What do you do when you find yourself feeling stressed?

Question

Saw today's Brewster Rockit cartoon:

http://news.yahoo.com/comics/brewsterrockit;_ylt=ArmCr1kpwXikbZq7ixYbWnnV.i8C

and thought of how often I've seen people like that here in R&S.

How does your faith (or lack of faith) help you deal with stress?

Answer 1

Thank you for sharing that. It made me smile.
When I am stressed I do a couple of things that are spiritual. Sometimes I meditate and light a candle and some incense Thank you for sharing that. It made me smile.
When I am stressed I do a couple of things that are spiritual. Sometimes I meditate and light a candle and some incense. Then I gaze into the flame of the candle to make out the salamander(fire faerie) in the flame. I then turn my attention to the patterns the smoke from the incense is making and see what I can make out there. Some times it is simply beautiful smoke patterns, sometimes a faerie will visit, sometimes the Gods/Goddesses will send me something special. I take the time to connect with the various spiritual beings. It is very fulfilling and relaxing as well as being a powerful and deep experience.
The other thing I enjoy is going for a walk. There is a wooded are near my home and when I am walking there I can feel a deep connection with the Gods/Goddesses. I can feel the warmth of Apollo as his rays touch my skin, I can smell the trees, plants and grass, that are Gaia, I can feel the gentle breath of the Goddesses as the breeze plays with my hair, I can hear the music of the birds of Rhiannon, and the woodland creatures of the Green Lord. When I look at the trees I can see the Dryads and Hamadryads that live within them, I can hear the laughter of the little people and see the shining brilliance of the great and glorious Sidhe. The glorious colours of the flowers and cool refreshment of the clean beautiful water. In the spring there are all the new babies and life, in the summer the flowers are in their glory, in the autumn the colours of the leaves and bounty of fruit and in the winter the soft fluffy snow and the ice that sparkles on the trees. When your among that much beauty and wonder it is amazing how small most problems can become. Even when the problem is overwhelming there is the possibility that one will see that no matter how bad it gets there is still beauty if one is willing to look.. Then I gaze into the flame of the candle to make out the salamander(fire faerie) in the flame. I then turn my attention to the patterns the smoke from the incense is making and see what I can make out there. Some times it is simply beautiful smoke patterns, sometimes a faerie will visit, sometimes the Gods/Goddesses will send me something special. I take the time to connect with the various spiritual beings. It is very fulfilling and relaxing as well as being a powerful and deep experience.
The other thing I enjoy is going for a walk. There is a wooded are near my home and when I am walking there I can feel a deep connection with the Gods/Goddesses. I can feel the warmth of Apollo as his rays touch my skin, I can smell the trees, plants and grass, that are Gaia, I can feel the gentle breath of the Goddesses as the breeze plays with my hair, I can hear the music of the birds of Rhiannon, and the woodland creatures of the Green Lord. When I look at the trees I can see the Dryads and Hamadryads that live within them, I can hear the laughter of the little people and see the shining brilliance of the great and glorious Sidhe. The glorious colours of the flowers and cool refreshment of the clean beautiful water. In the spring there are all the new babies and life, in the summer the flowers are in their glory, in the autumn the colours of the leaves and bounty of fruit and in the winter the soft fluffy snow and the ice that sparkles on the trees. When your among that much beauty and wonder it is amazing how small most problems can become. Even when the problem is overwhelming there is the possibility that one will see that no matter how bad it gets there is still beauty if one is willing to look.

Answer 2

When I'm stressed, I start doing neurotic, repetitive things. I also start becoming restless and unable to focus on any one thing. Stress is an unnatural state of the body and basically all bodily functions shut down accept the absolutely necessary ones. That is why I think Americans have way worse health problems than people in other countries who smoke, drink, eat worse food than we do. They have less stress. We have an incredible amount of stress, so our bodies are constantly in a state of survival mode. This means we are depriving our bodies daily of being in their natural, functional state. Hence the development of cancer cells, etc.

As to my faith, when Jesus is present with me, all stress dissipates and I just feel loved. I feel like a child again. It's the best reality to be in.

Answer 3

Breathing. It's so funny to hear, I'm sure. But when you think about how often most people STOP- close their eyes- and just breathe for a minute, then go back to work... it's mind-boggling. I watched Fearless with Jet Li- when working in the rice field, the villagers would stop, close their eyes, and breathe whenever a nice breeze came in- just feeling it go by. I do that often throughout the day. Close my eyes, think of a relaxing breeze in a field for a good minute- and then go back to work. It works wonders for me... :)

Answer 4

I go for a long run....if weather permitting outside...

After being in an office all day, it is great to be outside in the beautiful world God has given us. During the run, I pray, meditate, etc...and at the end of the run, I feel recharged and cleansed...both physically and mentally.

I think exercise is a great way for dealing with stress and living life....it is a healthy outlet for unheathy stress.

Answer 5

I'm an atheist. When stressed I ride my bike, enjoy some Jimmy Buffett, take a nice walk with my dog, cook a nice dinner for my wife or go SCUBA DIVING!

And then I feel great, all without a religion or a god.

Answer 6

I'm not really religious, but the answer for me is always music. When you think about it, you can really relate it to drugs, in that there are so many varieties of it and there is one for every possible mood you can feel. No matter how sad, frustrated, angry, lonely, or worried I am, there is always something to make me do a 180.

Answer 7

My lack of belief allows me to live a relatively stress free life...why spend my years stressing about unimportant things? But if I do have some stress in my life I usually meditate to get rid of it...or I go out driving and listen to some really great music...really, REALLY loud....that usually clears things for me...;)

Answer 8

I stop and take a few deep breaths. It sounds too simple to be effective but it truly is. It calms me down just enough to deal with the next task at hand.

Answer 9

People who are stressed are those material and ego chaser,those who are working very hard and with enthusiasm will find that they are not working but living. Be yourself and do your best,praise will be due.
all the suffering is due to one seeking happiness for self
all the happiness is due to one seeking happiness for others.

Answer 10

a lot of people smoke/drink/get high when they're stressed, but i don't. you may want to find yourself a quiet place in the house and think about if what you're stressed over is really worth stressing over.