STRESS!!!
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It does seem a little crazy what is considered essential in Illinois there is more open than closed. I think it kind of defeats the whole purpose. But hey I will just sit back and smoke on
Wife is working in the hospital, and I am working in the food distribution industry ... things have been quite hectic in our lives lately. Since the curfew we do tend to get home earlier, although the uncertainty of each following day does take its toll. I did notice I have been drinking a bit more over the past couple of weeks ...
The Waffle House is still open here. Just had a fried egg on a cheeseburger, pure bliss.
I'm fine. I am working from home and have much less stress. I have food, pipes, and security. I am blessed.
Well first off, it's really important to remember that stress is normal in adverse conditions. If you're feeling Andy Griffith about any of this, stop what you're doing and seek immediate help. Something is wrong with you. Full stop. This isn't a normal, enjoyable or sustainable state of being, so naturally you ought to be stressing. Stress is a very important part of the human psyche and believe it or not, it plays a role in mental health. You see, stress is your body's way of telling you something is wrong, without having to wait for a pain receptor to fire. Quite literally your subconscious is telling you to do something about the situation, and unfortunately it's doing so in the only way it knows how.
So, stress is a good thing (as far as a warning system goes) but you need to deal with it. Well, first it's important to realize what I've stated above is true; stress is normal - you're not crazy you're just needing a change! - otherwise any attempt to relieve stress will most likely be met with more stress. Counter productive to say the least! An obvious solution is to remove yourself from the situation, but unless you're Jeff Bezos or Bill Gates, that's not happening. No luxury yachts or private resorts for us plebeian fools! Instead you need to create a space that can be your getaway. Sure the garage isn't as temperate as Fiji, but it's got a locking door, a radio and all my tools. Plus I can smoke in here! I'd go so far as to say my whole house is my getaway in that we don't suffer no covid-talk in here, but that rule is dependent on the cooperation of others. The sanctity of my garage relies solely on me coming in here to have a bowl, chill with my cat and putz around with tools. Which brings me to my second point.
Get a friend. No not some lame human, most of us still aren't "allowed" to have friends anymore, I'm talking a friendly feline. Dogs are great, but they require vast amounts of attention and training to not end up dumber than a sack of low IQ bricks. Sounds like more work, and if you fail you wind up with a barky, whiny, carpet ruining idiot who thinks chewing up your brand new shoes is a fun new game. I mean, you keep buying shoes, they must be for chewing, right? No, get a cat. Far less training, they know to be bad when you're not looking, and they're not utterly dependent on you for everything. As I type this novella I do so with an increasingly fat cat sitting on my lap, purring because the best thing he can think of right now is sleeping on me. He doesn't give a crap about coronavirus, vaccines or systemic racism. He wants two things from me; clean his litter box, feed hiK*sjnxmi334555555...
Okay so he also will knock the phone out of my hand if he decides he needs more ear scratches, but it's a small price to pay. I got this little devil June of last year and it was the best decision I made regarding this pandemic crap.
So, recap. Stress is normal, we are in a very stressful situation, don't kick yourself extra over being stressed about it. Find your happy place and defend it from all forms of covid crap. Garage, garden, a good fishing spot, whatever. Find yourself a furry feline friend. Even the stress they cause ends up being memorable and there is nothing better than waxing philosophical while smoking a bowl of Bijou in the garage with a nice warm happy cat on your lap.
Oh, and tea. Get that mother@#$&in' tea up in ya.
So, stress is a good thing (as far as a warning system goes) but you need to deal with it. Well, first it's important to realize what I've stated above is true; stress is normal - you're not crazy you're just needing a change! - otherwise any attempt to relieve stress will most likely be met with more stress. Counter productive to say the least! An obvious solution is to remove yourself from the situation, but unless you're Jeff Bezos or Bill Gates, that's not happening. No luxury yachts or private resorts for us plebeian fools! Instead you need to create a space that can be your getaway. Sure the garage isn't as temperate as Fiji, but it's got a locking door, a radio and all my tools. Plus I can smoke in here! I'd go so far as to say my whole house is my getaway in that we don't suffer no covid-talk in here, but that rule is dependent on the cooperation of others. The sanctity of my garage relies solely on me coming in here to have a bowl, chill with my cat and putz around with tools. Which brings me to my second point.
Get a friend. No not some lame human, most of us still aren't "allowed" to have friends anymore, I'm talking a friendly feline. Dogs are great, but they require vast amounts of attention and training to not end up dumber than a sack of low IQ bricks. Sounds like more work, and if you fail you wind up with a barky, whiny, carpet ruining idiot who thinks chewing up your brand new shoes is a fun new game. I mean, you keep buying shoes, they must be for chewing, right? No, get a cat. Far less training, they know to be bad when you're not looking, and they're not utterly dependent on you for everything. As I type this novella I do so with an increasingly fat cat sitting on my lap, purring because the best thing he can think of right now is sleeping on me. He doesn't give a crap about coronavirus, vaccines or systemic racism. He wants two things from me; clean his litter box, feed hiK*sjnxmi334555555...
Okay so he also will knock the phone out of my hand if he decides he needs more ear scratches, but it's a small price to pay. I got this little devil June of last year and it was the best decision I made regarding this pandemic crap.
So, recap. Stress is normal, we are in a very stressful situation, don't kick yourself extra over being stressed about it. Find your happy place and defend it from all forms of covid crap. Garage, garden, a good fishing spot, whatever. Find yourself a furry feline friend. Even the stress they cause ends up being memorable and there is nothing better than waxing philosophical while smoking a bowl of Bijou in the garage with a nice warm happy cat on your lap.
Oh, and tea. Get that mother@#$&in' tea up in ya.
Box Breathing technique. Has helped immensely as we've been through the ringer closing on a house deal that almost fell through 5 times through no fault of our own.
I am in a high-stress, high burnout career. I have a few things I do to keep stress at bay:
1. Practice Stoicism - if you can't control or have an effect on events then why worry about them?
2. Zen meditation being mindful of my thoughts
3. The ancient art of pipe smoking. I light a pipe of my favorite blend, and fully engage in the art of smoking.
Stay Gold Pony Boy;]
1. Practice Stoicism - if you can't control or have an effect on events then why worry about them?
2. Zen meditation being mindful of my thoughts
3. The ancient art of pipe smoking. I light a pipe of my favorite blend, and fully engage in the art of smoking.
Stay Gold Pony Boy;]
Stoicism is great! Gets you to that heart attack that much sooner. You're dead, why worry.
Meditation is a sold method for relieving stress. Guided imagery, especially of brutally torturing the idiots you work for who create a stressful workplace, is especially refreshing. If disemboweling your supervisor or applying battery cables to a teammate is too uncomfortable, then even regular meditation, which is essentially focusing on breathing, can be helpful.
I take a few breaks during the course of a day to enjoy a smoke before continuing on. Breaks are good.
Stretching and a bit of exercise is good. You're experiencing fight or flight, otherwise known as stress. If you can't fight, then take flight for 15 minutes.
To help stress, I suggest reading all the major news outlets and opinion web sites, check Facebook and Twitter, look at your bank account and credit card balances at least 5 times a day.
Seriously, turn off the media. All of it sucks. Take a walk, a ride, go fishing, talk to the big guy above and realize how little power you really have over anything. You didn’t cause the problems, often you have little or no control over them and in a year or two they won’t matter anyway. Get a puppy, eat some ice cream and get over it. Life will go on. We all on this forum have it so much better than more than half the world. Stop being a little bitch. You got a place to live, you got food and transportation, and most of us are safe. Look at the positive and not the negative. It could always be worse and you have no control over that. Move on. If you can’t, get professional help.
Seriously, turn off the media. All of it sucks. Take a walk, a ride, go fishing, talk to the big guy above and realize how little power you really have over anything. You didn’t cause the problems, often you have little or no control over them and in a year or two they won’t matter anyway. Get a puppy, eat some ice cream and get over it. Life will go on. We all on this forum have it so much better than more than half the world. Stop being a little bitch. You got a place to live, you got food and transportation, and most of us are safe. Look at the positive and not the negative. It could always be worse and you have no control over that. Move on. If you can’t, get professional help.
Feeling stressed? Why don't we go and jack that up to eleven! High stakes career? High maintenance family? Hell, once you've gotten Trixie from 7th Ave pregnant and you owe your guy over ten grand you'll be wishing, no praying, for family game night and a six AM start!
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What the hell! My ashtray is broken?! I just came in my garage to smoke and beat this thread up some more with walls of text, I look down and my ashtray is broken! Where the hell is that good for nothing cat?! Hmmm. I'll clean that up after this bowl...
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