10 Ideas on How to Unwind When Life is Nothing But a Big Knot

 

How do you manage this crazy life? 

I know! Sometimes we can't!

When life gets too otherworldly, we can implement techniques to bring ourselves back to earth. But sometimes, spiritually leaving earth is the break we need!

Here are Ten Ideas on How to Destress and Unwind

(1) Go For a Walk

If you're able to handle walking, in my opinion, that's the best way to try and clear your head. Health permitting, physical movement is free and something we can do almost anytime, anywhere.

(2) Aromatherapy

Choose a scent that relaxes you. I love anything lemon or eucalyptus. How about you? What is your favorite candle scent?

(3) Meditation, Mindfulness, and/or Prayer

Whatever your belief system, focus on the combined power of body, mind, and spirit. I pray all the time and everywhere. You can also try repeating short, positive reinforcing phrases whenever negative thoughts creep over you. On really tough days, I've often been in a constant state of prayer repetition. For me, I find peace when I pray for others.

(4) Sleep

Are you overtired? Have you been restless and unable to get a good night's sleep? Admittedly it's hard to sleep on demand; otherwise, you would have slept, right? Try to take a nap or two (if you can), listen to relaxing music, or use the app "Calm." 

(5) A Hot Drink - Perhaps a Flavored Tea or Other Treat

A soothing hot beverage (as Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory often said, lol). It sounds too simple, doesn't it? A warm drink is comforting - he was right.

(6) A Day on the Couch, or in Bed, Doing Nothing, Watching Movies

Sometimes we just need to stop. Even when we feel we've been unproductive and don't deserve to stop, that's when we should stop. Watch your favorite movie with a warm blanket and a nice hot beverage!

(7) Drink More Water

For some people, drinking water is difficult. My mother-in-law wasn't a water drinker, so I get it. However, if you can handle drinking water, get a good six cups a day. To achieve the six-cup threshold, try to drink two cups in the morning, two in the afternoon, and two at night. 

(8) Turn Off the Negative News

We are bombarded with so much negativity these days. Be proactive with what you allow in your head. It's ok and necessary to be up-to-date and informed, but there's no need to have that news be on repeat and consume our lives. I'll venture a guess that most people in your life, directly or indirectly, are good people. The news does not reflect the life most of us are living. In the early 2000s, I was so consumed by the news that I wrote these song lyrics about the state of the planet. I proactively moved forward, and years later, followed up with this poem about Good People.

(9) Laugh! Watch or Read Something Funny

Skip movies and tv shows about crime, death, stealing, hate, and war. Don't turn those shows on when you're in a funk. Basically, turn off the ugly side of humanity. Go straight for humor. 

(10) Be Grateful - Practice Inner Truth

When I'm feeling overwhelmed, I give myself a shake and remind myself how lucky I am. I'm actively grateful for things like running water, electricity, and plumbing! Truth is a self-searching technique I use. I force myself to examine my truths, be honest with my feelings and acknowledge my imperfections and how I can be better to those around me and myself.

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

FOLLOW US ON:

10 Wonderful Ways to Relieve Holiday Stress! From the Heart

The Big Holiday many people have been waiting for is just around the corner. 

It's literally just days away and many people are feeling the stress building! Oh don't get me wrong, I'm sure everyone loves this holiday, but when the stress becomes so all encompassing, it's hard to enjoy it!

What can you do to make this time of year the joyful and wonderful time it's supposed to be?  Well in my experience, I know I had put a lot of the pressure on myself and got caught up in all the things that could go wrong.  I needed help to see that my focus was in the wrong place!  Instead of focusing on the negative, I needed to focus on something positive and different.

So here are some of the things I do to help relieve that pressure:

1. Wrapping things up can make me crazy.  I have two left hands but  I still want my packages to look nice!  Now I still do that, but I use gift bags to make the packing that much easier.  Dollar Stores are great help for this!  Inside each package goes a personalized note to the recipient, letting them know how much they mean to me! (It doesn't have to be long, just meaningful)
2. Take lots of breaks,  drop everything and go for a 10 minute walk around the neighborhood.  When you get back you'll get twice as much done because you are  more relaxed.
3. Take your phone with you and grab some festive pictures while out in the "hood".  Focus on Christmas decor, Dogs in their Christmas sweaters, People willing to smile at you, etc.
4. Get physical and do someone a favor while you are out!  Do you have a neighbor that could use a little help?   Offer to do something for them (go to the store, shovel their walk, walk their dog, or ask them to join you for a cup of tea or coffee)  The gift of your time is priceless!
5. Head out to a local church and just take a few steps inside the doors.  Go to a church/temple that you may never have been to before. (Check the internet for times, most places of worship will have some kind of schedule and extended hours)
6. Take an hour or two and head to your local library.  Browse the shelves for something you might enjoy reading over the holidays.
7. Turn up the music (not necessarily Christmas music, but something that you enjoy!  ABBA, the Beatles, Rolling Stones (am I dating myself?))
8. Browse You Tube to learn a new dance.  Moving and getting your blood flowing are great ways to relief some stress.  Plus you could learn a few new moves along the way and share those with your family and friends (Even if it's just to laugh at yourself).  
9. Sit back and watch a movie!  Again it doesn't need to be a Christmas movie, but one that you enjoy!
10. If all this fails, then you can always take a nap!  Sometimes just resting your eyes can do wonders for your nerves and your anxiety. Close those eyes and say a little prayer so your focus is on something supernatural and divine.

When your stress  drops to a manageable level, you can restart what you were doing and probably accomplish more than if you had stayed with it.  Taking a break is a game changer for many people. Believe me, the holidays will come one way or the other, but if you are relaxed, they will be more enjoyable!

Learn to laugh and smile, what you share out in the world will come right back to you!

My hope for you is that you truly enjoy this Holiday Season to it's fullest!  May you have a lovely Christmas with your family and friends and may your New Year be Blessed with lots of Joy!

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

FOLLOW US ON:

Reviewing The Fun of Stretched Canvases

Do you remember the fun you had as a child when you got given a new colouring in book?  I'm sure that is part of the appeal of colouring in books for adults.  The other part is that colouring in can be a fun way to alleviate stress.

Image by Lou16, created on Canva

Our state called a snap 3-day lockdown a couple of months ago and I was in a local discount store on that day looking for something when I noticed the printed stretched canvases waiting to be coloured in.  The next thing you know they were in my shopping basket along with some felt tip pens.

As it happens the lockdown wasn't extended past the three days so I didn't need to have lots of things to keep me busy.   The 3 days were long enough for me to find that I really enjoyed the colouring in.   

As it happened a few things happened in the following week that I found very frustrating and that is when I discovered that colouring in was very calming for me.   I started to spend a few minutes every day doing a little colouring in.   For me, I felt it was like other's feel when practicing meditation (my mind doesn't like to quiet itself during meditation, but it does during colouring!).

I started to do a little colouring in every day and I really enjoyed it.  Unfortunately, I can't find the exact canvases that I did online.   I went back to the store where I got my two canvases and the remaining ones are clearly designed for children and I found the same lack of printed canvases for adults when I looked online.

Feeling a little frustrated that perhaps my colouring in activities was going to have to change to a book or be replaced by something else I discovered another option in an unusual place - Facebook!

As I'm sure you're aware there are groups for just about anything on Facebook and I belong to quite a few of them.  One group that I belong to is dedicated to a popular store here in Australia and in this group, I came across a really cool idea.

This store sells amazing black and white printed canvases with images like koalas, kookaburras, zebras, elephants and more.   One day a lady in the group showed off one of the black and white koala canvases - she had coloured in the background and added some details.   It was amazing.

This thread soon exploded with a plethora of images from different people across the country who had taken these prints and added colour - sometimes colouring in the images, sometimes just the background.   Basically, adult colouring in just turned into designer art pieces for the home!

Allowing a little creativity into your life is a great way of balancing out the stresses in the world while having fun and I think colouring in is a great way of doing this.

Of course, if you don't feel up to tackling an entire canvas by yourself you could always look at one of the amazing colouring books for adults that are available.

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

FOLLOW US ON: