Dealing with Stress and Stress-Relief Tips

[serious crayons]

Thanks, Amanda! I wouldn't worry so much if it weren't all happening in the middle of the night! 

Never been to Italy, hunh? Maybe now's your time! Catch a flight arriving in Rome at 8 p.m. Oct. 4, and we can head toward the Uffizi together, just as we did the BBQ!

[Shakesthecoffecan]

I get so tense before a flight. I try to relax but i am more afraid of missing the flight than something going wrong with the plane. Once I get to the airpost I just resign myself to being handled like cattle and go with the flow. Once I am at the gate I am just fine.

[Brown Eyes]

Never been to Italy, hunh? Maybe now's your time! Catch a flight arriving in Rome at 8 p.m. Oct. 4, and we can head toward the Uffizi together, just as we did the BBQ!

Oooooooooo, now this sounds like quite a tempting offer.   

But, alas, I don't think it's meant to be this time. 

[Kelda]

What an adventure you'll have... I'm very jealous!  Let me know how you like the Uffizi.  To my shame as an art historian, I've never been there (I've never been to Italy period).  I'm sure all the great memories that you'll make on your trip will completely cancel out all the worries about the logistics.

cheers
Amanda

I have!!! Some of the pieces were amazing birth of venus and of course David sits outside in the square, so Katherine I imagine if you are into art, then you'll absolutely love it!

But I know its bad to admit but half way round I got kinda bored..... shows my ignorance! But there was only so many men in military poses and woman in portrait poses looking grumpy that would hold my interest!

[serious crayons]

Last time my friend and I went to Italy, she told me she'd booked a three-hour tour of the Vatican. "OMG -- three hours??!" I said, rolling my eyes.

And ctually the tour wound up going longer than three hours -- but it was riveting!

Of course, we had a particularly great guide.

[Kelda]

Last time my friend and I went to Italy, she told me she'd booked a three-hour tour of the Vatican. "OMG -- three hours??!" I said, rolling my eyes.

And ctually the tour wound up going longer than three hours -- but it was riveting!

Of course, we had a particularly great guide.

 

[belbbmfan]

I have!!! Some of the pieces were amazing birth of venus and of course David sits outside in the square, so Katherine I imagine if you are into art, then you'll absolutely love it!

But I know its bad to admit but half way round I got kinda bored..... shows my ignorance! But there was only so many men in military poses and woman in portrait poses looking grumpy that would hold my interest!

 

Exactly! That's how it always goes in those big museums, like the Louvre or the Prado. You just can't like everything. A museum tour can get very tiring too. The trick is to really select what you want to see and just skip the rest.

I always feel for those people who go on an organised group tour and then have to follow their 'leader' (in some cases waving an umbrella  ) for hours on end in a museum! 

[serious crayons]

I always feel for those people who go on an organised group tour and then have to follow their 'leader' (in some cases waving an umbrella  ) for hours on end in a museum! 

I used to think the very same way, until I went on tours in Rome. Our Leader was a 27-year-old cute ancient-history grad student from New Hampshire who gave very informal and kind of juicy talks explaining the stories behind this and that. We went on a night walking tour and a Vatican tour. Afterward, he and my friend and I wound up drinking wine and going out for dinner, and the next day he gave us our own private tour of the Borghese gallery. He was really fun.

I think I got much more out of those tours than I would have wandering through on my own. Plus met a friend and learned a lot more about contemporary Italian culture than I would have otherwise.

[Kelda]

bumping some old threads

[Front-Ranger]

Wise advice from our dear Shasta.

You probably all already do these, but this is my stress buster advice:

Take a walk and think about what you are seeing, not about work or whatever it is that is stressful to you. Think about the scenery, good memories, blessings, etc. Course-ya gotta have time to do that. But it doesn't have to be a long walk every time.

Pet your pet. Sometimes in the mornings when I let the dogs out, one of my old dogs sits on the steps with me. I rub his chest and kiss his face and he nuzzles my ear and shakes my hand, and we have a little chat. It's so nice. Or I sit in the floor and they gather around and sit all over me--that lowers the blood pressure. If you don't have a pet, you could volunteer at the Humane Society or foster a pet for a rescue organization.

Do something for someone else. It takes my mind off my own problems. This takes time, too, but when you have time it's great therapy. I collect things from the Marine's list and make boxes to send to soldiers in Iraq, and I enjoy doing that immensely. But it could be a neighbor or a friend. Whoever or whatever it is--you benefit as much or more than the recipient.