STRESS RELIEF 101 DAWN'S WAY

        The scope of this assignment was to go out and do something. Well, I have my own few ways of dealing with stress. I refer to them as Stress Relief 101 Dawn's Way. I hope that you get a couple of giggles and may even try some as well. I have a very stressful life! I admit this fully. I have always realized that there are degrees of stress. So I have the Coffee Cup Stress Relief as a cleans All! I have the relax and rejuvenate stress relief and I have the Keep from Getting Stressed Out in the First Place remedy. 


        On a normal basis, I find that I have to rejuvenate or recharge my batteries. Let's face it life throws a ton of stuff at us that we have to deal with. Some of it is our own stuff and some of it is not our stuff at all, yet it creeps into our lives constantly. Our own stuff is things like how do we balance our check books, the bills, our kids lives, work, school, our parents and illnesses. Things that are not ours but we own them as well are the stupid things that people throw at us. In my case it is the murder of my brother, the neighbor's who have no life and I should not have one either, the drama queen at work etc. So I have found that I have to have at least 1 hour per day where I just sit under the stars. You see I found that I also had to take a long hard look at how I can just deal with people or not... I established boundaries! It has been a process but it has been a well worth process. If it does not pertain to me or my family in an immediate way, I don't let it in. This is not to say that there are some things that do not come into my life that I am forced to deal with, but I try to keep a balance by fulfilling my life with positives.


        I also am very into scentology. Yes it really does exist. Sometimes I burn a scented candle while I am sitting under the stars. See when you look at the stars on a clear night you begin to see constellations that you never saw before. Did you know that it takes the planet Venus 5 years to make its rotation? It makes a star shape in the sky that takes 5 years to complete. You get to see the coolest meteor showers too. It all reminds us that they have been there for hundred's of millions of years. So what ever we are going through is temporary and quite small when you think about it. I am not trying to lighten anything that someone else is going through. I realized this when I was in an abusive marriage several years ago. It somehow helped me when I decided to leave. I think it was the one habit I got into that made me feel better and I have carried it through life since then. The point is that when you smell something that you find pleasant or sit doing something quiet, it is YOU time, and you will find that you slowly put things into perspective and stress goes away. I can not change the fact that my brother was murdered over $28 or that the perpetrator has not be caught nor will be, I can control what I do with my life. I can control my grades, my time with my family, my stress relief and who I choose to hang out with. 
      
         The Keep From Getting Stressed Out in the First Place remedy is simple: I always write in a journal all the things I am grateful for. When I have a bad day, I write: Breathing! I believe that one should always be grateful for what they have no matter how small it is. Then I establish what I lovingly refer to as " Lists" I have found that there are 3 lists in life: People and situations fall into the 3 at some point. 1. The " Popular as a Fart in a Space Suite List" These are the people and situations that are the unnecessary Drama. It is the intentional things that are on this list. You know the types of people and drama they cause. Its never really your stuff it's theirs but they try to make it yours. So anyone on that list I stay away from. 2. The "Useful as a Screen Door on a Submarine List": This is the Stupid stuff that happens or people cause, or people who refuse to handle their own stuff so it becomes you issue. We all have them at work. 3. The " Normal and Good People List" This is the 85% of the people who I know. These are the people who are there to encourage and inspire you . So if I eliminate the other 15% in the other 2 lists then I am not going to get stressed out in the first place.


        The extreme stress reliever is the COFFEE CUP Stress Reliever. I have done this 3 times in my life and it was about every 15 years and it saves money on therapy. Side effect is that everyone knows that I have finally had enough if I get to this point. I buy coffee cups from the dollar store put them in a trash bag and take a 25lb sledge hammer to them. Usually there is nothing but ceramic powder left when I am done. I envision every situation or person who has tried to make my life hell as I am pounding the coffee cups. It works! I feel better and in control again. The point is not to get so stressed that I have to go to the coffee cup stage. I have reserved it for situations like my brother's murder, the police saying they have no leads etc. 


        I also enjoy playing Borderlands and MW3 on the PS3. I find that it is a great way to get out annoyances. Life is a crazy and wonderful thing. Having less stress makes us better people and better to our families and to ourselves.