Current events have you tied up in knots? Feel like you need to get away from it all?
You deserve a Calgon™ moment
If you’re as old as I am, you may remember the old “Calgon™, take me away” commercials on television. Calgon™ is an American brand of water softener, and bath and beauty products. The commercials started in the 80s and features—well watch and see…
Recognize Your Stress Levels
The point is, you’ve been under a bunch of stress. Unusual amounts of stress. And the stress is ongoing. Fortunately I have a few posts that may help you. But first what kind of stress are you experiencing? You may be experiencing physical, emotional, cognitive, or behavioral signs of stress. Learn to recognize your stress levels.
Make a Safe Place
No matter what level of stress you’re feeling, you need to be able to continue to function. If you feel like you’re in a safe place you can keep up with most of the things you need to do. This next post discusses how to make a safe place in your mind.
Perhaps that’s a little too woo-woo for you. You may find my post, 6 ways to Find Your Calm, more to your liking.
When You Can’t Get Away From It All
You can destress or relax with music, or by sniffing certain smells, or with distractions.
Sometimes the most important thing in a whole day is the rest we take between two deep breaths.
Etty Hillesum
Although this next post was about holiday stress, laughter really is the best medicine. Find the things that make you laugh.
Increase Your Resilience
One of Merriam-Webster’s definitions of resilience is “an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change.” If you increase your resilience you will handle stress better and recover from it quicker. The best time to increase your resilience is, of course, before you get knotted up with stress. But if it’s an ongoing stress like a pandemic or racial injustices, you might want to work on ways to increase your resistance to stress.
Get Away From It All
We all need to get away from it all once in a while. It’s not a sign that you’re a bad person or that you have poor coping skills. It just means that you’ve reached a threshold. You need a break. So be good to yourself today and every take. Take a Calgon™ moment or two. Be safe out there. Wear a mask, social distance, and wash your hands.
How do you get away from it all when it feels like too much?
I look for what I can remove from my to-do list. Lately, it’s been my blog (which carries additional stress of having to admit I haven’t met my writing goals). Going for a walk in the woods helps too.
Jennette-great idea to remove things from your to-do list. Especially if it’s something that brings additional stress. I’m sorry you’re not making your word count and hope that removing some of your stress will give you more room to create.