Dealing with Stress and Stress-Relief Tips

[CellarDweller]

lmao!  Yeah, I've enjoyed all those  things at times, but my drink in the morning is usually cranberry juice.

[Front-Ranger]

Magic words: "I've made some lasagna. Will you come over and eat it with me?" 

[Front-Ranger]

Two things, in addition to the lasagna invitation, have greatly relieved my stress lately and I think they will surprise you.

The stress comes primarily from dealing with these renters from hell that are living above me. It occurred to me suddenly that one of the attractions of living here is that (they think) a feeble-minded pushover of an old lady lives down below. Well, they have another think coming! But it still did cause me stress which made it more difficult just to get through the day.

All that changed on Sunday when I went to the monthly meeting of the Sherlock Holmes book club. It's about two dozen nerdy people who like to get together at an English-style pub and discuss one of Doyle's classic mystery stories. But before discussing, we have a quiz. . .and guess who won the quiz this month! Out of all these people who have been studying these stories for years and years, little old me won the quiz! I told everybody it was a boost I really needed.

The second thing is that I had a brainstorm yesterday in connection with all the federal workers who are having to go without their salaries. There's a free web site called Meal Train where you can set up a connection for volunteers to deliver meals to people. Working with my church and the county action center, I've put all the structures in place to start setting up meal trains. I'm really jazzed about this and happy that I found something positive to do in the morass of this phony national crisis, government shutdown, and public presidential tantrum. 

[CellarDweller]

Magic words: "I've made some lasagna. Will you come over and eat it with me?" 

Magic words indeed!

[serious crayons]

All that changed on Sunday when I went to the monthly meeting of the Sherlock Holmes book club. It's about two dozen nerdy people who like to get together at an English-style pub and discuss one of Doyle's classic mystery stories. But before discussing, we have a quiz. . .and guess who won the quiz this month! Out of all these people who have been studying these stories for years and years, little old me won the quiz! I told everybody it was a boost I really needed.

Nice! And that sounds like a fun club.

The second thing is that I had a brainstorm yesterday in connection with all the federal workers who are having to go without their salaries. There's a free web site called Meal Train where you can set up a connection for volunteers to deliver meals to people. Working with my church and the county action center, I've put all the structures in place to start setting up meal trains. I'm really jazzed about this and happy that I found something positive to do in the morass of this phony national crisis, government shutdown, and public presidential tantrum. 

Better to light a candle than to curse Donald Trump! Well, actually it's good to do both.

Maybe I've missed it, but I don't recall you saying much about your church involvement in the past. I mean, obviously Jeff talks about church quite a lot, but I don't think I've seen you mention going to church or being involved in church activities. What religion/denomination, if I may ask? Are you pretty active?

I would go to church if there were a Unitarian church anywhere near me. There's a church right behind my house -- a very nice church; they let us do our neighborhood vegetable gardens there and even supply the water. And so convenient! Unfortunately, they're not Unitarian.

[Front-Ranger]

I started taking my mother to a Presbyterian church when she first moved to Denver. It's a bit of a new-age church with a small band that includes a bass and electric guitar, drums, violin, piano and vocals. They only have an organist come in once or twice a year. Mom missed the old hymns but occasionally one is in the service. I love the minister, she is really inspiring. Plus, the church was just so supportive when Mom had her final illness. I had in the back of my mind that I would stop going after Mom died but I have found it to be immensely calming, stress relieving and renewing to my spirit.

Very few Presbyterian churches are like that though. I attribute mine's uniqueness to the leadership of the minister and to the elders, many of whom have children who attend. A great priority is given to the young people of the church. Another thing I like about it is that we have sponsored more than 200 families in Rwanda and a group goes there almost every year.

[serious crayons]

Those are the reasons I'd like to belong to a Unitarian church. My mom was pretty active in one for a long time, but by the time she died she hadn't been there for years. I've probably told you this before, but when she died I asked if we could hold a memorial service there -- thinking we'd just get the site -- and the church really stepped up. The minister had never met her, but he interviewed me, looked over her papers and gave a fantastic eulogy. The church ladies made bars and coffee, and they supplied AV equipment and things like that.

I realized then -- and had it confirmed later through other people, like you -- that churches serve a great function of building community, helping each other, providing structure for community service, etc. That's especially helpful as you get older. If I lived within 10 minutes of one, I'd go.

[CellarDweller]

Better to light a candle than to curse Donald Trump! Well, actually it's good to do both.

 

[Front-Ranger]

This is about stress's step-brother, depression. A detailed new study confirms that following the Mediterranean diet can alleviate depression:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2018/09/29/mediterranean-diet-may-reduce-risk-for-depression-study-finds/#3e2e9d6f6bac

Suddenly I'm jazzed about eating again, and am going to sit down to a lunch of salad, fruit, cheese, and pasta. Also, because I'm under stress as well, cream of chicken soup.

Here's a photo. I have to stay away from almonds, though, because I've found they cause me to have kidney stones. Sorry if that's TMI!!

[Front-Ranger]

Call it stress, depression, or whatever. I've got it bad! On the local scene, there was another Columbine incident yesterday, only 7 miles away from where two students shot up a school 20 years ago. And on the national front, I'm reading in this week's New Yorker that "Trump has declared a near-blanket denial of all congressional requests for information and testimony from members of his Administration".

Step One in the battle against this madness is self-care: strengthening and preparing to be the Sacred Warrior, as it's called in permaculture. I'm working to improve my diet. It wasn't that bad before but I slid into some bad habits. My daughter was cleaning out all products containing yeast (it's a requirement for Passover) and gave me a bunch of doughy stuff that I really didn't need. I've worked through most of that and am stocking up on more healthy choices. For lunch today, I had cream of chicken soup with added bone broth and spring greens. (I really have a craving for those delicious scallions and fortunately, many are coming up in my garden!) I also made a salad with dandelion greens, cottage cheese, tiny tomatoes, pickled cucumbers, chick peas, and spinach. Yummy! I feel energized!