AIBU to ask you for tips on how to deal with stress please?

[ChocolateFrogs]

Hi everyone.

This is just to ask whether you have any strategies for dealing with stress that you might like to share please?

I'm struggling a bit at the moment, and was wondering if you might have any suggestions for how I could cope with it.

I first started noticing similar symptoms around theee years ago, in summer 2014, as I was preparing to go into my final year at university.

At the time, I was doing some work experience that was fairly stressful. It was in a small company, and the manager was quite demanding (I found him quite scary )

One of the company's two full-time employees resigned on my first day with no notice, so the other intern and I had to take on their work as well as our own.

I started having really bad chest pains and struggling to breathe easily, as well as stomach aches. I had a few check ups and tests just to rule out anything else, and the general consensus from the doctors that I went to was that it was due to stress.

I've started getting quite bad chest pains again, and feeling generally unwell.

I'd be really grateful if you could please share any tips on how to deal with stress please :)

Thanks!

Body balance! One class completely relaxes and revives me. I think the mixture of music, physical exercise, stretching and having focused time out for me is perfect. I feel genuinely happier afterwards. There's YouTube videos if you can't get to class. Hope you find a solution that's right for you.

Beta Blockers.

They're really, really good IMO. Take away all the stress, no fuzziheadedness - ask your GP for a course and see how you get on

Thanks so much Arty and catgirl :) if anyone has any other tips, it would be great if you could let me know :)

Relaxation / breathing podcasts - listen to at night really help.
Protective time just for you - a yoga class, a run, a game of squash or whatever but that hour every day is golden and no overtime or studying can touch it

Swimming. I swim and swim til my whole body is like jelly. DH says I'll be like that X-Men fella who dissolves on the beach, that one day my body will just turn to water. I'm alright with that; it stops me going batshit at the DCs.

The other thing is meditation. I got into it to teach DS1 (who has ASD and struggled to switch off/sleep) and ended up hooked. Pilates, too, makes me focus so hard that all my anxiety just floats away.

Another vote for exercise. Body combat does it for me (probably the opposite end of the spectrum to body balance-it's all thumping beats and punching the air).

Don't leave it too long to see your gp if you're struggling though.

Don't push yourself too hard. Take regular holidays. Go for a walk, write everything that is a worry down and ask yourself how many you can solve and how Many are out of your control. Park the ones outside of your control.

Epsom bath salts in your bath. One cup per bath. And have a bath every second night.

Epsom bath salts are magnesium and they reduce cortisol which is produced when you're under stress.

Change the thing that's making you stressed if at all possible...I've left a job with nothing to go to before now.
I know my 'it'll work out' attitude/ fool hardy approach isn't for everyone.

My other one is always have something to look forward to, even if it's something little like meeting a friend for coffee or taking the DC to a new playground.