We've all been there. We've all day one of those days, heck we've all had one of those weeks! Days where everything has gone wrong. You're getting endless emails and phone calls from the entire world and his wife, all the trains are delayed, and there just don't seem to be enough hours in the day to get everything done. Oh yeah, and your electric has gone off.
My stressful days are usually a result on my inability to say no. Basically Past Siobhan repeatedly ruins my life by making a ridiculous number of plans months in advance, noticing how full the calendar is getting, nonchalantly shrugging it off and assuming it will be fine, and then agreeing to work extra shifts. For example; I'm currently working two part time jobs, am about to start 10 weeks of freelance work, and have just enrolled onto my postgrad course. I'm so busy I don't know if I'm coming or going. When I make these plans I do it because whilst I realise that in the short-term they mean I will be frantically busy, in the long-term I reckon they'll be worth. However, I often forget to account for the amount of tiredness and stress that they will involve as well.
My stressful days are usually a result on my inability to say no. Basically Past Siobhan repeatedly ruins my life by making a ridiculous number of plans months in advance, noticing how full the calendar is getting, nonchalantly shrugging it off and assuming it will be fine, and then agreeing to work extra shifts. For example; I'm currently working two part time jobs, am about to start 10 weeks of freelance work, and have just enrolled onto my postgrad course. I'm so busy I don't know if I'm coming or going. When I make these plans I do it because whilst I realise that in the short-term they mean I will be frantically busy, in the long-term I reckon they'll be worth. However, I often forget to account for the amount of tiredness and stress that they will involve as well.
Like I say, this pattern of crazy busy times tends to repeat itself fairly frequently and so I've had to come up ways to beat the stress.
1) Make a brew
It is 100% fact that tea has magical restorative properties. Its wonderful stuff is tea. I don't know if its the actual tea or just the process of having to take a few minutes out of the madness to make it that calms me down but either way it works and is my go to solution for everything.
2) Cuddle something
Cats are preferable (purely because they double up as hot water bottles), closely followed by dogs, teddy bears, large cushions, and people. Cuddles are great because you get to squeeze out your frustration (if you've gone for something living, don't squeeze too hard I don't need to get involved in that legal case) and in return you get calming warmth and hair stroking, or if you've gone for the cat option, you get repeated headbutting until you've given them sufficient attention.
3) Tidy
You know that old cliche about tidy house, tidy mind. Well there is a certain amount of truth in that. It's so much easier to think and work effectively if you're not surrounded by disorganised clutter - A lesson I wish I'd learnt whilst living in a bombsite of a room during uni. Plus the solution to my problems often pops into my head whilst I'm cleaning/tidying/washing up etc. Quite often the answers will come to you as soon as you stop actively looking for them.
4) Have a shower
Another good way of clearing your mind is to take a really long shower. There is something very calming about standing under a stream of hot water and it leaves you feeling refreshed and ready to tackle whatever it is that you've worked yourself up over. If you have time have a long, relaxing bath, preferably with some good music playing and a glass of wine in hand. I won't make the pun about washing your cares away even though it is really tempting
Organisation is the best way of dealing with stress, just write EVERYTHING down. Get out the highlighters, the post-it notes and notebooks, and colour code anything you can get your hands on. Seeing everything neatly planned out is a lot less overwhelming than having a million different things buzzing around your head. Being able to physically tick stuff off once you've done it makes its so much easier to keep track of things. You've can't beat a good list.
6) Go out
You know how people always tell you the fresh air will make your feel better? Well they have point. If you've been cooped up inside all day or stuck on the car or on the train, spending a bit of time outside will make you feel ten times better. A change of scenery, a light breeze, the prospect that you might come across a dog that you need to say hello to and cuddle, its a great stress-buster.
7) Have a blanket and film day
Sometimes the best course of action is just to switch off from the world and ignore your problems. Change into some comfy clothes, grab a blanket and some snacks, snuggle up of the sofa, and put a good film on. I suggest (and this is not going to come as a surprise) Brave because it's such a feel good film, it requires minimal brain power, it immediately makes you forget about the real world, its funny but you get an excuse to cry at the end, its beautifully animated, I want to be Merida, and I just BLOODY love the Julie Fowlis soundtrack OK!
Aaaaaand breathe.
8) Ring your mum
Typically, Mums are pretty good at the whole advice thing and mine is an absolute pro. It might be because her job revolves around advising and helping people to do stuff or it might might just be because she's a genius in disguise. Either way, Mama Donnelly always has the answers, failing that she always has a plan of action to get the answers. I tend to ring her after I've got totally worked up and hysterical and to the 'Oh my god, everything is awful, the world is about to end, I may as well just crawl under a rock and die' levels of stressed and she very calmly breaks everything down into their little individual issues and creates a plan of action of the top off her head. Go mama.
My dad also does pretty good advice, but his does tend to be less on the immediately practical side and more on the long term idealistic 'just do what makes you happy' side, followed by a not so brief (and potentially tipsy) review of last week's Tír na nÓg gig. That being said, he's a great one to go to when you're about to make a totally impractical but fun decision because he always just tells you to do it. He's also good for distracting you from whatever is stressing you out by bamboozling you with a seemingly unrelated story about that time the Cray twins starting frequenting his local drinking den in Southend.
9) Cry
Its all very well adopting a defiant, 'I won't let this break me' attitude to stress but sometimes a good cry can wash the stress away (dammit the pun made it in). You waste a tonne of energy and end up more stressed by holding everything in and by letting yourself not cope for a bit, whilst you bawl into the nearest available cushion, can work wonders and actually leave you feeling more refreshed and capable. Cry the stress away! (and then have some tea and cake, you need an energy boost)
10) Go to bed
If all else fails, just go to bed.
Sleep (as well as tea), has magical restorative properties and nine times out of ten, everything does look better in the morning. Prevent yourself from having a full on break down and making rash decisions by hiding from the world in the safety of your duvet burrito. Sometimes you just have to admit defeat and have a 3pm stress nap, wake up, eat some food, and go back to sleep. Stress tires you out and you need to rest your brain and body if you're going to be able to function the next day. Just sleep.
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