I will now chew off the inside of my own face

[cjsmith]

Sometimes I'm so stressed that I can't imagine what would help me relax, even for a moment. I think I want to take a break and then I realize I've been so overwhelmed that I've been taking nothing but breaks. Then I want to take a break from THAT because the energy involved in suppressing the stress is so high.

I imagine myself at a spa getting my feet rubbed... or curled up in a nest of blankets, or sitting in a hot tub... and any of that would just be something else to get through. It wouldn't solve the problem. None of the relaxation would go past the skin and touch me.

Gah. What do you do to relax? Really relax? (Aside from alcohol or drugs. THERE'S a good way to make sure I'm completely ineffective!)

I know I'm just going to have to get through it. It's just a matter of time. And really, I'm blowing the whole thing out of proportion. It doesn't merit this much angst. But gaaaah I really want it to be DONE.

Comments

[gdmusumeci.livejournal.com]

Three things work somewhat reliably.

1. Start reading journal articles about something that interests me, but is only tangentially related to what I'm actively thinking about at work. Take a few days and really figure something out that has no immediate use -- something good and solid that I can really get my teeth into.

2. Stand in the door of a plane, breathe, remember that there are ninety seconds left in my life, and get out. Do absolutely nothing but look around until deloyment time comes -- just fly.

3. Fetch out my rifle and go target shooting at Chabot. There is something very contemplative and Zen-like about it; a measure of mental focus is required. The stillness of mind can really help.

Anyways, just what works for me.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Wow, I bet stepping out of an airplane is a deeply powerful reminder that some stuff really isn't all that important.

I agree about the stillness of mind required for target shooting. I *can't* shoot well while obsessing about yesterday, tomorrow, or even this afternoon. I must be right here right now.

Thanks!

[gdmusumeci.livejournal.com]

It is an indescribably powerful wake-up call, and I would go so far as to say that basically everything isn't really that important.

As far as stillness of mind goes, I offer only a quote:

This one a long time have I watched. All his life has he looked away... to the future, to the horizon. Never his mind on where he was. Hmm? What he was doing. Hmph. Adventure. Heh. Excitement. Heh. A Jedi craves not these things. You are reckless.