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Friday, July 15, 2011

Remedial Stress Handling

One of the difficult things about writing a public blog is that you really have no choice but to censor yourself when discussing matters that involve other people. 

I wish I could go into more detail about this but I'm afraid that my approach to writing is generally that once you write about someone, that person will probably stumble upon it...and my goal in writing is not to offend or to hurt.  Suffice it to say I had a pretty rough week, and I'm still trying to determine the best way to deal with all the stress, anxiety, frustration, fear, and sadness that I've been feeling. Sometimes it feels like it's crushing me and threatening to completely engulf my mind.

My darling husband is on yet another camping trip for work (this time in Aroostook County, 6 hours away and no cell reception for miles) so I'm alone in my thoughts until later tonight.  As I'm sure the case is for many of you, being alone is just about the worst thing then you're already your own worst enemy, so I'm trying out some new de-stressing techniques.  Since I'm a pretty high-strung person I'm not particularly well-versed in the ways of effectively handling stress, so it's been a bit of a trial and error experience.

Here are some things that have helped make my day a little brighter during my recent foray into remedial stress handling:

1. A comfort lunch fit for a gluten-free 7-year-old...an American cheese sandwich with local organic strawberries on the side:



2. Slathering obscene amounts of aloe on my itchy sunburn in preparation for my first thigh tattoo session this weekend:



3. A brand-new coloring book and a box of 64 crayons:



4. Taking my adorable little slice of dog out to the field for a romp with her BFFs:



5. Writing a letter to my husband about how awesome he is.

6. Old "Twilight Zone" episodes on Netflix:



7. Cranking music in the car and singing my lungs out (especially to this, this, and this)

8. A brand-new planner with which to fill in all our upcoming activities:



9. A glass of "homemade" lavender lemonade and maybe a vodka cranberry or two later:


10. A date with myself sans telephone at the only restaurant in town that has gluten-free food our favorite restaurant while reading one of my favorite books of all time:


11. A Modcloth dress (the one mentioned in yesterday's post) that fit like a freaking glove. I won't subject you to pictures of it just yet.

12. This desktop background courtesy of Kyla Roma.

What do you do to relieve stress?

17 comments:

  1. ooohhh....new tattoo! that's something fun and exciting to look forward to. :)

    also, i could practically smell your new box of crayons just by looking at the picture. love, love, love crayola smell. :)

    i hope the second half of your week proves to be better than the first!

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  2. I'm sorry you've had a bad week :( I also feel like I need to censor myself on here. I can't write nearly as detailed as I did on Xanga, but I think that might be a good thing because it forces me to get past whatever (or whoever) might be bothering me.

    I like your de-stressing techniques! I usually listen to music, watch movies, or shop--that's a dangerous one, obviously. And driving really helps calm me down so a lot of times I'll just drive to the mall or Target to walk around and that's it. Hope your weekend gets better!

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  3. It sounds like the perfect way to de-stress. I don't know how many crayons and coloring books I've gone through to do the same. :]

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  4. OOOoooh I know what you mean about not being able to write about something that's stressing you out without violating others' privacy... it's tough. I'm not going through that now, but in December I was definitely struggling with that. It's tough when that's the only thing on your mind, and it's hard to think up other stuff to write about! Bleh. I hope the situation finds some peace soon <3

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  5. oh man. i love old twilight zone.

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  6. okay, are the crayons for you? because that's Awesome with a capital A

    also, i'm so with you. i was really cranky yesterday and having my husband talk me out of it was nice...they are good for that aren't they?

    also, i'm really with you on the blog censoring. sometimes i want nothing more than to rant about my boss on my blog. and i doubt she reads it, or even knows it exists...but you JUST NEVER KNOW. better to be on the safe side caitlin

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  7. First of all, great book!
    Second, I love the crayon idea.
    I tried to pull up the songs but I'll have to do that later. Darn phone :(
    Third, I need the lavender lemonade recipe.

    Recently I've been a huge ball of walking stress. Honestly, a little cocktail always helps me unwind. Other ways: hot bubble bath, a long hard run to good music, painting (which I haven't done in awhile), writing in a journal and baking seem to help. Oh, and chocolate. Lots of chocolate ;)

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  8. I love this so very much. I need to get myself a coloring book, sit down with spiked lavender lemonade, and go to town. Have a great weekend, Caitlin!
    <3

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  9. Oh, Caitlin! So sorry to hear you had a hard week. But it does seem as though you are taking good care of yourself. I have also struggled with my own anxiety. It's hard to drown stuff out sometimes. Knitting has helped me a lot. Also running. Getting caught up in a television show.

    Take care. Next week will be better. I'm sure of it.

    ps Please show us the dress!

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  10. i craft, play my guitar or watch birds in the backyard! but my best bet is yoga. or if you like, sit in a comfortable position and focus on your breathing for as long as you can sit still. it really helps relaxes your mind and let your troubles float away (at least in my experience)

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  11. Okay I think I really like you! First of sorry you are having a rough week....I know how you feel about talking publicly about something or someone that is bothering you and not bein able to go in full detail bc they might read it. Been there for sure.

    Second love all the things you did to cheer you up! Grilled cheese...vodka drink...coloring love it all! You rock. And yeay for a new tattoo! I want a new one too but not brave enough to do my thigh! Hope next week is better

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  12. ugh I just wrote you a comment but it said "conflicting edits" and it didn't save it! ugh. blogger.

    anyways, I sometimes wish I could block certain people from the blog so I could talk about friends and family issues without knowing they'll be reading it, it's not like I'm going to talk about them badly, sometimes I just need to vent.

    When I need cheering up/stress mgt. I either sleep or shop. I know they are the worst techniques for managing stress, but it's what helps me!

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  13. Ive been wanting to try to make lavender tea! yumm! All of this looks perfect actually. It really is a shame we aren't neighbors. Our sleepovers would be the best. :]

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  14. I have so many things to say but I'll limit it to just a few... first, I thought you said you were eating 7-year-old cheese on your sandwich. I nearly vomited on your blog.
    Second, I LOVE that planner. I'm a big planner freak. This year for Christmas my husband bought me a gorgeous leather-bound one, one of the super nice ones for close to $50 which I've never been able to justify spending on myself. That's why I married him.
    And finally, I love that you go to lunch with a book! I do that too! I used to feel dorky about it but anymore I just don't care. I know what I like! =]
    I de-stress like that, but also by writing, dancing and with hot bubble baths. =]

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  15. this is a good list. if we were close i'd do it with you.

    love the dress, do post pictures :]

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  16. I'm sorry your week didn't turn out as you'd expected, but at least you've got that tattoo to focus on now, and you've got lots of fun things to do to de-stress! My favorite is always to watch re-runs of a favorite show, I don't think there's anything out there that beats an old episode of Big Bang Theory for me these days!

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