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WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN STRESSED?

G

Grumpy Cat

Well-Known Member
My statistics class starts today. I can tell when I'm getting stressed because I start doing some "things" that I don't usually do. When I'm stressed I start shopping - ALOT (especially on QVC and Amazon). I bite my lower lip, I twirl my hair, and I can't sleep. I also have a very short fuse and can cry at the drop of a hat.

What "things" do you find that you do when stressed? And can you stop them?
 
I start to "Shut Down", and no I cannot stop this. Also, my hands shake. If it is long term, I also start to break out on my face and I become irritable. I do not deal with stress well at all.
 
I have a hard time discerning when i'm getting stressed out until its too much to deal with. And if i do notice it i just push it aside and ignore it, which doesn't help at all obviously. Stress is most noticeable at my part time job as a cashier. If i'm feeling fine i'll talk with the customers and smile and be cheerful, mostly fake and very scripted but still genuinely happy. But if i get stressed out cause its too busy all of that stops and i start shutting down, and i'll generally stay in a shut down until hours after work. I get irritable and very self-critical. I don't sleep well and I'll also snack more - or eat less overall, it really depends how bad it is.

Very rarely, and usually at my babysitting job, i'll meltdown, though this only happens when i've been stressed for a longer period of time - cumulative stress, really, on top of not much sleep the night prior. Having the little boy i babysit around helps with this, though, because looking at him so little and very much dependent on me helps me calm down. He notices if i'm upset and comes over, saying hi until i reply to him and generally pestering me, grinning the whole while, until he inevitably cheers me up enough that i'll play with him.
 
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nurseangela said:
My statistics class starts today. I can tell when I'm getting stressed because I start doing some "things" that I don't usually do. When I'm stressed I start shopping - ALOT (especially on QVC and Amazon). I bite my lower lip, I twirl my hair, and I can't sleep. I also have a very short fuse and can cry at the drop of a hat.

What "things" do you find that you do when stressed? And can you stop them?
Click to expand...

I too twirl my hair, though I do it even when not stressed, though the frequency increases with stress. I also pop my knuckles, pace, and ramble with increasing frequency. I can "meltdown" if pushed.

This is not good advice, but I sometimes have a drink when I am overly anxious, and it calms me down. However, b/c of the potential for abuse/addiction, I place caps on the amount I permit myself to consume in various time frames. Rules for everything.

Recently I got an Rx for prozac from my therapist, but I have yet to take it. It makes me nervous.
 
Peace said:
I start to "Shut Down", and no I cannot stop this. Also, my hands shake. If it is long term, I also start to break out on my face and I become irritable. I do not deal with stress well at all.
Click to expand...

I too reach a point where things get beyond my control. I "meltdown" rather than shut down, though. By this I mean that I don't just close off - I actually explode.
 
Crack my knuckles, bite the skin off the end of my fingers, bounce my legs, hyperventilate and finally, meltdown.
Those are the ones I can spot and try to calm things down, there may be others.
 
Harrison54 said:
Crack my knuckles, bite the skin off the end of my fingers, bounce my legs, hyperventilate and finally, meltdown.
Those are the ones I can spot and try to calm things down, there may be others.
Click to expand...

I also bite the skin off the ends of my fingers near the edge of the nail and on the sides. I also bounce my legs or move something more or less all the time whether stressed or not. I don't usually hyperventilate, but my heart rate did once climb sufficiently high that I became concerned (which ironically distracted me long enough to cool down).
 
Sometimes I don't show it at all, but after I'll shutdown or become irritable. Other times I'll twist my hands, rub at my knuckles, or hum.
I also bite off the skin around the nails, I recently learned a word for it: wolf-biters.
 
SameStars said:
Sometimes I don't show it at all, but after I'll shutdown or become irritable. Other times I'll twist my hands, rub at my knuckles, or hum.
I also bite off the skin around the nails, I recently learned a word for it: wolf-biters.
Click to expand...

Why wolf-biters? Just curious...
 
When I get stressed, my brain goes out of control, and I lose sleep. ADD kicks in, and I procrastinate. And I stop taking care of myself--eating, grooming, cleaning all go out the window.

Of late, I have got in the habit of meditating, and clearing my mind of the past and the future. It's hard, but since I started that approach, stress doesn't overwhelm me for as long.
 
icesyckel said:
I too twirl my hair, though I do it even when not stressed, though the frequency increases with stress. I also pop my knuckles, pace, and ramble with increasing frequency. I can "meltdown" if pushed.

This is not good advice, but I sometimes have a drink when I am overly anxious, and it calms me down. However, b/c of the potential for abuse/addiction, I place caps on the amount I permit myself to consume in various time frames. Rules for everything.

Recently I got an Rx for prozac from my therapist, but I have yet to take it. It makes me nervous.
Click to expand...

And how long is your hair? (mine is halfway down my back for easy twirling) :D

Can't do the drink thing whenever I'm anxious cause I'd be drunk at work! (all 13 hours) :p

I thought Prozac was an old drug. I don't even give that out at the hospital anymore.
 
For me it depends on what's got me stressed. Sometimes I'll clean the house like a mad woman. I find that I rub my eyes and push towards my ears a lot when it's sound that's upsetting me, as if I could push the tension in my head all back out my ears. When I worked at a call center and got irritated with callers I would stand up and sway because I got less looks than rocking back and forth in my chair. It was nice that I was pregnant at the time too because then I'd tell everyone I was trying to help the baby drop, lol. Well I guess it did that too, but it wasn't my purpose....
 
Chisleu said:
For me it depends on what's got me stressed. Sometimes I'll clean the house like a mad woman. I find that I rub my eyes and push towards my ears a lot when it's sound that's upsetting me, as if I could push the tension in my head all back out my ears. When I worked at a call center and got irritated with callers I would stand up and sway because I got less looks than rocking back and forth in my chair. It was nice that I was pregnant at the time too because then I'd tell everyone I was trying to help the baby drop, lol. Well I guess it did that too, but it wasn't my purpose....
Click to expand...

That was a cute story, but, and I may be silly for asking, did that really cause the baby to come sooner?
 
When I am at home I hug one or both of my kitties because it soothes me and they like it, when I am at work I stroke my beard because it reminds of me petting one of my kitty friends.

On the bright side OP, statistics is an okay class, math is always nice and predictable.
 
icesyckel said:
That was a cute story, but, and I may be silly for asking, did that really cause the baby to come sooner?
Click to expand...

Unfortunately not, lol. My first came along with no problem and I thought those techniques helped, but this last little guy took his jolly sweet time no matter what I did and I ended up getting induced. It probably helped him get in the right position in the kind of way gently shaking a container helps it's content settle, but I don't think it made anything faster. Nature is funny that way :yum:
 
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While this thread seems to be about bad habits we engage in when we are stressed, I think it is important to have good habits as well.

when I get stressed, I used to shut down. Now I try to power through problems. I examine my options. Sometimes I ask for advice to see if I missed an option. Rarely is a given option perfect, but I select the one that seems "best," and I pursue it like a dog with a bone.

While I may suffer from the stress and anxiety, and while I don't know how to manage it well, I have learned the stress usually ends when the stressful situation ends. So, instead of managing my stress, I manage the situation. I kill it if I have to.
 
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