Scott Brooks Said What?

I’ve been struggling with stress for years and although I’m pretty good at managing it around people, by myself I can have a lot of trouble. So today, I’m searching for ways to ease stress and I come across this article:

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/take-it-easy-12-ways-to-kill-stress-before-stress-kills-you.html

Just reading the list made my stomach hurt and as I read each direction I realized that I have no chance. Where is RUN AWAY on the list, I ask you.

For starters:

1. Make quiet time: Whether you meditate daily, go to the gym three times a week, practice yoga, go hiking on the weekends, or just spend an hour a night with a book, you need to create a space where you can clear your mind of everything that’s dragging at you.

Stress only leaves me when I am completely engrossed in something and that happens so rarely that I can’t even put a description to it. Quiet time is when I feel the worst.

1. Stop procrastinating: You can put off important tasks, but you can’t put off worrying about them — and the stress that causes.

This is my biggest weakness and I’ve been planning to stop procrastinating for years.

1. Write everything down: If forgetting something would cause you stress, make sure you’ve got it written down in a trusted system so you know you won’t forget.

I write stuff down and lose it which adds to my stress.

1. Eat better: A good diet can help your body better deal with the effects of stress. A healthy diet isn’t all that complicated; as Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, puts it, Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. As a general rule, eat as much as you can from the “edges” of your supermarket — produce, bakery, butcher counter, dairy case — and save the stuff in the “middle” for once-in-a-while — Twinkies, Pop Tarts, potato chips, canned foods, instant meals, etc.

It’s hard to eat healthy when your stomach is in knots all the time and the only foods that taste good are the worst ones for you.

1. Make family time: Try to eat at least one meal a day with your family (or with friends if you’re single). Better yet, eat at least one homecooked meal a day with your family/friends.

This one sounds good but all anyone ever talks to me about is work or needs or is trying to control me.

1. Talk it out: Bottling up your frustrations, even the little ones, leads to stress. Learn to express dissatisfaction (in a constructive, non-hurtful way) and to voice your worries and fears to someone close to you.

Apparently my only tone in talking is aggressive so whenever i try to talk it out people get their feelings hurt and it only makes things worse.

1. Prioritize: Figure out what in your life actually needs attention and what doesn’t. Know what you can easily let slide — and what you can drop entirely — and focus your energy on things that will actually make a difference in your life.

This is easier said than done.

1. Have routines: Having a set routine means you don’t have to worry about what comes next; after a while, it becomes second nature.

here is my routine. get up. stress. bathe. stress. avoid hard decisions. stress. eat poorly. stress…etc. you get the picture.

1. Accept interruptions gracefully: Don’t let your rituals become so rigid that you can’t function if they’re interrupted. Leave yourself enough wiggle room to adapt to changing conditions.

Seriously. I am interrupted every few minutes.

1. Know when to quit: Don’t stand for employers, friends, or lovers who treat you badly. Decide how much of yourself you’re willing to put into a relationship, job, or activity; when you cross that line, walk away and don’t look back. This applies to the little things (”At 5 pm, I go home”) and the big things (”If things aren’t better after 6 months of marriage therapy, I want a divorce”).

If only it were this easy. There are some things in life that seem unquittable (if that’s even a word)

1. Pay attention to yourself: Notice when you feel stressed, and determine the cause. Notice when your body hurts or you feel unhappy, and determine why — or see a doctor. Figure out whether the things you’re doing are fulfilling your own definition of a good, productive life — or somebody else’s. Give up unnecessary competition (you need to make a better product than your competitor does; you don’t need to have a prettier girlfriend or a faster car than he does).

This is one of those ones where, it’s not really the paying attention to yourself so much as paying good attention to yourself. when you are under stress, you feel like you are doing nothing but paying attention to yourself, but in reality, sometimes ‘YOU” are your biggest problem.

1. Love: Build relationships. Share yourself. Feel human warmth.

The writer should be ashamed of this one. It is impossible to build a relationship when you are so messed up. It’s like telling a crackhead to find love. What about when you have love and you just need to figure out how it can cut through the stress.

Turning Twenty is Wacker that Wack

Laying in bed blogging is Slacker than Slack

At 1 PM, I realize I’m starving

My lack of care is quite disarming

I guess I’ll get up and take a bath

somewhere someone is full of wrath

I guess I’ll lay low and hope for the best

Cause the world sometimes throws unpassable tests

multiple choice questions and every option is wrong

some people spend a life dazed and confused

Not understanding the pain of feeling used and abused

Above the sheets reality is there

When you’re confused nobody really cares

—

The only thing that sucks more than having nothing to do is having nothing that you want to do. -Scott Brooks, 2009