Ha! I quit playing golf, maybe six, seven years ago. It was pissing me off (stress)! I could not improve, break 80. So one day, after a round where I thought I had a good chance to get a 7x for about 15 hole, I completed with 83 I think. I asked self, why do you care? Why the hell are you doing this stuff? You have other things to do! That was the last round. Stress gone.
Snowboard in the winter, coupled with lots of Counter-Strike to kill 3D terrorists. lol. In the summer, its usually pub crawling, or camping, or softball. I'd love to try long distance running by my body isn't built for running more than 5 miles.
http://naturalvitality.com/natural-calm/ You should be able to find some one use packets at certain grocery stores near you if you want to give it a try. It definitely is calming, but I don't know about its effectiveness as a long term solution.
Stress is self-generated emotional state, usually created by postponing some inevitable chore or by allowing other people's opinions or expectations control your life. As you age, and your remaining time on Earth dwindles, it gets much easier to simply laugh at people who waste time and emotions on trivial annoyances that really don't matter at all.
...I used to break 80 every time I played, then took a huge hiatus. Now I am content shooting in the 80's. I play for fun because I enjoy being outside on a golf course, it is very serene. Smashing the ball around also helps me unload stress (even if it goes the wrong direction)!
Ride my bike or fix something. I've lost a huge amount of stress by not investing in the Blazers. It won't feel as great to me if they ever win but it doesn't hurt as bad when they lose. Sorry if that makes me a turncoat, in my mind it is self preservation
Take a shovel out in the woods, dig a hole, scream in it and fill it up. Actually anything to break a sweat will alleviate stress. Yoga and spitting firewood work too. If all that fails, the blues and single malt scotch
Obviously if there is a cause you can do something about, do so. But if it's just the general "shit piled so high I can't see ahead of my face" stress, things to try: Long walk Dance to a good old tune with a good beat, or play music you can sing along with. Even if you can't sing. Do you have a companion animal? It has been demonstrated that stroking your animal can reduce blood pressure and stress hormones. And yes, good sex. That means consenting and, we hope, loving. A good cry. Gardening. Not heavy duty stuff but just a walk through my garden, pull a few weeds, stroke a tulip, there is always something there I can eat raw (strawberries, snap peas, scallions) just by rinsing and munching. And it's all low calorie stuff. Any of that help?
^^^ On the companion animal -- that is absolutely true. If it's a hard day, but I go home and give my dog a good pat, you instantly feel more relaxed.
Nice hearing from you. After I move to Walla Walla and get settled in I really want to get a dog again. It will take some time before I'm comfortable in my new work and school to know that I have the time required to provide a good home for a dog, so it might be a while, but it's certainly on my list. Nothing like a good game of fetch to calm ones soul.
