It's something to think about, especially during the holidays. When I went to Nepal earlier this year, I experienced relief from stress for the first time in over 20 years. You may think that's a strange thing to say, especially since I was trekking about 10 miles a day, at high altitude with a lot of up and down climbing and staying in primitive conditions. But, there was no multitasking, no politics, no obsessing over what to watch on TV (no TVs), no dealing with noise and environmental pollution. There were no bills, no computers, no flashing lights, no telephones ringing, no deadlines, no drama queens, no crashing computers, no software to figure out.
These days, I spend a lot of time trying to relieve stress because I learned from my Nepal experience that stress is deadly. When I get home from work, I often spend time watering my plants which I find to be therapeutic. I cook my own food whenever I can, because that calms me. Before bed, I apply lots of soothing creams and I often light a candle. Books are stacked by my bed to amuse me and my cat often joins me there. My she-den refreshes and nourishes me immensely and arms me to venture out into the cold cruel world again!