How not to deal with stress
I’m going out of my mind.
Stress. Stress stress stress. Stress
I’m even worrying about stress which in turn makes me more stress (and thats recursive which can’t be good).
I’m on holiday at the moment, in one of the sleepiest parts of the uk, somerset, to try and get a break from work and what ever it is that is constantly nagging at me. I don’t seem to be able to put my finger on any one thing that is stressing me out, it’s like a big ball of everything smooshed together and stuck to my forehead.
But the holiday is not helping, the lack of 3g access is not helping either, I’m still as stressed as I was last week when I was making myself ill and snapping at anyone and everyone, heck I’m even quiting my job at Greenvoice, something is not right.
And the worst thing is that I don’t know how to fix it.
I’m constantly thinking about it, worrying that I’m not doing enough or doing the right thing or doing too much or making a mistake or being taken for granted or missing the point entirely.
It’s easy to say “Don’t worry about it” but how do you not worry, I feel like I’ve lost the ability to let things go over my head or under the bridge.
What can I do to combat stress?
The photo is just a random flickr find, it made me smile
You’re right, stress isn’t something that you can not worry about!
Reading your post, I’d suggest that you double your efforts to find the cause of your stress. You cannot hope to deal with this if you don’t know what is causing it. Is it work? Your health? A personal issue with family/friend? All of the above?!
It’s funny that you mention 3g and how the lack of it is upsetting you. Perhaps when you get away, you should really get away - leave the net behind for a few days. It’ll still be there when you come back
Similarly, I hope you don’t work when you are away from the office. You have to draw a line between work and life, and regardless of how exciting work might be you should be able to drop it mentally at the end of the day. Unless you own the business, there’s no need to be worrying about it!
Sorry, this is probably all rubbish. But I do hope you are able to pull yourself through this.
ps. Thanks for Feeddit, use it all the time.
Kieren Johnson on October 31, 2007 9:52 am
Hope you manage to sort yourself out mate.
Kieren is right too - leave the net behind. Get outside - do some walking. Take some photos (don’t upload them to Flickr though!). Chill out!
Listen to some music, catch up with some friends, have some beers, meditate a little, take up yoga and smoke some…
I have suffered from stress related illness before - my throat closed up and all I was able to eat was soup for about 2 weeks! I was heavily under pressure at work though, doing all sorts of silly hours and making a rod for my own back.
How did I stop it?
I learned to say “no” to people.
To put some things on the back-burner for a few days. It is very easy to accept what people ask you for which all ends up being a massive mountain of stuff by the time you look at it next. And it just keeps getting bigger and bigger.
Chill bitch!
Take care.
Taoski on October 31, 2007 10:38 am
I don’t know what to say to help you, but I just wanted to thank you for your last pictures on your Flickr. They’re pretty neat.
Maybe you should travel out of the country to put your mind on something else.
Best of luck.
Kuyler McComas on October 31, 2007 12:16 pm
Hey Andrew -
I am very sympathetic to your situation and I have run into something similar in the past.
If it is any consolation (probably not ;->) you can and will get through this and come out on the other side even stronger.
Have you read and tried to implement some of The 4-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferris (http://fourhourworkweek.com/) ?
Good Luck,
Dewayne Mikkelson
Dewayne Mikkelson on October 31, 2007 1:18 pm
Disconnect. Leave Flickr, Digg, MSN and Twitter behind. They fill your time with unnecessary clutter where you could be resting, thinking and creating.
Nick on October 31, 2007 4:04 pm
:-\
Change, even good change, is a source of stress. Concentrate on the opportunities in the future instead of your current situation, I’m sure you’ll be fine.
Dan on October 31, 2007 4:32 pm
Thanks for your advise guys, I’m feeling a bit better today simply because I got all of that off my chest in a blog post (isn’t that what they are for anyway?!)
Heading back to london tomorrow, moving into my own flat on Friday and handing in my notice on Monday then starting a new job soon after that.
Andrew on October 31, 2007 9:58 pm
Andrew, try some of this; http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Top-10-Steps-to-DeStress&id=6506
or do what I do and spend 30 minutes on a drum kit every evening - works a treat for me
see you soon
Jimbo on November 1, 2007 1:41 pm
HI Andrew, Stress comes in all shape and sizes. I tend to just introspect myself, and ask what is going on in my life that could cause me to feel in this strange way.
Moving into your own flat bring more stress then you could realize, but once you are sitting in your new flat all sorted you will just feel a whole lot better. Then with a new Job it can just add up without you knowing.
So good luck , new job, new flat and rails 2.0 and merb 4.0 is just around corner its alot to be excited about. Good luck with new job, all the best. I hope it brings what you are looking for!
Look out for Cadra(User), Dynamic(50) and Mince(Image) coming to a rails solution near you.
hookercookerman on November 3, 2007 2:14 pm
Andrew, I’m feeling with you.
Try taking a weekend off from information. Turn off your mobile. If someone wants something important, they’l call back. Turn off your computer. You wont miss anything important on digg, and feeddit wont die because you leave it unattended for 48 hours. And even if it does, nothing major will happen if it’s down.
Read a book. (Fiction. Stay away from anything work-related.) Or take a walk in a park or a forest area nearby. Leave your camera at home, and let anything you see by something you experience in that moment.
Prepare yourself this next week, and look forward to your information free weekend. It may be tough, but I think you’ll feel much better after that weekend. I hope you’ll take my advice, and I wish you the best of luck.
nitro2k01 on November 4, 2007 6:15 pm
Do you think it’s that you’re working too hard? Do you feel less stressed now that you have moved?
karen on November 5, 2007 2:20 am
Karen: Yeah I think I have been working a bit hard and caring too much for a company that doesn’t really care about me.
I feel much more relaxed now that I’m settled into my new place.
Andrew on November 5, 2007 11:59 am
i’ve been under a lot of stress lately with work deadlines and life changes i’m going through. i’ve found that working out in the gym and taking more evenings reading non techie fiction away from the laptop have helped… even though at first, i felt i would be missing something going on or that i could not allow myself to relax enough to miss any deadlines…
it’s really helped.
jeromy on November 6, 2007 4:24 am
Hi, guys!
Check out some stress management tips here…
http://www.healthmad.com/Mental-Health/Stress-Management-at-Your-Workplace.33018
Thanks!
Ariff on November 15, 2007 7:52 am
[…] it’s been a couple weeks since I blurted out all my problems with stress, and I’m happy to say that I’ve overcome all that worrying and anxiety by making a few […]
Teabass - Andrew Nesbitt's Blog » My Solution(s) to Stress on November 25, 2007 8:27 pm
Eileen McDargh has several articles about dealing with stress but I love her newest article the most. You can view her tips at http://www.eileenmcdargh.com/article_fivetips.html
Bonnie Davis on January 16, 2008 9:35 pm