There was a period in my life that lasted about 4 or 5 years when I refused to admit that I needed to decompress. I had multiple employers, spent 6 days a week leaving before the sun came up and coming home after dark. I was drinking upwards of 10 coffees per day plus loads of soft drinks. When I did get in I would watch series or movies late into the night. I gained weight and developed anxiety. I also began having migraines multiple times a week. Then I developed pericarditis. I lived like that for a long time. Just popping Xanax to get through the day.

Finally, I managed to see a neurologist who confirmed my migraines (unilateral acephalgic etc. etc.) and gave me a doctor’s note and strict instructions. The TL;DR of those instructions was: REST.

So, I gave in and admitted defeat. That was the first step.

Very quickly my stress levels dropped. It took a few months for the pericarditis to stop.

I stopped all caffeine and other stimulants. Stopped the Xanax. Energy levels exploded.

Step 2 was doing something with that energy. Something I hate with a deep passion: EXERCISE.

After almost 5 years of thinking my life would just be like that it only took 6 weeks for things to get back on track. I deflated and dropped from 108kg to 82kg.

You didn’t need to story, but everyone else here is right. Rest and moving your body helped. Mentally, I was even more creative. I was friendlier. I was even recommended to apply for a promotion.

If you need to decompress, I think sleep is the best. If the sandman ain’t visiting, then combine with movement and fresh air.

Put on some music and sing your motherfucking heart out. 👍

This is always a good idea, but it’s an especially a good idea if you have a lot of energy that you can’t just will away or let go of. Sometimes when you can’t calm down or slow down, you can redirect and reframe that energy instead, until you’ve vented it out.

I like to bottle it all up and explode at a later date over something trivial

Just sleep longer.
6 hours is too short. 7.5 hours is OK. 9 hours is best in my case.

Get a lower paycheck for a stress-free working environment.

Honestly, I smoke. Usually hookah, sometimes I’ll have a cigarette. I know it’s bad, but I want a good life, not a long one.

I really enjoy working on my car. It’s almost meditative. When you’re under the car with a rusty bolt to remove, all stress disappears as you focus everything into an extremely small problem. When that bolt gives, you move to the next small problem until the job is done. At that point, you’re left feeling satisfied knowing that a complex problem had been solved with your own two hands.

I have a few things I like to do! In no particular order:

1. Make a pour over coffee. From measuring, grinding, pouring, and all, it takes 10 to 15 mins. It’s the perfect amount of time to make for a break for something. Then you get all the nice aromas, warm mug, and caffeine general helps stabilize my mood too.

2. Walking or sitting outside! Gets the blood moving, change in air, sometimes you hear the birds or insects.

3. Take a relaxing bath. You can go extra hard with bathbombs for fragrances and stuff too.

4. Light candles, incense, dim lights, put on jazz or some other nice background music. Dim moods and calming smells and good sounds help bring good sensory experiences to block out any bad feelings.

5. Lose myself in my instruments. Playing anything requires my focus and forces me to turn off my depression spiral thought patterns and focus on creating something wholesome and pure.

Definitely exercise is great for stress management. Something about cardio cuts through stress like a knife through warm butter.

I take a timed, twenty minute nap. Under the sheets. Undressed. And just let me mind wander wherever it wants. I’ve found that generally I don’t often fall asleep but am just on the cusp when the alarm goes off but I feel more rested from that than when I wake in the morning after a ‘full nights sleep’.

The absolute daily bare minumum: Drink 2 liters of water. Eat as little processed food as possible and as little sugar as possible. Yoga for 10 minutes. Intensive breathing meditation. Sleep for at least 6 hours a night and fall asleep before 11.

On top of that, walk, jog, or run 2 miles every day and read things to expand your mind.

Skate on my local bike trail and smoke weed

Washing my face! Sometimes something as simple as some refreshing skincare, and maybe a little something extra - like a scrub or sheet mask, makes me feel calmer and relaxed. Paired with a warm drink like tea or coffee, this usually helps soothe me when I’m anxious.

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Well, when I’m at home a cup of tea usually does the trick. When I’m outside on the other hand, I like to take long walks, I just pick a direction and start walking without worrying about where I’m going and stop thinking, maybe with some music in my headphones. I do this until my legs start hurting, and by that point I feel better.