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stress all around

  • Oct. 8th, 2008 at 1:28 PM
mal
crs
It does seem to be everywhere... I know I'm feeling it. Stress about work, stress about the economy, stress that I'm not living my life to its fullest. Vacations don't help, sleep doesn't help. I want to shake things up, I want to turn left and be pointed at a right angle to reality, and step out for a bit.

Maybe I should read Anansi Boys. It was nicely escapist; the audiobook was well suited for the drive down to DC.

Comments

( 20 comments — Leave a comment )
warlord_mit
Oct. 8th, 2008 05:43 pm (UTC)
Get in your car and take a random drive. Every once in a while flip a coin to decide whether to turn left or right. Don't worry about where you're headed; just go and enjoy the journey.
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crs
Oct. 9th, 2008 12:59 am (UTC)
To some extent the drive to DC and back was supposed to be that kind of relaxation. I guess I could try it more literally that way, though I suspect it wouldn't get to be stress relief til I got further out of town :)
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(Deleted comment)
crs
Oct. 8th, 2008 06:05 pm (UTC)
I actually recently ordered season 1 from Amazon. That should help. :)
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navrins
Oct. 8th, 2008 05:47 pm (UTC)
I'm with you there.

Also, I want to have the conversation I put off with you a week or two ago.
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navrins
Oct. 8th, 2008 06:37 pm (UTC)
...and, if you DO decide to do something along those perpendicular lines and would like company, or a co-brainstormer, or something, let me know. I might want to join you.
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dpolicar
Oct. 8th, 2008 06:03 pm (UTC)
Suffering and then recovering from a stroke helps with that, but I don't actually recommend it.
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crs
Oct. 8th, 2008 06:06 pm (UTC)
That's about as right-angle to reality as I can imagine at the moment, given some of the things I've read about the experience. Not quite what I had in mind though...
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dpolicar
Oct. 8th, 2008 06:53 pm (UTC)
Well, it varies among individuals, but yeah there was definitely a reality-altering aspect to the event itself, as well as the less extreme but also reality-changing aspects of the recovery.
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jadia
Oct. 8th, 2008 06:05 pm (UTC)
Pick something you never thought you could do, and try it?

dance class? climbing trees? take a painting class?
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lokiect
Oct. 8th, 2008 06:37 pm (UTC)
write a novel!
(no, really)
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csbermack
Oct. 8th, 2008 06:48 pm (UTC)
It's almost november!
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lokiect
Oct. 8th, 2008 07:04 pm (UTC)
just starting with an essay or two about things on your mind would be a start
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crs
Oct. 9th, 2008 01:00 am (UTC)
Hm, maybe. Though that is possibly close enough to the things that I stress about that maybe it would backfire...
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ringrose
Oct. 8th, 2008 06:45 pm (UTC)
Come to the spookwalk Legends is having (oct 17/18, I'll be there the 18th) and scare kids!
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csbermack
Oct. 8th, 2008 06:50 pm (UTC)
How's your exercise regime going? Have you slipped? People often seem to feel like this when they stop exercising.

You could have a religious revelation.

You could go clubbing.
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crs
Oct. 9th, 2008 01:01 am (UTC)
I should really call the new trainer up again. It's been over a month since I've been to the gym... so yeah, it could be that.

Clubbing. Hm, what do people wear to those? I have a suit now, I suppose I could try that. :)
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csbermack
Oct. 9th, 2008 02:52 am (UTC)
That's probably the easiest thing you can fix, getting more exercise. If you have SAD problems, take walks during the daytime.

I have no clue what people wear to clubs. Black? Metrosexual stuff? It probably depends on the club... I figure, dancing hard to a driving bass beat is one of the closest things to an ecstatic experience we have in our culture that doesn't involve interesting substances. Also, it's exercise, so hey! bonus!
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dcltdw
Oct. 9th, 2008 04:52 pm (UTC)
I totally notice my temperament suffers when I don't get enough exercise. I think there's a positive feedback loop here: if you feel better, you'll sleep better, so you'll be more productive the next day, which will make you feel better... or if you feel crappy, you won't sleep as well, which will hose you the next day, which will make you feel worse.

Setting up a trainer appointment also dovetails well with short-term goals: if you go, that's an accomplished goal. It's one that's easy to hit, and more importantly, you cannot secondguess whether you actually did or didn't. (E.g., "Well, I wrote an essay, true, but it sucked.") Sometimes when I'm in a funk, I pay a bit more attention to make sure my goals will be satisfying when I complete them.
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violetcheetah
Oct. 9th, 2008 04:56 pm (UTC)
maybe instead of going for a drive and flipping a coin to turn left or right, you could do the same thing while walking. then you get to ogle houses and whatever flowers are left and smell fallen leaves and such.
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flexagon
Oct. 9th, 2008 09:36 pm (UTC)
I totally agree that a random walk could be better (lower stress) than a random drive.

And seconding the exercise thing. I like to do things that are so stimulating/challenging that I need my processing power just to figure out where I am in space... acroyoga last night is the first time in ages that I wasn't thinking about work afterward. And some people like rock climbing (B.O. from your floor has been doing that lately). But if that's too weird or too much, anything that involves physical action will give you the endorphins.

That said, ARGH, I SO TOTALLY UNDERSTAND, and it sucks.
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