IGX

What are some things you guys have found helpful in managing stress? We've all read the same lists and I think most of the common tips are crapola. What has actually worked? Here's one I discovered: when at the computer I remind myself to keep lowering my shoulders. Simply not letting my shoulders stay hunched has helped a little. Hasn't turned me from Too Much Coffee Guy into the Fonz but it has helped a noticeable amount. What works for you?

I was driving back from the lab in town, absolutely no one on the streets when they should have been jammed. It was like a scene from Omega Man. I said fuck it and ran it up to 70 on the town street and held it there. That felt really good, and took down a wad of stress. Driving at real speed on country roads is great.

Been buying new tunes, experimenting with new music stuff, and then rucking while listening to it.

Back into sci-fI reading too. Just read The Three Body Problem, good book. Got Stars My Destination ready to go, I think Benny recommended it.

nafod wrote: ↑Tue May 12, 2020 1:13 pm Driving at real speed on country roads is great.

I used to drive fast on the back road home after work cranking The Who. It did boil off some steam.

MJS, some long steady-state cardio but in the lower heart-rate range.

Qigong: Nothing fancy just Ba Duan Jin, Cartmell's Xing Ye Nei Gong, and/or some random stuff I've accumulated over the years. Concentrated but relaxed movement + breathing is good for me. Sometimes breathing alone helps when I'm in the world and annoyed. 4 count inhale with 8 count exhale.

Stoic practices: The Stoics were masters of human psychology and put together a system of thought, that when practiced diligently changes ones perspective about stressors and how to deal with them. To be somewhat effective a permutation of it has to become a persons active outlook and/or philosophy of life which requires a lot of work. It's one of those things that's super simple and super hard like Christianity, Islam, BJJ, archery, etc. Lots of practice and failure are involved.

motherjuggs&speed wrote: ↑Tue May 12, 2020 1:21 pm

nafod wrote: ↑Tue May 12, 2020 1:13 pm Driving at real speed on country roads is great.

I used to drive fast on the back road home after work cranking The Who. It did boil off some steam.

Steppenwolf almost ran me off the back country roads when I was 18.

Bullet Journaling: being more organized is a great stress reducer, helps with areas I'm OCD in, and helps me be more analog
Deep breathing: Donk wrote some great stuff (some of which I really should incorporate). Trancendental Meditation helps me a lot when I remember to do it, especially when I'm on low sleep.
Noise Cancelling Headphones: tells people to leave you alone, helps lessen background noise
Focusing on Time Management: I still suck at this, but I'm getting better. Cal Newport's 'Deep Work' is a resource I got a lot out of.

Tell myself "let go." This helps with the stories that I construct (I'm great/terrible, others are great/terrible).

A regular eating routine. The biggest part is eating breakfast relatively soon after waking up. If I can do that, then snacks and meals throughout the day keep my blood sugar levels steady.

Yoga. Lately 10-15 minutes before meditating or after working out. Unlike my workouts or meditation, the yoga is whatever I feel like until the timer is up. Because it's free flowing I can make it hard, or easy, pay more attention to tight spots, or fuck around with my balance.

Although I meditate (this one infrequently), workout, and surf relatively often, I'm so hell-bent on improving, doing them in a structured way, and/or doing them well, that I tend to find these activities stressful as often as they de-stress me.

Shapecharge wrote: ↑Tue May 12, 2020 2:08 pm MJS, some long steady-state cardio but in the lower heart-rate range.

^^^^^^

And deep meditative breathing.

Shapecharge wrote: ↑Tue May 12, 2020 2:08 pm MJS, some long steady-state cardio but in the lower heart-rate range.

Long walks in nature are the simple answer.

Fat Cat wrote: ↑Wed May 13, 2020 12:54 am

Shapecharge wrote: ↑Tue May 12, 2020 2:08 pm MJS, some long steady-state cardio but in the lower heart-rate range.

Long walks in nature are the simple answer.

Preferably with a dog.