Stress is a big trigger for me so I try to pay attention to when I'm starting to feel stressed and deal with it early...or better yet, do things that help prevent stress. One thing I've noticed helps me a lot is to engage in "comforting" routines. It provides something predictable and familiar in my life that helps balance the unpredictability of this disease. An example is my Saturday morning routine. I always go to the farmer's market here in Sunnyvale. I usually buy fresh pretzels and other goodies at the German bakery, some fresh fruit, organic cheese and butter, etc., then off to the local coffee shop for a double cappuccino and some quiet time to savor the results of my efforts. There are usually local musicians who play and I sit an listen for a while. I can feel the stress ebbing away...
Alan
Sounds like an excellent way to spend a Saturday morning.
Be well and have a good week-end.
Hugs,
Nini
Alan,
Your Sat. routine sounds great!
When pain is bad and/or I am stressed, I can lose myself in a book. And music, whatever suits my mood of the moment.
Lorraine
Hi Alan, I get lost in my art. A great pain reliever. Not sure that pain is less but I forget about it.
I just got back from my walk with Joey...a Jack Russell Terrier...our evening ritual. He always has to put the leash in his mouth, a control thing I guess. Hmmm...a lesson there I suppose, maybe later. I love how the earth seems to breathe in this part of the country in the spring and summer. I live in the San Francisco bay area. It's like some mythical sea creature out in the Pacific breathes in during the day, pulling the warm air from the central valley over the bay bringing lots of sunshine and warmth, then breathes out in the late afternoon, bringing back the damp, cooling sea breeze and fog. I watched the fog bank flowing over the Santa Cruz mountains, slowly drifting towards the bay, filling up the valleys, slowly obscuring the moon and stars. Walking at night is a good time to ponder one's life, see what's truly important while echoing footsteps wind throught faint shadows, cast by the dark silhouette of trees against fog clouds illuminated by the city lights. If you have a good imagination you can see the world's chaos hidden in the shadows and feel a twinge of fear...but it feels good...Joey still has the leash in his mouth and everything is under control. No stress today...life is good.
Goodnight, Alan
Alan, sounds like life is very good. I grew up outside SF and remember how the evenings there were. I hope your stress stays low. I need to get myself to the farmer's markets here. They just started up and it's still a bit early for local produce. We were going to buy into a co-op this year, but they wanted 5 more than last year for 12 wks worth of produce...
Alan, you have a very creative way with words. You have such a wonderful attitude. Controlling stress is so important and like you, I have found relaxing. beautiful rituals can help.Alan, any advice for me? My stress seems to come from anticipating my obligations. I mean, for example, my daughter is graduating middle school next month. She has been invited to parties pretty much every Friday and saturday for the entire month of June. I don't like to commit to things myself because I never know how I'm going to feel on that particular day. I don't want to do that to her and her social life. A lot of the parties are for her friends who are going to a different school. These are pretty important to her. I just would haate to have the day of the party come and there I am passed out in bed by 7:30 pm but I have to pick her up at 11pm. My husband is definitely going to help me but there's one weekend he can't - a golf weekend w/his buddies.Honey...that's a tough question. I think it's something we all struggle with. We want to live "normal" lives, but this disease creates such uncertainty and is so unpredictable that fear and anxiety creep in, so we avoid committments that we can't control. Here's some suggestions to try that might help.
1) Learn about and practice mindfullness, a Bhuddist concept that focuses your mind on the present...the past is over, and the future doesn't yet exist. Anticipating possible bad things that might happen creates a lot of stress and is pointless. I recommend a book called the "Miracle of Mindfullness" by Thich Nhat Hanh (at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Miracle-Mindfulness-Thich-Nhat-Hanh/dp /0807012394 )
2) Try meditation to relieve stress and help focus on the present. I practice some Yoga breathing exercises and meditate using a candle and some soft music (beeswax candles are better since they don't produce black smoke and fill the room with chemicals).
3) Engage in activities that require intense concentration to help you stay in the present moment. I play mandolin in an orchestra in San Francisco. I'm not very good at reading music so practice involves reading and playing while listening to a recording of the other instruments. It's great for training the mind and, for me, it's something I really enjoy.
4) When the day of the event arrives, relax and enjoy it!
Good luck, Alan
I do Tai Chi twice a week to help relieve stress. It's a wondeful way to help clear your mind and the execise is good for your joints.Alan, you are very poetic even when you write about stress. I'm always looking forward to your posts. Thank you for being so positive. I have tendency to be on negative side and I'm a skeptic
Lindy, what kind of art work you do? Do you paint?
Swimming and a daily toke. Oh, and gardening when weather permits.OK...here's a bit of a different take on the "how to relieve stress" question. We often think of quiet, meditative, relaxing ways to reduce stress, but sometimes the opposite extreme can be quite effective. I play electric tenor guitar for our church band in the "contemporary" service. Today we closed the service with a hard, rocking song. It was VERY loud and the audience was VERY enthusiastic...not your typical church service. It was exhilarating and though I was playing hard I could feel miy stress evaporating. Sometimes you have to release some of your inhibitions and really let go, loosing your passion in plain view of a world full of imperfect people. It destroys the stress that builds up as we carefully hold things inside. Maybe not everyday...but once in a while! By the way, my son is home from college and was playing the saxophone...awesome!
Alan
Gimpy, I love your therapy. Does it work, I've often thought about it as a pain reliever?
Luda, I paint and design jewelry. Am working on a series of mixed media paintings to show next year in a new gallery in Mexico. Am also looking around for a teacher for metalcraft. Right now I'm doing some silver work, a ring with a large moonstone and some pins. Also, been beading jewelry. I found some blown glass Murano pendants and am using them as the focals on the necklaces. If I ever figure out how to post pictures I'll post.
Alan, I think we should have a daily post from you. It would add a much needed sense of well being to this board. LindyWell, LinB, it certainly helps with muscle tension and nausea. I don't
use a lot, but I use it every day. One or two tokes in the evening
usually does it.
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