The Calming

There are so many things out there that all claim the same thing, if you try them, they will help with easing stress and will bring out your inner peace. I’m sure that some of those things do help most people; but speaking for myself, I have tried many things to help with my stress and I am still in search of that so-called, inner peace. I remember different people giving me suggestions and telling me I should try going for long walks and to just let my mind wander as I let my body do the same. That did seem to help me for a while until the night my mind wandered a little bit too much and my body took me somewhere I was unfamiliar with. I of course was lost. Imagine walking around at night with no idea where you are because you decided to let your mind go blank and your body take over. It is both a little funny and scary, so that was pushed to the back of the list. I was also told to try those little puzzle things, not sure what they are called but I went out and bought one for myself. I don’t know about you, but my puzzle had a fly across the room function on it and it ended up finding a new home, the trash. There was also a time I decided to go a safer more Zen way, lie in bed in complete and utter silence and allow my mind to just simply drift away and relax. Well, for those of you that know about this little medical condition called tinnitus, which is something that I have, lucky me, the sitting or lying-in silence did not go well for me at all. The quiet seemed so mind-numbingly loud it instantly made me feel like ripping off my ears, screaming at the top of my lungs, and pulling all my hair out by its roots, that is what you call instant insanity. As you might assume, that too was pushed way to the back of that list of wonderful calming, stress releasing, inner peace bringing tools. Another super relaxing thing to try is going to one of those spa places and getting an awesome massage. Now doesn’t that sound so freaking relaxing? Okay, don’t get me wrong these things that I have mentioned are all positive ways to relieve stress and bring out that inner peace we all want, but, for me, not so much. So back to the massage, that is one of the most calming things to get done, if you are a normal human being and nowhere near anything like me. With me, I simply get touched on my back and begin to convulse and squeal like a pig. I am one of the most ticklish people on this entire planet and that truly sucks. So here I go back to the drawing board. That brings me to drawing, I love to draw, or shall I say loved. I found expressing oneself through that form of art was really a great stress reliever for me, that is, till the day my hand was broken. There goes that theory out the window just like those little puzzle things.

There is one method or stress reliever that I have found to work for me in many ways: having a pet. A pet is great to take away stress if said pet is like my baby girl, my chihuahua, Pebbles. If you already have a pet of any sort, then you know how great they are to have as a part of your family. For someone like me, that has been diagnosed with anxiety and depression, my baby girl helps with more than just stress. She takes away my sadness when I find myself falling into a rabbit hole. Pets are great unless that is, you have a special pet like my sons’ dog, Daisy. She is and always has been a hand or two full. When she was younger and even a bit too old to be doing certain things, every time we’d turn, there would be a new trail of poop and something new, she destroyed. So, in this case, maybe a pet isn’t always a great stress reliever because she more than half the time brings out my stress plus adds just a little bit more. Isn’t Daisy cute? I am still in search to find new ways of stress relief but right now for me, music and writing are the two things that help with that. Depending on what mood I am in, music is great. Then add writing to that mix and you have yourself a great recipe. I like to put all my feelings down on either paper or my computer while I have my music playing in the background. I can just sit at my desk and stare at my aquarium that houses my three fish and my red-eared slider turtle, listen to my music and just write or type whatever comes to mind. I used to keep a journal and in it would be things that occurred in my life or poetry that came to mind that day. In a way, writing and music have always been a part of my life, but more so now that I am an adult. I am a single parent and disabled on top of that, so stress has been a major part of my life. So, when I found music, writing, and a little bit of Pebbles mixed helped me the most, I stuck to that, no need to break what isn’t broken.

Everyone has different ways of coping with stress and I’m not saying the other things I mentioned earlier aren’t some good ways for that. But they just didn’t work for me for obvious reasons. There is something out there for every and anybody all you must do is try.