How do you deal with stress?

[Zireael]

We're all different, some of us handle stress very well while others don't. Are you aware of when you're feeling stressed? How do you cope with it personally?

For the longest time when I was in university I didn't realise I was stressed, until my friend pointed out that I suddenly had a habit of pulling my hair out in single strands. I didn't consider the possibility of being stressed at all, I always felt that I handled stressful situations pretty well, but when I think about it this was pointed out to me during a time where things started to get bad, and I guess it was a subconscious way of dealing with it at the time.

This was years ago, my hair has obviously recovered since, and I've been actively working on not doing it. It sounds stupid in retrospect but it did cause me quite a bit of concern when I realised I was ruining my hair like that. Currently I don't think I do anything destructive when I'm stressed so I must be handling things better than I was back then.

What about you? How do you deal with stressful situations?

 

[Loubelle]

Not gonna lie, crying makes me feel better xD Lol it sounds kind of bad, but honestly just letting go makes me feel refreshed Also, I find that praying about whatever is stressing me out makes me feel more calm and lets me know that whatever it is is out of my control and not something I should worry about

On another note, I find that I subconsciously pick at the the skin on my fingers and/ or my cuticles ;-; Not the best habit, but I supposed I do it when I'm stressed .v.

 

[tiffanistarr]

seeing as i just had a panic attack today i'd have to stay i just don't deal with it

i used to be able to find a place in my mind to go and calm down and think things through or i'd go work out or find some way to take my mind off everything

but i've gone through a lot of horrific things and my ptsd gets the better of me every time

i either cry for hours on end and get very emotional

or i'm completely cold and have no emotion at all. I wish i had a better handle on my stress as it directly correlates with my pcos and over all mental and physical health. I've tried lots of things and haven't found anything to help yet.

 

[Midoriya]

I don’t usually ever get stressed. If I do, I fight through it with 200%, and then rest afterwards.

 

[deuces]

i get very snappy and pissed off, or i go in my room and cry alone - there's no in between. i draw like crazy when im stressed so i can at least put my rage into action .. yeah drawing cute animals makes me less angry

 

[lunatepic]

avoidance! if i don't think about it it doesn't exist (it used to be pretty bad but i'm working on it)

 

[ali.di.magix]

I don't have any ways of dealing with stress to be honest. When I get stressed out or anxious, it usually just consumes my thoughts and my muscles get very tense. I usually just let the thoughts flow as when I'm like that I don't really think of ways to resolve it.

I don't usually notice bad habits until it's too late. About this time last year I realised that one of the things I did was clench my jaw or grinding my teeth, which then lead to me developing TMJ. It was so bad, I was in so much pain for a good week. It's not as bad now, but I know I still do it. I used to just cry it out when I was younger, nowadays I sometimes cry but not so much. I try avoid thinking about things, which I used to be very good at and kinda still am. A bit of relaxing and self-care helps me deal with it lol, like having a shower or bath. Or otherwise playing video games

 

[ILikeFroakies]

Bike Riding

 

[UnwrittenTale]

Depending on the reason for stress, the stressor and whether or not it's physically visible/present or just a mental thing, I will either have a panic attack and hyperventilate, get angry and snap/complain to myself until I've had enough, cry bc the sheer amount of emotion I'm feeling is inexplicable and difficult to fathom/deal with productively, or grab a pair of tweezers and let the TTM get the better of me. Sometimes I reach for some Neuro Bliss hoping for the best, other times I have to be alone for a while and recharge/distract myself. If I'm at work and the claustrophobia kicks in (rarely, but it's a very tight, loud, close quarters environment) I will take a few minutes in the bathroom to mentally regroup.

You could say I don't deal very effectively with stress. My strategies are what you'd call 'maladaptive.'

 

[AndroGhostX]

I don't get stressed easily. There are some things in life that are supposed to be very stressful or would be stressful to most people, but not me xD If I do feel a bit stressed, I like to play intense video games. ^.^ That helps me relieve stress~

 

[lynnxo]

i can honestly say that i’m generally a pretty stressed person. there’s constantly something going on in my life that can be difficult to deal with for me. it really all depends on the day. some days i’ll be too down to deal with it, some days i know it’s unhealthy to let it sit and get worse. it’s hard dealing with it by myself. i’ll try to change topic or do something different to get away from whatever iscausing it, or to distract myself from it. many times i’ll talk to someone important to me that i can trust (ie. s/o) although packing my stress on them isn’t ideal but thankfully, they aren’t the kind of person who can get stressed if someone else is.

even animal crossing helps. watering flowers one by one, talking to every villager a few times. things i honestly don’t do on a daily basis.

crying is a little ideal for me too, haha. but uh, i also get some panick attacks so it’s. it’s a little difficult getting away from stress when you’re hit with one.

 

[RedTropicalPeachyFish]

Stress level 1: play animal crossing
Stress level 2: head out for nice dinner with ecstatic wine/grappa/tequila/etc. with my buddy
Stress level 3: vent and rant to either my lover or my buddies
Stress level 4: my brain decides to shut down in a sec
Stress level 5: I'm empty

Most likely to end up level 3, which must be so annoying to them haha.

 

[StrayBluet]

I usually swallow the stress and make sure that anyone else involved is ok, if no one else is involved I still try to ignore the stress and find a way out

 

[visibleghost]

i try to avoid it most of the time but sometimes i use distractions to later b able to deal w it

 

[partangel]

i only get stressed in academic situations tbh, drama doesnt really bother me because i dont really care or get involved. when i was younger i used to get workedup alot with drama and stuff like that but now i just learnt to accept that people will be just like that and its better to not even comment. in academic situations though i guess i tend.. to avoid it. till i let milk spill at 6am and cry for 2 hours straight about it ncndnd

 

[Buttonsy]

I'm still struggling with having a concrete stress-busting routine, but watching a lot of TV and movies, meditating, taking herbal supplements/drinking tea, and putting time limits on how much time I can dedicate to problem-solving (I sort of have a bad habit of trying to solve my problems even when it's not in my power and even when it's deteriorating my mental health), are all things I am trying to implement more often.

 

[UnwrittenTale]

till i let milk spill at 6am and cry for 2 hours straight about it ncndnd

oml. my mom put my Aunt Lorenn's cookie dough in the oven the other night even though I said I wanted to wait until we weren't all sick, which was still nice of her. Until she took them out of the oven and they were just above still raw dough... We couldn't tell her about it, so instead I cried upstairs in my room for like an hour and fifteen minutes.

and putting time limits on how much time I can dedicate to problem-solving (I sort of have a bad habit of trying to solve my problems even when it's not in my power and even when it's deteriorating my mental health), are all things I am trying to implement more often.

My therapist (a while back) told me that: "If you didn't create it, you didn't cause it, that means that you can't control it." Still to this day I worry obsessively sometimes, but my medication has helped level that out (among other things).

 

[Underneath The Stars]

I run away from it, which is not really a good thing because it just doesn't go. It just delays it and extends it.