What do you do when just want to check out and destress for a little bit?

[JudyH]

Edit some of my photos in Photoshop

 

[easyrider]

I rarely get wound up anymore. It really depends on the situation that is causing the stress, on what I like to do, which are too many to list. One thing that always makes me feel good is some alone time with my wife. She knows what buttons need to be pushed if I'm really stressed.

Bill

 

[chellej]

hot bath and aromatherapy

 

[WinniWoman]

Alcohol plus going through some of my coffee table books. In summer sitting on the front porch.

In summer, floating and swimming for hours in our lake here taking in the sun and scenery.

 

[Timeshare Von]

Get in my SUV and drive somewhere . . . sometimes for just a day . . . sometimes for a week (or more) . . . it just depends.

 

[Ralph Sir Edward]

Many things. Jigsaw puzzles, music, enjoy my back yard (roses and other flowers) or my tropical fish. (see how many baby Purple Emperor tetras have shown up in the community tank), and watch something silly from my video collection (Adam West Batmans, J-Men Forever, Beach Party, some Bob Hope movies, Doc Savage).

Last resort is to read some of my own short stories. . . .

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

Last resort is to read some of my own short stories. . . .

When inspiration strikes, I like to do some creative writing, most of which I share hear at TUG. Mugwump Towers and Slimey Slough have been a good platform through they years. Many of my earliest contributions were on the original TUG BBS and have been lost to history. Can't even find them on Wayback Machine. The more recent stuff still accessible.

I had fun with pieces on the Timeshare Bug.

About 20 years ago when RCI rolled out a very buggy on-line reservation system, to much ado on the BBS, I did a piece on that. I remember that it had been a stressful day at work, and I was driving home that basic premise came to me, and the basic elements of the piece fell into place. I got home, and spent about three hours putting it into form, then set it aside for a couple of days, before doing final polishing.

The posts on cats and buttered toast were nice destressers for me. That one is also poignant for me because esteemed former TUGger Bonzo de Kat enjoyed them; they gave her some respite and relief during her decline.

 

[kupool]

First, just a bit about me. I have an aggressive blood clotting disorder (4 DVT and 1 PE) and I'm active in various social media sites for survivors and healthcare professionals. Too, I still work as an IT Project Manager.

Here are the things I do to decompress. First, I practice 3-5-3 every day. Before my feet hit the floor in the morning I think about 3 people I love, 5 things for which I am grateful, and 3 minutes asking God's guidance for the day ahead.

Throughout the day when I encounter stressful situations - work or health news or other folks - I intentionally pause, breathe deep for a few breaths, focus on 1 thing, and move forward. Too, I try to surround myself (physically or mentally) with beauty. Do I live with 'rose colored glasses'? No, I am very well grounded in reality. Part of the 'beauty' part is dreaming on Tug, cruise sites, and YouTube.

 

[rickandcindy23]

Stressed? Desserts!

 

[VacationForever]

Stressed? Desserts!

Good one! I never noticed before.

 

[artringwald]

Am I the only one who will confess to playing a video game?

I confess to playing Angry Birds Friends every day. Blowing up things is my stress relief. I also like it because they're different every day and I like solving puzzles.

 

[artringwald]

When I want to disengage for awhile, I to either my music library or my Pandora library

I listen to Pandora every day. After creating a variety of stations, I now listen to "shuffle stations" so I get a little bit of everything including fossil rock, contemporary folk, oldies from the 50's and 60's, blues, jazz, crooners, classical, and definitely slack key. Pandora helped me discover several artists I like that I never heard before.

I have over 12,000 MP3 files on my PC, mostly from CD's I've ripped. I like to put them in my phone or on a USB thumb drive I leave plugged into my car. To relax in the summer I take my phone and an OontZ wedge speaker out on the deck, sit back and listen, often while enjoying an adult beverage. The birds, squirrels, rabbits, and other critters provide the entertainment.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

I have over 12,000 MP3 files on my PC, mostly from CD's I've ripped.

I currently have 13,990. I don't think I've added more than 100 in the last five years though. Most of what I've added in that period has been dub, some additional Marley, and some additional classic romantic.

 

[Ralph Sir Edward]

I forgot to add, in the winter, watching the fire in the fireplace is a great stress reliever.

As to music, over 700 CDs ripped to listen to. (all purchased). Also there are a lot of concerts on Youtube. I've picked up a taste for Parov Stelar live, back when Cleo Panther was the front woman.

 

[stmartinfan]

Reading…preferably a lighter mystery book (can't take the really stressful suspense ones).

 

[silentg]

I binge watch old tv shows on Netflix

 

[Panina]

Do nothing at all!

 

[b2bailey]

Do nothing at all!

What does that look like?

 

[Elan]

First choice is golf. Even just hitting balls works. Next is jogging or walking down the greenbelt next to the river. Easiest/laziest is surfing TikTok. There's a lot of hilarious content there.

 

[Panina]

What does that look like?

Sitting on my patio, looking at my surroundings and just relaxing, thinking of all the things I am grateful for.

 

[Brett]

Sitting on my patio, looking at my surroundings and just relaxing, thinking of all the things I am grateful for.

I do the same thing !

(and watch my bird feeders on the patio)

 

[Hindsite]

I open a very absorbing workbook of spreadsheets that I have that aim to forecast whether we can afford the lifestyle we have, how it will alter over the long term to help objectively plan when to draw down or dispose of assets.
I'm not meticulous about logging every piece of spend so its got general costs for high volume spend and income and specific entries for more irregular ones. I haven't gone back and compared historical forecasts with what actually happened, but suspect life has turned our quite different from what was in the spreadsheet 10 years ago.
As there's no definitive answer I can fiddle and scenario plan as takes my whim and until I've convinced myself of the reality that we don't live at risk of imminent ruin. Its probably the numerical equivalent of fiction writing so quite creative and I can also fiddle with graphs so a bit of drawing too.

 

[pedro47]

When I’m stress, I will go out and work in my yard alone to relax.