How do you deal with stress?

[Wabbit]

One of the best stress releases has not been mentioned...you all know what I'm talking about. Girls, you light your candles and whatnot, guys you just find a place you think no one is watching and goto town! Come on, is it seriously just me?

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, then don't worry about it. But still....great stress reliever!!!

 

[ArtW]

 

[slynne]

One of the best stress releases has not been mentioned...you all know what I'm talking about. Girls, you light your candles and whatnot, guys you just find a place you think no one is watching and goto town! Come on, is it seriously just me?

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, then don't worry about it. But still....great stress reliever!!!

There is a whole episode of Broad City on that being used as stress relief

 

[eDJ_]

I find a great stress reliever is in the hour before going to bed,

make a list of about 10 things I'd like to do or achieve the next day.  They don't have to
be big major things,  they could be places I'd like to see,  check the air pressure in the tires,
perhaps some place I'd like to try the food for lunch.  Just some things to serve as hand holds
on the next day to feel I have some purpose.  Then once that's done I can be at my leisure to
enjoy hobbies,  entertainment, and quality time alone.

Then just before turning in,  I'd pour a glass with about 2 or 3 ounces of red wine. (the redder the better)
and then turn in.  This helps to assure sound sleep and rest and waking up with a clear head.  You only need try this to see if it works for you.  Red wine is rich in "flavonoids" (anti oxidants) and is a good digestive aid. 

Thus, a good nights sleep, waking up with a clear head and sense of direction tends to de-stress my life. 
Another thing I try to do is eat a hand full of Tree Nuts.  Almonds, Hazel Nuts, Pecan's, Walnuts, Brazil Nuts,  Cashews, and Pistachios are some of the best.

But good nutrition and rest can be great stress relievers for our bodies.  Then we have to work on our "mental health" by learning to deal with things which would lead to stressing us out....thus making ourselves less vulnerable to them.   In a lot of ways it's what we would allow our minds to be fed and what would be
good for it.

 

[MrNoodly]

The van life is new to me . Along with learning everything I need to know oor day to day  and other personal stresses I find myself becoming overwhelmed and so stressed not only am I making myself sick and not enjoying myself as much.

Wow, it was totally opposite for me. There was too much stress in my old "normal" life. It all melted away after I sold the house and hit the road. Maybe I was born to be a nomad, and living anchored to a house and location was all wrong for me. It's not like I'd had a lot of past experience roughing it. I'm not very outdoorsy. It just feels right.

As for you, I suspect your stress level will improve as you gain more experience and settle into the different perspective van living requires.

 

[1960HikerDude]

One of the best stress releases has not been mentioned...you all know what I'm talking about. Girls ...

Maybe it's just me.  Looking back at my life persons of the female gender have been the predominant source stress in my life.

 

[DrJean]

Stress in and of itself is not bad, in fact by any other name it's good for us! It's our frame of mind and how we approach things that can lead to what we call stress with the bad connotation.

Modern neurobiology/neuroscience has recently proven that our thinking is what controls our brains. (The brain has no opinion of things by itself, it operates totally upon the thoughts you send it---good or not.)

Try viewing the situations you experience in another way. Rephrase how you think. For example instead of becoming angry physically over something, tell yourself (or even if a person is involved) "That really makes me angry...BUT..." and then finish the sentence with a positive way to handle the situation. If it's something at work and you plan on leaving that job anyway, then tell yourself that soon you will change jobs and that situation/person won't be a bother any more.

Anytime you have a negative thought, recognize it and change it immediately. When we think a negative thought and we don't address it it goes into the brain and develops a physical "tree" or "branch" on a negative ---toxic--- tree which kills brain cells. These healthy or toxic trees are now visible on certain MRIs. The "thought" is no longer just an ethereal entity!

Thoughts are what control your brain, which controls the chemicals in your body. ... What you dwell upon is what you brain will create in your body. Fear of cancer will produce cancer, i.e. if that's what you keep telling yourself/your brain.

Ok.... so the old adages about attitude and approaches to life are true! Several years back they labelled it "the observer effect" where several scientists viewed the exact same event through different microscopes (one each) with individual video cameras... and each one saw and recorded what they thought they would see----even though it was different than the scientist viewing right next to them!

Think healthy thoughts. You aren't trapped. You can always change things for the better, though sometimes it takes a little longer than we might like... and sometimes you might jump ship too soon and suffer consequences but then, again, you can always change things again...

Breathe.
Get good restorative sleep. (Shut down ALL electronics for at least an hour before sleep; black out all lights in the sleeping room...)
Eat good food. If your diet is garbage, then at least add in good food until you find you don't need the garbage any more.
Work hard; play hard.
Believe.

 

[SoulRaven]

When I first became a vandweller,

That was well said and lovely! You could be a writer too!

 

[Annie W]

The van life is new to me . Along with learning everything I need to know oor day to day  and other personal stresses I find myself becoming overwhelmed and so stressed, not only am I making myself sick and not enjoying myself as much. This is what I want to do with my life just need some tips on how to cope. What do you do when you stress? Thanks

Hi there,
Understandable, as 'The van life is new to me' too, as far as living in a van & truck for longer than 2 weeks at a time. And
on arriving at the forum here, found a need to become near expert... re every part underneath the hood, & then Solar, & Internet, & 100 other skills which all combined can make Van-life fairly daunting. - But you know the most important thing: when you were a leeetle tiny child you looked at the world all starry-eyed, & jumped for JOY at your next opportunity for more   fun... Really, the learning curve didn't stop you one bit, because you simply concentrated all your passionate attention on YOUR GOAL, right ; so you made mistakes, & fell down, we all do. But that never stopped you from learning... to walk, run, & 1000's of further skills you learned to master..., right. You gained such mastery using the 46+ skills every tiny child possesses. Well, same with this *van life*: occasional, or seasonal, or even full-time, whatever sounds right. Remember, keep your mind's energy focused on the FUN of it for you :heart: Enjoy!!

 

[Willy]

Drugs, booze, n hookers. Well, that's what I'm still working up to. So far I've managed the occasional drink, playing with my dog, and a lot of reading (gotta luv them ebooks). If weather permits and the locale conducive, I'll pull out the metal detector and have a go. Gets to be near meditative swinging a detector at times.. ..Willy.

 

[Weight]

Best; relaxation, yoga and meditation, walks in nature. Then a few xanax.

 

[Riverman]

The best stress relief for me is to get in a vehicle and ride.

 

[waldenbound]

I just found the strangest way to reduce stress. The gym.
Yes, I who HATES gyms got addicted to the little gym at my work. I walk/run on the treadmill whenever I get a chance.

Who would've thought.

 

[tnvangirl]

I wish I could learn to love the gym but I just hate it. most times I just go in and take a shower and leave. I do love to walk for stress relief and I want to do it outside.

Also for me music helps with stress relief. The right song at the right time can completely change my mood.

 

[Wabbit]

I just found the strangest way to reduce stress. The gym.
Yes, I who HATES gyms got addicted to the little gym at my work. I walk/run on the treadmill whenever I get a chance...

Gotta say, I'm envious. I am so unmotivated. Any advice other than just do it? I am glad to hear that you found something that works for stress and is healthy.

 

[waldenbound]

First time on the treadmill, I thought ok this bites. But, you just get on, start walking. 1/4 mile, 1/2 mile, 1 mile. Eventually you notice your calves getting strong, butt is going down. Then it's like "Hey, I guess this gym stuff works." Until it warms enough to do this outside, or I'm leaving.
I've got five pair of hiking pants I want to look good in

 

[Annie W]

in this forum here was a suggestion re PTSD-safety that can really help someone https://vanlivingforum.com/showthread.php?tid=4277
but
for Relieving everyday stress, while at the same time getting an inexpensive https://www.amazon.com/Adjustable-Carrying-Fitness-Ergonomic-Children/dp/B01A90U58W $7.30 Heart-healthy :heart: exercise especially for more sedentary vandwellers which you can easily & quickly do for just few minutes twice daily while at the same time maintaining or maybe even adding bone density PLUS lose weight = Jump-rope fun http://nymag.com/strategist/2016/10/the-life-changing-magic-of-a-jump-rope-workout.html

I used to jump rope starting at 4 (& now at 8 lol) can keep doing it, as every good little iceskater does every day LOL. Gotta keep your joints functioning well you know... Watch how to do it Right

 

[Dingfelder]

If an activity, however wonderful, allows me to keep up an inner dialogue on what's bothering me, then that's just what I'll do. Worse, I tend to multiply stress by obsessing on it and can go into a spiral of anxiety or depression. I can't simply think or conclude or somehow understand my way out of stress.

I've found that the best and in my case pretty much the only thing to do is to distract myself with something that gives me no time to think about myself or anything in the world besides what I'm doing. Something trivial but very intense. For me, puzzle games on my tablet or computer work very well, especially if they are timed so I really have to concentrate. As little as 10 or 15 minutes of being completely distracted from myself can give me enough of a breather to come back to life on an even keel, realizing on a necessary visceral level that there is something else that can fill my head but negativity and worry ... because I just proved it for 10 or 15 minutes straight. Being distracted breaks the cycle.

My brain is a machine that sometimes needs to be reset, like a locomotive in a child's train set that can jump the rails. It's not that the locomotive is bad; it just can't fix itself because the only thing it knows how to do is spin its wheels. All it needs is a gentle hand to put it back on its tracks.

 

[MrNoodly]

I'm sorry you're feeling stressed, BoomBoom.

It was the opposite for me. My building-dwelling life was doing bad things to my mind and body. I was angry, anxious and depressed. Selling the house and hitting the road was so liberating, so relaxing. I had a handful of doubt going into it, like would I really like it, would I quickly tire of it? But after only a few weeks I knew I never wanted to live in a building again.

Best wishes to you. It'll probably be wonderful.

 

[regis101]

First sentence from OP> * The van life is new to me .*

I'm not a dweller but I am nomadic by nature.  I sped read these pages and to me, the gist, seems to follow a common denominator with other ( new ) ways or factors with anything in life.  Anything new has an increased stress factor built in.  Job.  Girl friend.  New car.  Lose a bet. Flat tire. Hit the Lottery.

There is such a thing as good stress.  I developed Shingles at one time and the physician asked if anything stressful recently occurred.  I mentioned (we) just had (our) first child and he said, "See?  There ya go.  Stress can be from a good thing."  I said, "Really?  This stuff hurts like the dickens.  wtf?"

I'm seeing the leap into being a dweller as a new beginning.  A leap into the unknown.  A break from the (norm), if there is such a thing.  I would welcome and embrace this new way of life as good stress.  My day will come and I'll be ready.

I dunno.  Just some rambling thoughts while wearing a thick *** pair of sangria glasses.  But nonetheless.