Cutting down stress

[Terra]

I know this might seem an odd place to post this, but bear with me. It is a medically known fact that stress can wreck havoc with your body, and that transfolk tend to have a lot more stress then most people. So this post is for ideas that are cheap or free and usable by the community to cut down on stress.

I have a few ideas: Running, playing an instrument, and building. What can you all come up with?

[Jay]

Listening to music, weights, boxing, cycling, writing why your stressed down.

[Dennis]

Eating properly, walking, cuddling pets.

Dennis

[ColleenW]

Often, for me a good hot cup of tea works wonders

[Arch]

I've been looking for solutions to this problem, too. Particularly before bedtime. I'm having insomnia again and can't turn off my brain. My therapist suggested that I adopt a winding-down routine, a bedtime ritual. I don't currently have one.

For reducing stress generally, I guess any kind of exercise is good. It hasn't been helping me nearly enough, though. Perhaps I should do more.

Writing in my journal tends to help me to attain good insights, but it frequently gets me tense or agitated instead of calming me down. It seems to help other folks.

I like peppermint tea and find it soothing.

This weekend, I plan to try listening to classical music/opera while doing nothing else. In recent years, I have usually engaged in some other activity while I listen to music. In fact, I usually listen to music only in my car. So maybe rediscovering music as an activity in and of itself will help me just as it seems to help others.

I would like to cuddle up with my partner more before we go to sleep at night, but he has a bad habit of staying up late. This drives me nuts. I always have more trouble sleeping when he isn't there with me. Perhaps I should be more adamant about this, but he hates to be disturbed when he's role-playing.

Communing with animals is good. I have two cats that love to be brushed. I should do it more often. It makes me feel peaceful.

Sorry such a mischmasch. I'm avoiding doing something unpleasant, and the cracks in my armor are starting to show.

[Dennis]

Exercise too close to bed will keep you awake, Arch. What about a hot bath? That always knocks me out.

Dennis

[ColleenW]

Hi Arch -

To relax before going to sleep I listen to audio books. I get these on CD's (compact disks!!) or tape, and some I can download from my library. I generally have to listen several times to get the whole book but it does put me to sleep.

[Aiden]

I find chamomile tea makes you sleepy, and green tea with mint can wake you up a bit and both are soothing.  I don't use it enough though.

Otherwise I struggle with stress as well and walking seems to fuel it.  writing helps sometimes but sometimes makes it worse.  Insomnia is big problem too.  I need to use the tea methods more probably.  I'm just to lazy to make the tea LOL

[kephalopod]

I think of stress relief as being either cathartic or relaxing - cathartic for when I need to exorcise or override something that's bugging me until I can better deal with it, and relaxing for when I just need to wind down.

For me, catharsis is usually either exercise, loud, sloppy guitar playing, or a long drive with good music. Relaxation is usually tinkering with something I'm building and/or taking something apart, reading, or walking the dog.

[TheBattler]

I am finding Gardening is cuting down my stress. I had a lot of cutting back to some tress that I had to do and I could just take my time, it was a nice weekend. Riding is also a good stress refief for me but only when I am feeling well.

Alice

[almost,angie]

Being vegeterian has helped a lot.