Stress Relievers

Stress is a horrid thing and is unfortunately very easily brought on by a number of things.

As you will all know, stress can affect our appetite and our sleep. It can also give us headaches and if we’re really stressed it can make us very ill.

Writing, and being a writer can be stressful sometimes. From scenes not working out to basically freaking over you’re most recent release and whether anyone is actually going to like it. I personally try my hardest to not get stressed about things, because, well it’s pointless. Stress will only affect me, so why put myself through the agony, right?

So I thought I would share my stress reliever list with y’all. Mainly because I actually do all of these things, but also because – and completely off the subject of writing – I got locked out of my house the other day. Complete nightmare and stressful, but I guess we all have to do it at some point, right? But, it inspired me to write this post. So there's a silver lining to every cloud. :-)

1. Have a cup of tea – For some reason this is probably the most English of the stress relievers, because pretty much all our mothers and their mothers think that tea solves any problem.  Naturally that would include herbal tea, which

2. Squeeze an orange (or any thick skinned fruit) – Yes, I know how crazy that sounds. And yes, I really do squeeze oranges. Naturally not hard enough to get juice squirting out because that really wouldn't help my stress, but they do actually help. Plus after you have calmed down you can eat it. Oranges are very tasty and I love the smell.

3. Go for a walk – I personally should probably try this more, but for some reason walking with no destination is a very bizarre idea to me. I would end up walking round the block, which I guess is the point.

4. Have a bath - Who doesn't love a hot bubble bath? Light some candles. Take deep breaths and just concentrate on taking a moment to yourself.

5. Deep breathing  – My mother is a fan of these. She trained to be a music teacher and naturally breathing is important for singers, so she usually tells me to breathe in on a count of ten and then out on a count of ten.

6. Meditate – I really wish I could do this, but clearing my mind is not an easy task, surprisingly.

7. Dance – Sometimes I put my MP3 on and I open my file of classic oldies and I just dance around so stupidly – worse than Napoleon Dynamite – until I either a) tire myself out, or b) laugh at how bad I dance and how stupid I probably look. It does work sometimes.

8. Calms (Herbal remedy) - Okay, perhaps it’s cheating, but these tablets work like a charm. They chill you out automatically, and if you’re like me you may become so chilled you get the giggles. And let’s face it having the giggles is better than being stressed. Am I right?

So that is my odd little list of things that I have found help me the most when I’m stressed. What about you? When you’re stress how do you calm yourself down?

Also, how has your weekend been? Anyone else lock themselves out of their house recently?

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On a side note, tomorrow I will be giving away a copy of my Erotic Paranormal Romance Novel, She-Wolf (The Blood Series Prequel) as part of The 5 Musketeers Romance Competition. For more information just head on over to:- http://chrislangeauthor.wordpress.com/