There and Back Again: Week 78 Stress Management

 

I have researched and taught stress management for decades. I know I can do hard things. I'm good at planning ahead. I can tell that, notwithstanding my knowledge of stress management, that I am under immense stress. 

Everything that is happening right now scores very high on the stress scale. Did you know  stress is just a response to change?

Any change causes stress. Marriage, Divorce, winning the lottery, going bankrupt, getting a great job, starting school, ending school,  loosing a friend, etc., all cause stress. 

Good stress is called Eustress. Bad stress is called distress.  Their effect on the body is THE SAME, it's our reaction to the stress that makes the difference.

So what is the change in our lives? Hmmmm. Let me mention a few but not all...leaving our mission, starting a new life as truly retired people, moving, packing, deep cleaning, leaving our covenant community friends,

 wondering what if anything has changed with our friends back home, going on another mission ( yes, we want to die in the saddle), renting our house and coming back to it, how will we find it?, should we buy a second home nearer our children? On and on....the thoughts swirl in our heads.

So what do we do to support ourselves in the chaos of change? We hold to the schedules and patterns we can control, Morning prayer and Scripture study, taking naps, evening prayers and Scripture study, listening to or playing great music, 

spending quality time in individual or small groups with our friends to say goodbye, stick to the schedule of providing activities.. like the soap making class I taught this week.

work work work to exercise and keep our blood flowing to sweat out and purge via the liver all of our stress toxins (those are real), eating healthy, working with my housing friends

 taking herbal tea, letting myself cry and cry, because that also releases toxins and feels so good when you are done. Attending the temple is a huge stress relief.

Humor is also a great tool for dealing with stress. For example I may have laughed a bit too loud 

when I was mowing and this webby worm dropped down from a tree and swung in front of my face. LOL the joy of knowing, I will be gone when these guys attack in force! Stay on the sunny side!