Conference turris::womannotes-v3

    
    Good topic!
    
    * lift weights
    * put something beautiful on my Walkman whilst commuting
    * see a good friend with a sense of humour for emotional First Aid
    * raise cain with my female friends
    * read a good book and escape into another world
    * run
    * repeat a profound affirmation for a while
    * close eyes, breathe deep, chill out!
                         
    'gail
                   
    
    
    
    
                                    
    

    Captain Morgan and soda, repeat as necessary :-)
    
    seriously, about two hours of stretching and karate, followed
    by a hot shower

    Well, lately its been cry, then cry somemore, and then more crying
    
    usually:  A good hour or three of racquetball and a full hour of
              pumping iron before that....

    Listen to Aaron Copland's "Quiet City"

 We (The Conliffe's) just bought a camper/travel trailer/caravan.  I'm working
off a LOT of work-related stress just fixing it up, and playing with all the 
neat gadgets contained therein. Well, neat gadgets to me, but how excited can
anyone else get about a portable toilet??? (-:

 Other than that, I use/used community theatre to burn off work-related stress;
I focussed a lot of energy on putting on a show (once, soon to be twice, as a 
minor actor, and more often as a technician). I was told by a counsellor/friend
of mine that I was replacing one sort of stress with another, but hey, it works
for me!

						Nigel

 - tear up some pavement on my motorcycle (potentially dangerous, esp. if
   the stress is anger-related.)

 - play my keyboard until my fingers cramp

 - watch TV (I only do this about once every two months - but when I do, I
   find that it's utter mindlessness and total non-demandingness very
   soothing.  Of course, watching the News doesn't cut it.)

D!

    
    Make pies.
    CLean kitchen so that I can make pies.
    Plan another girl scout activity that will keep my mind off work
    related stress and onto fun related stress(I know I warped).
    
    I used to crochet, and embroder.
    Once I planned and made all the decorations and 'bouts and bouquets for
    a very formal wedding(mine). I relised two days before the wedding
    that I would be the one in the gown in frount of everyone(I had run out
    of projects to finish) no matter what I said he wouldn't let anyone
    else stand in for me ;^) . I am glad he didn't.
    janet
    

    Work in my yard and garden......
    
    Pulling weeds out by the roots is very stress reducing.
    
    Debbie

- eat sunflower seeds while reading a spy novel
- play outside with my dog
- create a romantic evening
- drive to the ocean
- go for a loooooooooooonnnnnnnnng bicycle ride
- have wild sex!

Carla

 This has been floating around the net. I know you all need help 
 learning to become more stressed as we certainly don't have enough 
 around here! :^)


This came from a bookmark distributed by De Anza College.
======================================================================
 
                       How To Stay Stressed
 
                         ---------------
 
Although the De Anza Health Office long been an advocate of stress
management, stress, tension, and burnout are still common complaints of
students, faculty, and staff alike.  On account of this, we have come to
the following conclusion: YOU ALL WANT TO STAY STRESSED!  The following
provides you with a few reasons why.
 
STRESS HELPS YOU SEEM IMPORTANT.     Anyone as stressed as you must be
                                     working very hard and, therefore,
                                     is  probably doing something very
                                     crucial.
 
IT HELPS YOU TO MAINTAIN PERSONAL    Anyone as busy as you are certainly
DISTANCE AND AVOID INTIMACY.         can't be expected to form emotional
                                     attachments to anyone.  And let's
                                     face it, you're not much fun to be
                                     around anyway.
 
IT HELPS YOU AVOID RESPONSIBILITIES. Obviously you're too stressed to be
                                     given any more work.  This gets you
                                     off the hook for all the mundane
                                     chores; let someone else take care
                                     of them.
 
IT GIVES YOU A CHEMICAL RUSH.        Stress might be considered a cheap
                                     thrill, and you can give yourself a
                                     "hit" anytime you choose.  But be
                                     careful, you might get addicted to
                                     your own adrenaline.
 
IT HELPS YOU AVOID SUCCESS.          Why risk being "successful" when by
                                     simply staying stressed you can
                                     avoid all of that?  Stress can keep
                                     your performance level low enough
                                     that success won't ever be a threat.
 
STRESS ALSO LETS YOU KEEP YOUR       The authoritarian style of "Just do
AUTHORITARIAN MANAGEMENT STYLE.      what I say!" is generally permissi-
                                     ble under crisis conditions.  If
                                     you maintain a permanently stressed
                                     crisis atmosphere, you can justify
                                     an authoritarian style all the time.
 
 
Are you worried now about how to stay stressed?  You'll have no trouble
if you practice the following clinically proven methods:
 
NEVER EXERCISE.                      Exercise wastes a lot of time that
                                     could be spent worrying.
 
EAT ANYTHING YOU WANT.               Hey, if cigarette smoke can't
                                     cleanse your system, a balanced
                                     diet isn't likely to.
 
GAIN WEIGHT.                         Work hard at staying at least 25
                                     pounds over your recommended
                                     weight.
 
TAKE PLENTY OF STIMULANTS.           The old standards of caffeine,
                                     nicotine, sugar, and cola will
                                     continue to do the job just fine.
 
AVOID "WOO-WOO" PRACTICES.           Ignore the evidence suggesting
                                     that meditation, yoga, deep
                                     breathing, and/or mental imaging
                                     help to reduce stress.  The
                                     Protestant work ethic is good for
                                     everyone, Protestant or not.
 
GET RID OF YOUR SOCIAL               Let the few friends who are
SUPPORT SYSTEM.                      willing to tolerate you know that
                                     concern yourself with friendships
                                     only if you have time, and you
                                     never have time.  If a few people
                                     persist in trying to be your
                                     friend, avoid them.
 
PERSONALIZE ALL CRITICISM.           Anyone who criticizes any aspect
                                     of your work, family, dog, house,
                                     or car is mounting a personal
                                     attack.  Don't take time to
                                     listen, be offended, then return
                                     the attack!
 
THROW OUT YOUR SENSE OF HUMOR.       Staying stressed is no laughing
                                     matter, and it shouldn't be
                                     treated as one.
 
MALES AND FEMALES ALIKE - BE MACHO.  Never ever ask for help, and if
                                     you want it done right, do it
                                     yourself!
 
BECOME A WORKAHOLIC.                 Put work before everything else,
                                     and be sure to take work home
                                     evenings and weekends.  Keep
                                     reminding yourself that vacations
                                     are for sissies.
 
DISCARD GOOD TIME MANAGEMENT SKILLS. Schedule in more activities every
                                     day than you can possibly get done
                                     and then worry about it all
                                     whenever you get a chance.
 
PROCRASTINATE.                       Putting things off to the last
                                     second always produces a marvelous
                                     amount of stress.
 
WORRY ABOUT THINGS YOU CAN'T         Worry about the stock market,
CONTROL.                             earthquakes, the approching Ice
                                     Age, you know, all the big issues.
 
BECOME NOT ONLY A PERFECTIONIST BUT  ...and either beat yourself up, or
SET IMPOSSIBLY HIGH STANDARDS...     feel guilty, depressed, discour-
                                     aged, and/or inadequate when you
                                     don't meet them."
 

    I've found that looking at a piece of wood, letting my eyes 
    follow the grain, enjoying the colors, is very soothing.

- Watching my son sleep

- Talking with my son

- Playing with my son

- Having my wife hold me when I'm not doing the above


-Hamp

    Rx for stress:
       
        1 five mile walk daily
      
        1 day near the ocean weekly

    Two things that seem to help the most are:
    
    Reading in the hot tub.
    
    Giving up WOMANNOTES
    
    			Alfred

    Kendo

    * Talking to husband, relatives, friends
    * Getting out of the house with family, mother-daughter shopping,
      woman's night out, my husband and I only, or just by myself 
    * Going to the library/Reading
    * Soaking in the tub 
    * Exercising at least 3 times a week at home (video taped some
      30-minute exercise TV programs
    * Walking around the block with my children (they ride their bikes)
    * Window shopping

    o  rethink what my priorities are
    
    o  take time out
    
    o  go window shopping and wander around in a daze
       -- best stores are art/craft stores with beautiful things 
       -- next best stores are stores with neat things,
          like games or kitchen gadgets 
    
    o  take a long bath
    
    o  do Tai Chi (I only know a little, but the deep breathing 
       calms me right down and lets me see problems in perspective)
    
    o  call friends on the phone 
    
    o  go to a movie or rent one, preferably a comedy or action movie
       so I'm either laughing or scared to death
    
    o  write in a journal
    
    Pam

    -- work out (aerobics, stairmaster, lifting)

    -- take a long walk by myself with my walkman

    -- curl up with a good sf/fantasy book and mood music

    -- take a day and just spend it by myself doing whatever it is I
    	feel like doing (shopping, lazing around, watching tv, watching
    	a movie...)

    -- give/get backrubs

    -- talk to good friends

    	
    	:Amy

    Write down everything that is causing me stress.  See which of those is
    my stress, and which ones are stresses I'm absorbing from/for someone
    else.  Try to limit my stresses to those which are legitimately mine
    and cut back on those I'm sponging up from other folks. In general, be
    a little selfish with my energy.
    
    mdh

    
    	Read a book.
    
    	Listen to hard music, very loud
    
    	Doing the above while driving (usually faster than I should be)
    
    	Heading to the beach.
    
    	Cuddle with one of my kitties and just have a good cry.
    
    		JJ
    

I tend to throw-up, but I don't think it's a procedure to recommend.
	Mez

    Put the children to bed, take a hot bubble bath, have a glass or
    two of wine and get a good nite sleep.
                                         Cathy
    

    Play loud, nasty rock n'roll with the speakers turned up to about
    11 and "sing" (<---ha ha, I use the term loosely) really loud.  
    
    The Atlantics "Lonely,Lonely Hearts" is the best Rx for stress that
    I know of.....
    
    Dee
    

    Gee. Regarding .10. I used to fit about 90% of the criteria. Although
    I've got a long way to go, I'm working hard at it. The only thing I
    want to know is...HOW DO YOU STOP BEING STRESSED OVER YOUR NEW DIET AND
    THE FACT THAT YOU'VE GAINED BACK 2 LBS. SINCE SEEING YOUR DIETICIAN AND
    YOU WERE DOING SO WELL TOO. Previously 25 lbs. in 8 weeks and then the
    summer barbecues at my sister's started.
    
    Phil

    some of my favorites...
    
    	- playing my favorite CD's VERY loud
    	- counted cross stitch 
    	- playing games with BJ (his favorite lately is Chutes & Ladders)
    	- wild sex (I think someone else has mentioned this)
    
    Roberta

>    want to know is...HOW DO YOU STOP BEING STRESSED OVER YOUR NEW DIET AND
>    THE FACT THAT YOU'VE GAINED BACK 2 LBS. SINCE SEEING YOUR DIETICIAN AND
>    YOU WERE DOING SO WELL TOO.

	Don't weigh yourself.  I don't know how much you normally weigh,
	but in my weight range (which is not an uncommon one for many
	men), two pounds is _nothing_.  Too many people, I think, judge
	their progress in a weight-loss/fitness program by what they
	weigh, and I think that's a mistake, especially since muscle
	weighs more than fat.  Therefore, although your clothes may
	be looser and you're feeling better and your body is more healthy
	than it was, you may actually weigh a few pounds more than when
	you started.

	If you think you're eating too much at your sister's barbecues,
	then be careful not to eat quite so much the next time.  But 
	don't get self-destructive about it and tell yourself how you've
	screwed up your whole diet plan, etc.  As long as you keep
	making the effort, you're *still* doing well.

1- Make what other people inexplicably refer to as bad jokes
2- Take a long bike ride
3- Break something
4- Just stew


(The last time I tried #2, of course, I ended up doing #3...)

    
    	* High intensity aerobics
    	* Weight lifting
    	* Mozart or Vivaldi
    	* Absolut - olive, lemon & ice
    
    -Dotti
    
    

    One I forgot:
    
    Doing the dishes or doing handwash with the stereo blaring a favorite
    album, singing along at the top of my lungs.
    
    Combination of running water and music.
    
    Pam

    Primal screaming - usually at the cat or my son, with either a warning
    or an apology afterwards that it wasn't anything they did :-)
    
    Alison

    I just thought of another...
    
    
    Getting into a clean kitchen with a tape deck and a stack of tapes, and
    proceeding to spend the next umpteen hours preparing lobster ravioli,
    grilled salmon in a dill mustard sauce, steamed asparagus and roast new
    potatoes with a Le Bombe aux Trois Chocolats for dessert...
    
    then raking in the marriage proposals... ;-)
    
    daniel

    (Re: --.1
    
      Practicing up on your PC comments, eh? ;^)

    I love this topic.   Lots of people seem to want to work in marketing
    in our company, because it's fun.  Yes it is - but as the manager of a
    small group of people, I have concerns about how much fun we can take.
    5  of the 6 who work for me  have been hospitalized for stress-
    related accidents or illnesses in the last 2 years, and the  other
    is pregnant - I am constantly on the lookout for what I call negative
    stress.   
    
    We can't always just get rid of it, but I find that those
    in our group who use physical activity as a release mechanism are more
    mellow in general.  Also, the more we enforce a 40 hour work week on
    a regular basis (50-60-70 hours are ok in spurts only), the better off
    we are.   
    
    I myself use vigorous exercise, and exciting music to relieve stress.
    Meditation is also used successfully in my group.   Also, group 
    stress can be lessened with frequent reinforcement of common goals,
    group lunches, casual conversation to break up rough routines.
    
    We are trying hard to be a healthier work-group here in CXN, primarily
    to be happier people.  As the supervisor, I am finding people are
    really productive if they are more relaxed.   We are trying to work
    smarter, and more creatively, and more efficiently - and it works!
    No one has been sick or broken for 5 months.  A record for us.
    
    -m

255.36

Sounds like a nice atmosphere to work in!

Kathy

    Crack my knuckles.

    (not a recommended method)
    
    Nancy

    Looking back at the replies here, it appears that stress-coping
    comes at two extremes - intense activity or great passivity.
    (I like both kinds, at different times.) Why ?

    Working out
    
    Listening to calming music
    
    Escaping with a good fantasy/SF book
    
    Windowshopping
    
    Crying
    
    Sharing Backrubs/hugs
    
    Helping someone
    
    
    -Jody

    
              Riding.........Horses.
    

I've never been too concerned with stress until I came to
work at DEC. All my other jobs I considered myself too grateful
to not be doing farmwork I couldn't complain. Besides I thought 
I could never work tooooo hard. Since those easy days I've got 
4 kids that I love, a job that I love, a hobby that I love, 
a wife I love and lots of bills that I hate! Now I know what 
this stress stuff is and considering the alternative (poverty and
doing farmwork etc.) I'll learn to live with stress.

I go bike riding to get rid of stress. Its great to get away from
everything for a couple hours. Its especially nice to have a token 
family members along. The physical part of this isn't what does it
as much as the time with nothing but me the road the dead animals
or the cars that zoom 8 inches from my left arm. I come back from
a ride with a whole better outlook on life.

Fred Mudgett

    I'm another one that goes riding. It also has the benefit of sometimes
    "taking your life in your hands". Nothing can beat the rush of charging
    across a plain at full blast. ADRENELIN/FEAR/EXHILIRATION/ACTION all
    help clear out that nasty stress. A beautiful panoramic view of the
    front range doesn't hurt either.

    Sometimes when I'm out riding it feels like my whole "office" life is
    nothing more than a dream. Not even as real as some book I've been
    reading. liesl

    stress relaxation techniques?
    
    - lightship (beer)
    - the feelies (music)
    - melting into a cyberpunk novel (or fantasy,
      i read both kinds of literature: SF *and* F)
    - shopping....especially at newbury comics,
      or any store that sells buttons, comic books,
      or compact discs.
    - wild sex (i'm only the third to say this?)
    - going to a place with lots of people, dress 
      in a strange manner, then stare at everybody
      else.  (sort of expected behavior at concerts)
    - DANCING, and not caring that i can't.
      (lightship helps with this one)
    

>I don't
>    think too many people would disagree that wild sex is a great stress
>    reliever. :-)

I don't believe in "wild sex".  i think it's immoral.  Domestic, hand-raised
sex is the only way to go.  I'm sure that sex was quite happy out in the wild,
free.  Why bring it in the the bedroom and tie it down (so to speak?)  And
I am thoroughly convinced that wild sex is "endangered" which just makes the
whole situation worse.

Please, don't feed the animals.

D!

;^)

    
    re:.47
    sorry, old boy, i think you'd lose that bet. i think most people
    would agree that wild sex is a great stress reliever (i know 
    i would). people might agree, however, that making the necessary
    arrangements for wild sex can certainly be a pain.
    

    Spend about 3 hours in a bookstore and buy anything that you want.
    
    Go on a shopping spree in K-Mart (unless lack of money is the
    cause of the stress, still can't get into too much trouble here).
    
    Do primal scream therapy in the car on Route 93 on the way to/from
    work.
    
    Practice karate punches and kicks on pillows or the thin air.
    
    Fantasize methods for the demise of your enemies.  :-)
    
    Mental relaxation/visualization techniques, like imagine you are
    an eagle perched up on a high mountain cliff, and all the cities
    beneath you are insignificant.
    
    Read a favorite children's story like The Yearling, or one of the 
    Nancy Drew mysteries.
    
    Try not to eat Drake's Fruit Pies and try to go jogging, even though
    both of these things are in opposition to your inclinations in times
    of stress.
        
    	Linda

    Take out all my antique rings and clean them and look at them, while
    remembering that they are really what matters most to me.
    
    Listen to Bruce Springsteen music and/or watch one of his videos.
    
    Rent any movie starring Matthew Broderick and stare at his face.
    
    Read my favorite women's poetry.
    
    Call up a friend and gossip maliciously about everyone else we know.
    
    Wild sex.
    
    
    Lorna
    

	Maybe the next =wn= party theme should be "anti-stress"


	Could be interesting...

						--D

    A hotel with a gym and a dojo and a hot tub :-)

Does that mean I'll have to throw up?
	Mez

    Stop watching the news on TV
    Target Shooting
    Hiking
    Soaking in a hot tub

    Reading .48!
    
    :)
    

    
    
    o  	Go on a nice *long* ride with my horse, (which sometimes can run 
       	me ragged so that I'm ready to drop when I return to home:-))
	
    o  	Take a nice *long* walk all by my myself or my husband.
    
    o 	Go target shooting with my hubby, and not leaving one bottle
    	left for him...:-)
    
    o   Listen to a tape about relaxing
    
    o 	Talking to my husband & family & friends.

    o  	Sit on the beach all curled up in a blanket on a cold day
    	and just staring at the ocean.

    
    	Zina
    

    with thanks to lisa gassaway for reminding me of this.....
    
    while playing Nuclear War....shooting down an MX missile loaded
    with a 100 Megaton warhead that i *know* is coming my way with
    an ABM..........talk about pure joy!...........
    
    and the game itself...Nuclear War...is a good way to take
    aggressions out on little pieces of paper ("You mean these
    population cards, these people, they are like dust?  I just
    throw them away?"  from a 12 year future world leader)
    
    jonathan_the_war_monger