Jerry, I think all those things you mentioned are right on target. I will add one that perhaps a lot of people think eliminates stress but for some can be additional stress, according to how you look at it. And that is fast-forwarding through commercials. I have a bipolar friend who is very sensitive to images/sound/light and she begs me not to fast forward through commercials when we are watching TV together. She says it is "very upsetting." And I began to notice in myself that I was clenching my stomach muscles and jaw when I would see the images flashing past on the screen, plus having to watch them closely in order to know when to press the "play" button again at the right place. Something like a visual obstacle course to go over every 12-15 minutes. Now, when I have a recording to watch, I usually open a magazine and look at soothing or interesting pictures and articles and before I know it, I have used the time for something useful and my program is back on. It is much more relaxing for me to do this. I don't end up feeling as wound up as my DVR box.
Hi Donna,
That's interesting and one I haven't come across. I know that light sensitivity and flashing can cause distress but that's a new one. I've absolutely no doubt that my 10 item list can be extended and this in itself is pretty alarming stuff. Curiously, I'm just home from a break in a very rural location. Just to stand outside and have to adjust my hearing to the silence showed just how unusual a thing it was and how I'm so much more familiar with noise.
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Thanks Jerry! I think it is sometimes so easy to be comfortable with our lifestyle and not see it as contributing to how stressed we feel. It is so much easier to blame the external situations in our life. But when we take care of ourselves those external situations may not seem as bad.
Eileen
Hi Eileen,
Yes indeed. It's amazing how well we adapt to situations without feeling they are doing that much to us. Around 3 months after leaving my last place of work I remember thinking how relaxed I felt - 3 months after that I'd powered down even more. That's when it really hit home just how much we take on board without even knowing it. A two week break from work is nice, but it barely scratches the surface.