|
How to release stress? How to release stress? Gosh! It stressed me out just thinking about it. So, I played solitaire on my computer. It put me to sleep. I was no longer stressed.
The next day, though, I spent running one errand and then another through so much city traffic, not to mention construction delays that I wanted to scream. I knew solitaire would not do the trick this time, especially since I needed to stay awake long enough to feed my family, help kids with homework, balance my checkbook and do laundry. As I looked around at my children I could see the same kind of angst written in their faces that I see on my husband's when he gets home from work and staring back at me in the mirror each night. It struck me how big a thief stress is and how big a toll it takes on all of us both physically and mentally.
I decided what we needed was some good, old-fashioned fun in our lives. Little bits here and there in between obligations like school and work that we could parlay into bigger parts of our lives and relieve some of the stress of simply existing in today's world. A simple game of "I Spy" played with my 10-year-old suddenly seemed like the greatest idea I'd had in a long time.
Board games came to mind quickly too, because we all enjoy them and have plenty on hand - everything from the basic Monopoly and chess to Trivial Pursuit and Mancala and more. Some demand creativity, some simple silliness. Whatever these bring out in a person, they tend to show a different side than what everyone sees in a daily routine.
Beyond board games there's everything from charades to karaoke. Loud, even off-key singing can induce dancing and laughter, bringing a family close together and relieving a lot of pent-up stress. It'll also keep bothersome wildlife and neighbors at bay.
Games that require a lot of physical energy will, obviously, relieve negative thought patterns and emotions withheld by the daily grind. Whether these sporting activities are individual pursuits, such as golf and tennis or group efforts like softball and soccer, they take you out of your every day routine and give your mind a chance to focus on something - or, even better, nothing. Pick-up games of group sports are especially beneficial as we receive not only the exercise and distraction of the sport itself. We also get a chance to do something spontaneous, perhaps the way we did as a child. The skill level required by any and all of these games is, when participated in for fun, absolutely zero. All one needs is the will to have a good time.
Basically, relieving stress is as easy as having some fun. Unfortunately, in our fast paced world full of appointments and "have-to's," it's sometimes necessary to schedule that fun. Fortunately, once begun, having fun becomes easier and easier to work into schedules. Maybe, one day, stress won't be such a big thing to deal with.
|
| |
