7 tips for handling stress

Although this is a new blog, I’ve been blogging for roughly 5 years. I bounce from blog to blog because I keep picking specific topics and then get bored with them. That’s probably why I finally decided on a lifestyle blog. I can talk about all of it!

The longest I stuck with one topic was 2 years when I had a personal finance site, Daily Money Shot, which I shuttered last year for several reasons. I then migrated the content over to another site that was intended to be my lifestyle blog and maybe I should have just made the pioneer project part of that site but I thought I could manage two so I started this one but honestly, I was completely wrong. I can only manage one and I do that poorly most days.

The one nice part, though, is that I have a ton of content sitting on that site and another one. And some of it is actually pretty good. And since it’s just sitting there, collecting internet dust which is way worse than regular dust because porn, I’ve decided that every so often, I’m going to share one of those posts on here. Repurposing, if you will (or cheating on content. Either way). And today is one of those days. 

You’re welcome. 

This post was originally written right after we moved last summer so the set up–the parts that caused my stress at the time–are different but the main point remains the same. Enjoy!

Sometimes, I just want to quit being an adult. Being responsible sucks a fat one and honestly, I get tired of it. I don’t want to clean, cook, work, pay bills, transport my child to school and there are days that the only motivation I have to do those things is not wanting the state to inconvenience my life by interfering in it. I worked for those people; I know how they operate. I want no part of it.

I usually get this way when my anxiety level reaches Code Red, and it’s been hanging around that level for about a month. Mostly due to moving. And it hasn’t calmed down since we moved because now I get to deal with:

• Cleaning a filthy house. I seriously don’t understand how the previous owners lived the way they did. I found dog hair in the freezer, friends. In. The. Freezer.  And not a little bit of dog hair either. The entire bottom part of the freezer looked like Chewbacca’s back. Let’s not even discuss the mystery carpet stains.
• Unpacking Moving Box Mountain. I thought moving and packing was bad. This is worse. I swear, our stuff multiplies because every time I think I’m done with a box or bag, more stuff magically appears. Minimalism sounds better every day.
• Having no schedule. My daughter decided she wants to cheer. Okay, fine. However, the cheerleading practice schedule is ridiculous, changes last minute, and has thrown our entire lives into chaos so we can accommodate whatever whim her coach has that day. It’s also a freaking fortune. At least some of the other moms are nice.

  

• Trying to figure out where all my money went. One day we had some. Now we don’t. I think I need to call in Scooby Doo or Nancy Drew to help on this one. Or maybe just balance my checkbook. I probably can’t afford Nancy Drew anyway.

• Pet allergies. I’m not talking about us being allergic to our pets. I’m talking about my pets, specifically my dogs, having allergies. And the flare up that has caused my older dog to perpetually reside in the cone of shame and has caused us to open a surgicenter in our bathroom to deal with the semi-infected hotspot on his tail.

 
I know it’s hard not to wish you were me right about now but give it a try.

Anyway.

I know, in the grand scheme of things, nothing (save for maybe not knowing where the hell my money went and possibly the tail issue) is life threatening. I know it will subside and will return to whatever semblance of normal we’ve been able to scrape together and call “our life”. But for now, it just totally sucks. And I’d really like to make it somebody else’s problem.

Any takers?

Didn’t think so.

Which is why, amidst my bitching and complaining, I continue to plod through each problem. No one is going to fix it for me so I need to fix it myself (it’s called personal responsibility. I really wish some people would try it on for size, just to see if it fits). To do so, and not completely lose my mind or drink all the alcohol in my house, I’ve been following these steps (not necessarily in this order):

• Breathe. Before I tackle any of these problems, I take a few deep breaths. Doing so helps me focus and concentrate on the situation before me.
• Analyze the situation. Similar to prioritizing, I assess the mess and decide what’s the best starting point.
• Set a goal. I know I can’t tackle everything at once. Instead, I pick one part to work on and focus solely on that until its done. Then I set a new goal and move on to that.
• Work in blocks of time. I have to designate certain times of the day when I work on different tasks. It helps train my brain and get me in the mindset for those particular tasks. Having set hours makes it more bearable because I know there’s an end in sight.
• Reward myself. If I finish a job or task before the allotted amount of time is over, I reward myself with a few rounds of Candy Crush (still up for debate: is this actually a reward?) or a few minutes on Pinterest. The reward is motivation to hurry up and get that stuff done.
• Ask for, and accept, help. There are certain parts of this process I just cannot do myself. I know that. And if it’s going to get done, I need help. While asking for help is not one of my strengths, neither is living in a mess. So I ask for, and accept help, when I need it.
• Tell myself it’s not forever. The problems I’m working through will not be here next year. And if they are, particularly Moving Box Mountain, I’m setting it on fire and calling it a day (note: I will not actually set my dog on fire. That’s sick and nothing to make a joke about). Knowing that these are temporary problems help get me through the particularly rough moments.

And if all that fails, there’s always this:

 

 
The system isn’t perfect. At all. I still may get sucked in by Pinterest more than I should and unpack boxes less than I should. I still try to do too many things by myself. I still feel like this is going to last for the foreseeable future. But following these steps, along with sleeping and exercising, have thwarted major anxiety attack.

And that? Is good.