Relax!
For Give Me Five Monday, our hostess Becca of BeccA's Buzz provides a theme idea or question. We, the players, use the theme to build a short list of five items answering the question. This week our theme is:
Give Me Five ways you like to de-stress, relax, wind down or kick back.
With my history of anxiety and depression, I take stress reduction very, very seriously. Nothing ranks higher for my health then keeping those demons at bay. I live each day with the smallest amount of drama possible, then work very hard to keep the stressful stuff in perspective.
My techniques work for me. I've been off daily medication since October 2006 when I finished training at my current job. I felt like I could be okay off Zoloft after four years. While I would not hesitate to go back on an antidepressant if at some point I need one, for now I have the peace in my life I need to handle the rest.
Here are the five most important things I do to keep my stress low and my zen-like relaxation high:
1. Reading - Books have the power to take me away. The calming effect of focusing on the flow of words across the page has a meditative quality. I have read for some part of my day every day for so long, I can't imagine my life without being "in the middle" of one book or another. The question is not "Are you reading anything?" but "What are you reading?"
2. Eating Chocolate - Science has found that high quality dark chocolate contains substances with incredible health benefits. If I am going to indulge in chemicals to elevate my mood, chocolate will win over hoodia
every time. Remember, a little goes a long way. Chris buys me Hershey's Extra Dark. The little squares are so rich, I am satisfied with one or two.
3. Hot Showers - Dry skin aside, I love showers with water hot as I can stand. Give me some nice soap or shower gel, and I'll be in heaven. Someday I'm going to have a water heater large enough for more than fifteen minutes.
4. Cat Snuggling - Our cats are not shy about demanding affection and attention. I wouldn't have it any other way. Nothing beats a warm curl of fur sleeping on you. Just don't expect to get up anytime soon.
5. Writing - Blogging gave writing back to me after years when I hardly wrote. I'm never giving it up again. I love getting the words out. It's funny how even when I don't blog about what is bothering me, the act of composing a post clears up the frustration.
I regret not putting down #4 on my list! I love cuddling with my cats too! Great list!
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In all honesty, it was a toss up between the cats or my hubby. Since I didn't want anyone reading into my answer, I went with the felines.
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