassar]

 

[StillLifeMiniatures]

I love this thread. I used to freak out and stress about everything. There are so many activities to release stress, but it's a much better feeling to not get bugged out in the first place. Changing my mindset let me chill.
Know that everything is impermanent. Whatever the situation is now, it won't last forever. Keep your mind present, not worrying about what happened yesterday or what's about to happen. Deal with issues as they come. My job used to drive me to the point of insanity. I learned that this was because I sought my worth in my boss. If he got down on me, then I must be worthless to the rest of the world and would get depressed and stressed. I did some "soul searching " and decided that no one around me would determine how I felt at any moment. Things may anger or stress us, but it's only because we react in such ways. It's difficult, but if you take the good and bad judgement out of situations, then they lose power over you. This probably doesn't make much sense.....
But yeah...
yoga, reading, meditation, creating.................

 

[mud duck]

 

[Mourner]

One way to create some peace of mind is to keep things ordered.
I am a REALLY chaotic person by nature, but recently moved, and I've reorganised all my posessions.
I now have everything i need in the first place i look for it.
I've still got an extra room full of boxes, but allready I feel the difference.

Remember that every decision you make is you're decision.
There is no right or wrong.
No use for regrets either, because there's no going back.

Create somewhere that is entirely your own.
Be it your own house, or just your own hobby room.
Just somewhere that's yours, where you can be yourself and have nothing to do with the world outside that door.

Read a book.
Seriously one of the best ways to clear my head.

Accomplish (or finish) something.
Even if it's something small and simple.
Some 10 years ago, I bought a cabinet to display my models, but never actually installed the lighting.
Yesterday, I bought new lights, drilled holes in the cabinet and finally installed some lights and put down my beloved models.
I then spent about 15-30 minutes just looking at them, and enjoying each one of them.
And feeling relaxed and peacefull.

Keep having fun.
No matter what it is, if it makes you laugh, just do it.

Reserve some time for yourself.
This is actualy a hard one, try and take some time and only do things for yourself.
Don't even think of other people, there is only you.

Somehow my post turn out longer than I expected.
I think I'll follow one of the recurring pieces of advice listed above and go to sleep


ps, does anyone know if falling asleep with the tv on is beneficial for my mental health or not?

-Mourner

 

[RuneBrush]

One way to create some peace of mind is to keep things ordered.
I am a REALLY chaotic person by nature, but recently moved, and I've reorganised all my posessions.
I now have everything i need in the first place i look for it.
I've still got an extra room full of boxes, but allready I feel the difference.

You're spot on with that. I'm in the middle of redoing my bathroom, which rather stupidly I thought I'd save money and get a mate to do the bulk of it and I'd sort out the decorating and tiling. I've been saving up for this for over a year and have sourced most of the bits myself which has resulted in my house looking like a DIY warehouse for the past month. It's now covered with empty boxes and bits of debris from where things are being put in. I can't believe the amount of stress I didn't know I had, but released when I managed to find the living room floor again... He's coming in on Friday to finish off and I can't wait to actually tidy up and clean over the weekend - how sad is that

ps, does anyone know if falling asleep with the tv on is beneficial for my mental health or not?

-Mourner

I have no idea, but if you're falling asleep of your own free will it's your bodies way of saying it needs sleep. I do it fairly regularly whilst watching stuff on a Friday/Saturday night

 

[Dragonsreach]

ps, does anyone know if falling asleep with the tv on is beneficial for my mental health or not?

I know sitting in front it for some (Ok most) programs IS bad for your mental health. (or is that your IQ level?)

 

[PegaZus]

ps, does anyone know if falling asleep with the tv on is beneficial for my mental health or not?

Well, considering I've had nights where if I'm in bed, I'm wide awake, but if I go down to the couch and turn on the TV, I'm out like a light. I've had to do it a couple of times this year, and I figure sleeping with the TV running is better than sitting in bed worked up because I can't sleep.

 

[ischa]

it´s bad since your brain never gets around to processing what you see. visual perceptions all over, but too many messages. it does in no way burn brain cells as some claim, but not stimulizing your brain while still getting input is bad news. falling asleep in front of the telly on the other hand, is really bad. it makes it harder to reach rem and nrem stadiums of sleep, but your body recharges. this means your bran never recharged, but your still gonna have a hard time falling asleep or reaching really deep sleep. it also affects your dreams, near impossible to know how, since we know so little about the purpose of sleeping, but not sleaping in a natural way should be bad, right?

 

[Mallows]

it´s bad since your brain never gets around to processing what you see. visual perceptions all over, but too many messages. it does in no way burn brain cells as some claim, but not stimulizing your brain while still getting input is bad news. falling asleep in front of the telly on the other hand, is really bad. it makes it harder to reach rem and nrem stadiums of sleep, but your body recharges. this means your bran never recharged, but your still gonna have a hard time falling asleep or reaching really deep sleep. it also affects your dreams, near impossible to know how, since we know so little about the purpose of sleeping, but not sleaping in a natural way should be bad, right?

Thats the best part of dreams! They are a mystery!!
But bang on about the REM sleep. If you don't achieve it, your basicaly not getting recharged... You will also have a much harder time learning new things, 1. because your mind is sleepy, 2. because in REM it is believed it replays what you previously learnt.

I know some people (and me at times ) have a hard time falling asleep namely because they can't quiet their mind enough to do so. Hence why the TV comes into play. Solution? Put the TV on a timer. You get the best of both worlds than.

 

[Ritual]

falling asleep in front of the telly on the other hand, is really bad. it makes it harder to reach rem and nrem stadiums of sleep

That would mean it's simply harder to fall asleep, since you're either in NREM or REM stadiums of sleep. It is during phases III and IV of NREM that you're most invigorated.

 

[ischa]

actually, false. when sitting in front of the telly, you dont reach the deeper stages of sleep, not all sleep is rem or nrem=) there are stages of "sleep" called hypnagogic periods, which are not quiet sleep, those are the ones you most often experience in front of a screen, jumping in and out of sleep, it would seem. and if you do reach rem/nrem, theyre rarely natural, but affected by the passive perceptions you get by the sounds and visuals from the screen, this would work against dreams as a problemsolver, if that is what dreams are for cant really say if its bad or not, dont have the research, but i would guess it´s not very good

 

[Ritual]

Not actually sleep, no. I hate that state. Sometimes if I am talking with someone, and I am so tired I have to fight to keep awake, my talking can drift off into utter nonsense. Not gibberish, still proper words and sentence structures, but totally surreal and nonsensical. When I am doing this I have a very awkward feeling inside of losing my grip on something important I have to say, grasping for the right words before what I need to say slips out of my mind. The more I try to get this "important" thing said the more weird stuff I say, until I snap out of it and just "what the hell have I been saying?". It's apparently very amusing for those I talk to, but I really hate how it makes me feel.

Sorry for going all off topic.

 

[Kalidane]

Came across this at the weekend:
http://www.mymoneyblog.com/3-requirements-for-a-satisfying-job.html

3 Requirements For A Satisfying Job

Within the book Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, I found a great distillation of the requirements for a satisfying job. Whenever I think of times when I have been unhappy, at least one of these things was missing.

* Autonomy. You get a role in deciding what you do every day. Even if you might not always get decide exactly what you do, you can choose how to get it done.
* Complexity. It must be an intellectually stimulating challenge. As the book states, it should “engage both your mind and imagination.”
* Connection Between Effort & Reward. The harder you work, the greater your income or recognition (at least eventually).


Forgot that I actually have the book sitting around so started that yesterday. It is not groovy when all three aspects are missing but I suspect you have some of these working for you.

Read a book/journal/comic in the bath.

Give your tv away. Buy a painting.