Bad day therapy.

[rosie_one]

What do you do when you are having a bad day?

Water in the basement... too much stuff to do, too little time... boring and annoying paperwork... argh. It is all diddly stuff (except the basement issue), but bleh.

I'm trying to decide how to balance it out. My usual is a glass of good wine and some time in a good book at the end of the day. What do you do?

[badunnin]

Scotch. Or beer and wings with girlfriends.

[Aubergine]

i know what you mean. days like that, i have a beer and i call someone to boo hoo with; that helps a great deal, altho' nowadays sometimes you gotta make 5 calls to get a live person, and often it's VM or an unsatisfying 60 cell seconds. :rolleyes: after another beer, rockin' or tranquil familiar music can be the perfect antidote.

for me, personally, sometimes i zone out with playing Free Cell or a tough crossword puzzle, because they are engrossing to the point of...um .....what was my problem?:) cooking works very well, too, to de-stress.

taking a walk with the dog works, or even brushing him. the best is my hammock; it's like an intravenous valium, which goes to show how ridiculous our lives have become.:rolleyes:

there's one more thing i could suggest, but this isn't the place....however, it's a fantastic stress reliever.

[Jazzmatazz49]

Wine
Knit socks
Watch stupid movie that takes no concentration
Take a nap
Bubble bath

It's better not to do the first two together.

I hope you have a much better day tomorrow. It could have stopped with the water in the basement, that would have been enough!

[Beth]

I don't know -- sometimes it is taking a break and changing course for a while. Other times it's just starting to chip away at things so I can enjoy the feeling of some accomplishement. And I hope that some of the things will not be as burdensome as they seem.

I will hope that your water in the basement has an easy solution.

[foodlady]

A cup of tea, a hot bath, and jammies at 7 pm are my "de-stress" formula! Then I curl up in bed with a book or watch a stupid show on TV. :)

I hope things get better for you! I hate days like that...

[Beth]

I forgot the obvious .... when things have been really tough, I bake brownies! :p Tea and a hot bath are also good.

[cniles]

A glass of wine and a backrub from DH usually helps ;) Otherwise it's mindless TV - sometimes I do need to do a checklist so I feel like I'm ready to go the next day... Hang in there Alice!!! Hope it gets better!!!! :)

[Terri_A]

booze and new shoes...the perfect combination for me!

[Canice]

A long walk in a pretty neighborhood and/or visits to favorite food stores are very calming to me. That's a good time to buy that special bottle of vinegar or nut oil you've been eyeing - a small luxury that can lift the spirits.

[dreamer]

I'm glad you started this thread- we should probably have one like it often! Today, I've got a lot of boring chores to do- mostly financial stuff, filing things, etc. BOR-ing. So I've got a CD on, I'm taking this BB break, and...

For every 15 minutes of chores I allow myself one Junior Mint. :)
I know it sounds ridiculous, but sometimes treating myself like a lab rat works very well. :D

Aubergine, I loved your post. Sounds like a lot of the things I do or would like to do. (I play Free Cell a lot as a transition between tasks. .. I often erase the "Statistics"- not because I care that I'm not winning all the time, but because I'm embarassed to see the tally of just how many times I've played! I.e. 74 games X 4 minutes a game is...aaahhhh!!! :eek: :D )

rosie_one, my advice would be to do something good beforethe end of the day. Like, before or in the middle of the bad stuff. If you feel a little better and a little comforted, the bad stuff may not seem quite as overwhelming! (Hanging out on the BB is good!) Take care and hope you find something to lift your mood! :) -dreamer

[Aubergine]

Wine
Knit socks

It's better not to do the first two together.

lololol, good one!

i'm giggling for a few minutes already, and i needed that laff. i'm into my 6th day of nursing SO 24/7 through some bizarro flu-type thing, and i'm totally stressed out myself. but i did visit with my 77-y-o neighbor for an hour today; her husband of 56 years (!!!) is not well, and hearing about someone else's troubles helps a great deal to put things into perspective.

[barbara-cook]

I realise that I jumped on here kind of late.

Smile, cook, read a book, have a glass of wine, or a hot cop of tea. If the weather is nice, putter in the garden, or sit on the patio and just stare at the sky. If I'm angry because of the bad day, I might clean house (not that I never clean it otherwise but if I'm mad at someone, I have to work it off or I'll end up in bed just crying (pointless). I guess I haven't been really mad much lately - the house could use a good scrubbing.....)

Hope today is better for you!

Yesterday wasn't such a good day here either. The basement window installers never showed and even after I called, I never got a call back. Now they'll just have to wait for another day to install. I'm out of the house the rest of the week! Too bad for them!

[DeeK]

Wine
Knit socks


It's better not to do the first two together.

Ain't it the truth ...... :cool: :D

[erinlovesmarc]

I can't live without my Yoga...I feel like a million bucks after a Yoga session at the gym or at home! At first I didn't notice a difference in my stress but after awhile - like a month - it really helped with the stress and helped me sleep like a baby. I haven't had time in the last few months to go (wedding/new house coming up) and I miss it...I don't sleep as well and I find that I get more frustrated/snappy/pms when I don't do it on a regular basis.

[ErinM]

Well, you could always do what members of my SnB group do...

Have one project that you only work on while drinking!

[Curiosity Hears]

A glass of wine or a cocktail and start cooking something that involves a lot of chopping and of coarse, some good music.

Hope today is better for you. :)

[rosie_one]

Thanks for all your kind words!

Life did improve, no major damage done in the basement. No large expenses incurred. And I now know how to open my laundry room floor drain. Whew. I completely zoned out that night with DH, HGTV and a glass of red wine. There is something scarily soothing about that House Hunters show. So predictable. Three houses to explore, the nice realtor. All happy at the end. Yay.

Aubergine, I do sudoku for that must de-stress with a left brain activity right this moment thing. Sometimes that is all I need, but the other day, I was beyond it. Maybe it was build up to that full moon yesterday. ;)

[Kay Henderson]

Glad things improved, Rosie!

When I was teaching, I used to spend one weekend day a week at school to prepare for the next week and work on longterm projects. It wasn't a bad day (I kind of enjoyed the solitude), but it could be tedious. Every two hours, I would reward myself with a 15 minute walk. Getting active shook things up and I could return with more concentration.

Weather permitting, I still use this technique when I have a lot of paperwork to do on personal business, community activities, estate stuff, etc.

Kay