Reduce Stress Without Drugs

If the stress is caused by worries over something I clear my mind by taking each issue, one at a time, and asking, "Is this something I can do anything about today?" If it's something I can do something about today I do whatever it is I am able to do. If, for some reason, I can't do something about it today but can do something about it another day, I'll add it to a list of things to be done.

If there's nothing I can about a problem I sometimes "file" it in my "mental file" of worries that are "for a day when I can do something about it".

Once I've done my "basic sorting" of stressful thoughts, I'll do one or more of the following things:

1. Decide to take a "mental break" and find something to do that isn't very demanding but that keeps my thoughts off my stress. Sometimes I'll write something that is completely unrelated to anything about which I usually think. This sounds silly, but I occasionally go a dollmaking sites, make a bunch of "dolls", and then save them - as if I'm ever going to look at them again.

2. Get out and just get some fresh air.

3. Go out for a cup of coffee (with a lot of cream and one sugar) at a place that has outdoor tables, where I can just sit, relax, and maybe listen to music.

4. Be out when the sun is setting and the sky is breathtakingly beautiful. (Who can stay stressed out when the sky is light mauve and pink?)

5. Light my wax-tart burner with a tart that has one of my favorite scents.

6. Take a shower, do my nails, and put on an outfit that just feels good to wear.

7. Have a half a glass of wine.

8. Find something on television that will make me laugh.

9. Go out with someone, talk, and laugh.

10. Make it a point to turn down the lights late at night, put my favorite music on, and listen to it for at least a half hour.

11. Eat a tuna salad sub (or at least half of one) and have a Coke with it. (Tuna has actually been found to help make depressed people feel better; but I figured that out a long time ago when I discovered the a tuna sub helped calm frayed nerves.)

12. Organize computer files and clear out the ones I don't need.

13. Go to a store and buy a couple of inexpensive things to brighten my day. It could be a couple of new, cheerful, mugs; a small plant, or some new placemats. It just has to be something that's cheerful, pretty, or both.

14. Go online and buy something (usually more expensive than those mugs from the dollar store, I have to admit). Ordering something online is fun when I do it, but it also gives me something to look forward arriving in a few days. Then, too, it opens up possibilities of looking online for reviews, items to go with the thing I bought, or generally just reading about what will be showing up at my door in a few days.

15. "The Ultimate Combo" - Make a giant pot of coffee, light the tart-burner, and plan to drink the whole pot of coffee (with lots and lots of cream in each cup; I think the fat in the cream is calming) while listening to two or more hours of my favorite music.