Auggie

My pattern under high stress is to crawl into a bottle and just shut down for a few days. I'm not going to do that but I don't really know what to do. I've done yoga practice and meditated. Now I'm crying which isn't really helping. Anyone have suggestions for handling an overload of stress in a productive way?

SoberLeigh

How about a long soak in a tub with your favorite scent - lavender maybe - it's said to be soothing.

Read a book; listen to soothing music.

It all can be in the tub

Fitcher

Yoga, cycling, meditation, weightlifting, playing music. Just a few of the things I use to re-center.

Soberwolf

Staying online with us ask questions were here for you

SoberLeigh

Put a dry towel into the clothes dryer and let in get warm. Take it out and wrap it around yourself.

It feels amazing even if you just hug the towel.

Lookingforchange

A dance class at the gym like Zumba helps me with stress. Also a good film or book?

doggonecarl

What's causing you high stress?

Auggie

It's not just one thing. I tend to do okay with issues (even major ones) when it's just one or two. When things start to snowball, I shut down. Today, along with health issues, and FLEAS, I finalized my taxes and discovered that I underestimated by a lot. Last year it took almost a month to eradicate the fleas. My dog has a severe reaction to them and has to be seen by the vet. The cats and I are just really uncomfortable.

I'm going to take some of the suggestions here and wait until I re-center to deal with the tax issue. That's the one that almost pushed me over the edge. Thank you, all, for being here. It helps to know that I'm not alone. Darn it, here go the tears again.

Maudcat

I hate fleas. One of my cats is severely allergic to their saliva, and I have to b super duper careful not to miss a treatment.
We have had the tax situation at times, too. Do you have an emergency lin of credit that can help you get through unexpected expenses?
You have to pay it back, of course, but interest is usually low.
It has saved my rear end more than once.

dirk41

I think everyone deals and processes with stress differently. For me, I would suppress and just try and push through it until I couldnt think, became physically ill and the only thing I felt I could do was drink to slow my brain down.

Now what I do is set my alarm one hour in the morning before my family gets up and allow my self to listen to my stressful thoughts, process them where required and make s plan what I'm going to do about that one today, and let the irrational thoughts come, and then let them go.

Dee74

Hi Auggie- sorry it's so stressful. I think it's really important to find balance - all work or all play led me to drinking.

There are some ideas here that help me::

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...44-stress.html

D

PhoenixJ

Mindful breathing- think it is 4-8-7.

doggonecarl

Instead of drinking, you can plan on what you can do to avoid this mistake next year.

The year before last I ended up having to pay close to $5000. I was stunned...and stressed. Didn't drink over, because if I had, what would have changed with the taxes? Nothing. What the wife and I did was find an online tax calculator that helped us figure how much we needed to deduct each paycheck to ensure we didn't have to pay. This year? $7000 refund.

Stay strong. Hug your pets, that's a stress reducer.