WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN STRESSED?

[icesyckel]

Did you drink it on a full or empty stomach?

Both, on different occasions. I did not notice a different result based on whether I ate.

 

[Grumpy Cat]

Both, on different occasions. I did not notice a different result based on whether I ate.

We may have to chalk this one up to you being "very unique", Mr. Syckel.

 

[icesyckel]

We may have to chalk this one up to you being "very unique", Mr. Syckel.

I am atypical to say the least.

 

[Grumpy Cat]

I am atypical to say the least.

You can say that again. (Not literally though.)

 

[apsie]

There's been allot of research regarding how and why placebo's actually work, but there was no definite conclusion yet.
There's this article I read, I'll try to find the link.
Apparently placebo's have effect even if the user is aware of it being a placebo.
Its the reason higher priced drugs work better then lower priced drugs, even if they are exactly the same.

They gave test subjects certain "meds", all test subjects were aware of it being placebo research, so they knew they would be given placebo's.
The placebo's that were in boxes with brand names and colors worked better then the ones in white boxes.
So even while being fully aware that they were taking sugar, the brand sugar worked better then the generic sugar.

Apparently what the brain "knows" isn't what you "know", but we already knew that.

 

[Randomperson]

I have found the best way for regular stress for me is to breath deep and relax meditation style, of course for melt down grade stress this does not work since I will already be melting down at the time.

 

[Vinca]

It varies, depending on what the source of stress is but I commonly notice that the types of clothes i like/don't like wearing changes. I often can't stand to have anything on my feet, even if they are cold and will favour snuggly jumpers/tops too. I'll also tend to tidy, obsessively.

 

[AsheSkyler]

When it's a people problem, I obsess over it. Play angry music while obsessing over it. Complain incessantly about it to my mom while I'm obsessing over it. But she doesn't mind, we have comedic venting down pretty good, so depending on if I can get riled up good, she's likely to tell me to be quiet because her stomach is hurting from laughing so much. Sometimes I can work it out while talking to her what's a good way to handle it.

 

[Berianireth]

I like to eat pickles and mustard/hot sauce and drink herbal teas. I also listen to a lot of loud fast music. ^.^ Running/biking/weight lifting/pilates are also helpful.

 

[Warmheart]

What happens when I'm stressed: Rocking, flapping, bouncing, and occasionally a frustrating loss of speech.

If I feel myself becoming stressed and wish to calm, I will find a quiet corner with my dog and a book, and rock, read, and drink hot tea. Walks in nature with my dog soothe. Music, flapping, does help some, too.

Mentally, I count my blessings, for I have so very many.

 

[Effy]

I also have Tourette Syndrome, so my tics start acting up. I have this neck and shoulder tic/thing that is pretty embarrassing when others see it, I hum various tunes of songs I like, I sway, I rock, I turn in semicircles in my swivel desk chair... The list goes on. I also twirl/pull out my hair, sometimes doing both at once. I bite my nails and grind my teeth, I bite my nails, I blink incessantly.

Other times, I sleep or belt down into many hours of a special interest, because I find them most relaxing. Dancing, blogging, watching a movie/series, listening to music... and then other times, I bake or clean.

 

[watersprite]

I lose my appetite, bite my nails and cuticles, clench my jaw, pace, fiddle with objects in an obsessive sort of way and sometimes I get very angry, and then just sort of freeze-up/stop/shut down.

 

[Kirsty]

I tend to pace around and can not sit down for a long time. I sometimes 'tic' to shake off emotional tension. I also keep myself to myself so the stress can build up quickly and I don't know how to handle it with no-one to offload to. I have access to text messaging, but I stay away from technology in that state of mind as it is easy to type stuff you don't mean without thinking, and I can't find the words to say how I'm feeling most of the time. Verbally, it takes a while to open up if stressed/upset, etc, as I shutdown.

 

[DC1346]

What "things" do you find that you do when stressed?

When I'm stressed, I either cook or bake. Sometimes I just play with food. Pictured below is a composed cucumber salad that I made using a ring mold. I cut the cucumbers very thin, tossed them with a vinaigrette, and stood them up vertically in the ring mold, overlapping them to give them strength. I then filled the center with diced bell peppers, tomatoes, and shredded lettuce. It was great fun and the focus I needed to complete this task really helped to reduce my stress.

Since I can't cook and bake all the time (having already filled two freezers at home with boxed meals), I also work on a related interest ... the production of soap and candles that look and smell like real food.

Pictured below is one of my soap products ... a flame grilled hamburger. I used a bacon fragrance for the burger ... and yes, there really is a bacon fragrance. The pickle has a pickle fragrance. The lettuce has a lettuce fragrance. I used a tomato fragrance for the ketchup and mustard and a baked bread fragrance for the kaiser bun. The "sesame seeds" on the bun are not really sesame seeds. I painted them on using melted goat's milk soap.

Here is a grilled t-bone steak soap. I hand formed this using an oil and lye soap around a "bone" made of soap. I then hand painted this product with melted soaps of various shades and used a #10 paint brush to paint grill marks on the steak. To give the "meat" a realistic glisten (that with a real product would come from fat), I brushed on a soap gel.

I did this for laughs ... fried chicken soap with a baked potato and salad. The fried chicken started out as some left over "steak" soap and I found that if I placed semi melted bits of the steak soap on top of the drum stick, the mottled appearance resembled the crispy coating of a fried chicken.

The baked potato was made using goat milk soap that I painted with a melted soap to which I had added some brown coloring. I then cut out a wedge and inserted a square of yellow soap to simulate butter. I used real aluminum foil to wrap the potato.

The salad was made using green glycerin soap that I melted and mixed with a lettuce fragrance. I then spooned it onto a silicone nonstick baking mat that I draped over a couple of rolling pins to give it some nice curves. I had to wait until the green soap was almost cool before pouring it over the silicone. The grape tomato was made using a rubber cherry mold. The "avocado" and carrot slivers were free cut from other soaps that I had made.

Here is one of my first candles. In this picture, you can see the wick before I trimmed it. I made the "crust" by painting it onto a pie pan and layering it up to form a wedge. A hot offset spatula loosened it after it cooled. The blackberries were made using a mold. I then bound the blackberry "filling" together with parrafin wax that I melted and poured over the stacked berries. The blackberries had a blackberry fragrance. The white wax smelled of vanilla. The crust smelled of cinnamon of cinnamon rolls.

Sadly this pie candle was not viable as a candle because the wick only burned a hole in the center leaving the rest of the candle intact ... so I had to make future pie candles using three wicks. You can see them burning in the picture below.

Here are some early fruit candles. The wicks proved to be insufficient but I wound up discontinuing this line in favor of using these fruit bowls as a form of wax poutpourri. I trimmed the wisks and filled them with a fruit salad fragrance that I renew once a month. My home smells like fresh fruit salad ... and the berries smell like berries ... the cantaloupe smells like cantaloupe ... the coconut like coconut etc.

Here are some more of my early candle products. I made cream cheese pie by forming the crust in a pie pan. I then poured in cream cheese scented wax. After it was cool, I heated a knife over a gas burner and literally cut 8 slices out of the "pie." I heated a nail to melt holes in each slice of pie. After inserting a wick, I topped each slice with various fruit toppings which were then held in place using melted wax. As with the steak soap, I used a candle gel to give this product a nice glistening shine.

Although I had once envisioned going to a craft show and even had a professional sign company create a hand crafted sign with the name, "Tasty Candles" painted in yellow letters on a forest green background ... I wimped out.

I didn't like the idea of bustling crowds or being the center of attention with my candles ... and so I make soap and candles and just give them away as unusual gifts.

Sadly, no one has ever washed themselves using my soap and no one has lit any of my candles.

I am told that these are hand crafted works of art.

Pictured below is one of my recent creations ... a burger candle ... but since this is a prototype, I didn't bother putting in the wicks. I don't think this product looks as real as my burger soap.

To make this candle, I actually made my own silicone mold which I formed around a frozen hamburger patty. As with the soap product, I painted the "burger" in varying shades of brown. I also made a mold for the Kaiser bun. The lettuce has been giving me fits because I can't seem to make it thin enough without having it snap off. I'm thinking of just painting it on as I did with the pickle, mustard, and ketchup. The sliced tomato round under the burger is just a round circle of red wax.

It's a pity I'll never be able to display these at a crafts show.

Even though I can work as a teacher and have addressed an audience of a thousand people in a large auditorium, I can't bring myself to go to a crafts show. It would simply be too unnerving. I also don't know how to price these products.

(sigh)

 

[DC1346]

I also write. I have published six cookbooks and two articles for a professional journal ... but I can't seem to wrap my mind around fiction.

Here is an excerpt of a fantasy novel that I've been working on FOR TEN YEARS.

Fiction does not come easily for me. I don't know why.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

“You understand that this is your last chance?” asked Master Chen. The ancient mystic with the long white beard peered up at the young novice, Zhaohui. The junior mage nodded.

“If you bumble this final task, I won’t be able to help you,” sighed Master Chen. “Wizardry like alchemy, is not always entirely reliable – but there ARE limits to what the council is willing to put up with. You have the potential to be a fine mage but you lack discipline. Always you seek the easiest solution, the softer path, and the most expedient way of doing things. Such is not the way of the way of nature.”

“The rock squirrel gathers its hoard of nuts by beginning with a single acorn. The bird builds its nest, piece by piece, weaving each bit of grass or twig into a harmonious whole. The ferocious snow leopard whose roar terrifies the unwary mountain traveler, must develop the hunting skills it will need to survive whilst still a cub.”

“You, my lazy young novice, must apply yourself. Walk not with your head in the clouds thinking of what might be. Walk with your feet set firmly upon the earth.”

The youth politely folded his hands together and bowed towards his master. “Shih, I understand and I will try my best.”

“No! There is no ‘try.’ You must do or do not! You must do without doing! Do without effort! Let your mind become a quietly reflecting pool of water. Still your thoughts! Focus your qi and embrace the Tao,” insisted the master. “Come, let us settle our minds by reciting the calming mantra of the Qing jing wei tian xian zheng.”

The two mages bowed in prayer. “When the mind is clear and still, all things under heaven fall into place.”

“Wah, my novice,” observed Master Chen, “I hear you saying the words, but do you truly understand them? Do you grasp the concept of Wu Wei or do you simply parrot the words?”

“I understand them Master. I have studied the Tao Te Ching, the Doctrine of the Mean, and other works of the ancients at great length. I can recite most of these works by chapter and verse.”

“But do you UNDERSTAND?”

The novice blinked in confusion.

“Well then” sighed Master Chen. “Let us proceed. Do you have the spell?”

“Yes, Master.” The young man reached into his robe and pulled out a spell scroll.

“Now then, did you use the right paper this time? Paper made from mulberry bark gathered in the light of a new moon?”

“Yes, Master.”

“Did you inscribe the talisman of the armor of Earth? Were the four magic wards inscribed by vermillion ink made from the roots of eight dandelion plants gathered by a virtuous woman? Did you mash these roots well and truly and mix their juice with eight drops of sweat from a master mason and eight drops of blood from a living hero?”

The novice thought about the whore from the Lao She Wine House, the sweaty brick carrier he had found on the side of the road, and the drunken soldier he had found in an alley. He nodded.

“Describe the brush that was used to inscribe this spell,” demanded Master Chen.

“I used a brush whose handle was made of sturdy oak.”

“From whence came the bristles that formed the brush’s tip?”

The novice frowned. “Was that important? That is to say, Master, I didn’t think, I mean …” He took a deep breath. “I believe the bristles were made from the hair of a weasel.”

The master clucked his disapproval. “Do you mean to say that the spell was inscribed using the hair of an animal known for its deceitfulness and cunning?”

“Errrrr, no good Master, I beg your pardon, but I misspoke. Upon reflection, I recall that I used a brush made with the hair of a badger, an animal renown for its tenacity and fierceness in protecting its den.”

“Are you CERTAIN?”

The young mage put his hands inside his sleeve pocket and began to surreptitiously rub a fragment of a tortoise shell for good luck. “Oh yes, good Master! I am quite certain!”

“And before writing this spell, did you purify yourself by fasting for eight days; partaking of naught but water?”

The novice gasped. “What, not even dinner? That is to say, wah, OF COURSE I fasted for eight days. There was nothing to it. It was as easy as drinking a cup of wine – which of course I did not do because I was fasting. For eight days.” The novice rubbed the tortoise shell even harder.

Master Chen stared at the novice for a long moment. “So be it,” he finally sighed. “If all preparations have been well and truly made as prescribed by the instruction of the ancients, you may proceed with the spell.”

“The young mage bobbed his head with relief. “Xie xie!” he replied. “Thank you, Master! And don’t worry about me. Everything will turn out well! You’ll see!”

Stepping across the courtyard towards the closed iron gates of the Imperial fortress, Zhaohui held the scroll in both hands and used a thumb to pop the wax seal. He intoned the words of activation. The ideographs on the scroll flashed and disappeared. Moments later, the magical wards on the gate began glowing with a bluish light as the novice’s spell reinforced the existing wards to make the iron gates impenetrable.

As the light faded away, the novice danced in jubilation. “I did it! It was just as you said Master! I emptied my mind, focused my qi, embraced the Tao, and the spell WORKED!”

“Are you certain?” asked Master Chen.

“Jī jí,” nodded the novice. “I’d stake my reputation on it.”

“You already have,” sighed the wizard and raising his voice, he called to the soldiers, “OPEN THE GATES!”

The ping hurried to obey. After removing the heavy wooden cross bars, the soldiers heaved on thick ropes. The massive iron gates creaked open, crashed against the fortress walls, and shattered into a million pieces.

While Zhaohui’s eyes bulged from his head, the officer of the watch drew his jian blade and summoned guards to arrest the novice.

 

[Mia]

I like both your writing and your candles. Your candles are works of art, I already see a sculptor in your process. Have personally sold some jewellery and various crafts and a few small painted cameo type miniatures at these sorts of fairs.

Sometimes I've rented half a table with someone else, who sells pottery. She would sell for me when I wasn't there, and I would sell for her. At different times, I've not been there at all, and someone who rents the same or nearby table has sold items for me. That might be a way to place those delicious looking objects on the market.

 

[Myway]

When I am stressed I usually either go running or I lock myself in my room and don't comes out. That is kind of a thing with me. I just want people to leave me alone at home. I have hundreds of things that need to get done and if they are bothering me, it does not help. Stress is something that I am still learning. To cope with. Anyone else struggle with coping with stress?

 

[tree]

OP"What "things" do you find that you do when stressed? And can you stop them?"
I checked the original post to see whether this was A. 'what happens when you experience
stress' or B. 'in what creative ways do you deal with stress' thread.

Looks like it was "A."
Get diarrhea.
So....no photos.

 

[DC1346]

Sometimes I've rented half a table with someone else, who sells pottery. She would sell for me when I wasn't there, and I would sell for her. At different times, I've not been there at all, and someone who rents the same or nearby table has sold items for me. That might be a way to place those delicious looking objects on the market.

Hmmmm ... so how do you price art? Maybe I should talk to the art teacher at my school to see what she says. I like the idea of trading off with someone so that you're not stuck at the table all day with no bathroom breaks.

I am less certain about wanting to talk to people about my craft.

In person, I am horribly shy ... it's only when I don my chef's uniform that I become Chef Dave. It doesn't matter that I really am a chef with formal training, work experience, etc. My white toque, culinary jacket, and black trousers with black socks and shoes is like a suit of armor that I wear at work ... visual reminders that I've earned my toque and my degree and my certification.

 

[watersprite]

When I am stressed?

I over-react.