Off Hamster Wheel: How Did You Lower Some Stressors?

[Recovery4Me]

@Anrish I do not know why but I have always loved this song and the word Howdy (which I see everytime I sign in) lol! Thank you for the laughter.

@ghotiff I will try to see if I have the G's to download one of those games that you recommended onto my phone, I think I might prefer the PC however as I am a little near sighted and my IPhone isn't but so big. Anrish has me thinking about a hand held Nintendo in a few months of careful saving (from not smoking). See you two have been a good influence on me (((hugs)))).

 

[Deleted member 12723]

Very interesting thread Recovery! I am currently taking the three steps back at the moment and and use writing in my spiral notebook to help me sort out everything in my head and my life. I will come back to this later.:hug:

 

[Recovery4Me]

@gizmo (((hugs))))
I have a spiral but for my passwords and such...lol. I envy you as I am seriously dependent on spell check. Please do add anything that crosses your mind as you are a fountain of ideas!:tup:

 

[Kintsugi]

I haven't read all of the responses, but I wanted to respond to this.

Using the game Superbetter helped me. It reminded me that the simple things--eating well, exercising daily and often, and going out on a quest just to do a good deed--really were things that helped enrich my life and gave me a boost, low as I felt.

Also, reading particularly delectable books seems to boost my mood and give me some extra oomph in my day. I find reading good writing revitalizing and energizing.

(((((R4M)))))

 

[Recovery4Me]

@Simply Simon ((((Joyful))))

Thank you for your input!:tup: I absolutely feel revitalized when reading your posts btw.;) Gratitude of those basic, important but simple things plus paying forward...:notworthy: Very nice...Holistic and kind.


Once wrote: Is Superbetter a free game for PC? *Mutters at self for being so clueless in youthful fun activites:clown:

Edited: Now adds link for others as it looks VERY GOOD !!!
https://www.superbetter.com/about

Does anyone else play this? :shy:

 

[oasis2003]

Me meds, meditation, self care (basic)
lots of distraction techniques, colouring, drawing, watching films, yoga , jigsaw puzzles, listening to music . Sleeping so much if I need it( and not feeling guilt about it) Walking, swimming, toliving in the moment, trying to appreciate the smallest of details every day. Noticing nature. Trying to stay and experience emotions very hard for me to do !! Just try not to expect too much of myself. Know that I am human and vulnerable (very hard for me )
Many hugs and compassion to you @ Recovery4Me

 

[Recovery4Me]

@Oasis Thank you so much for your offer. There are so many great ideas being written that I am attempting to recap in my diary, than tentatively to place back here -somewhat collectively to offer respect. I take each member's success and shares very seriously. (((hugs back to the lovely journeyer)))

I have witnessed your hard work on Mindful Meditation for quite a bit now as well as some serious work in self compassion. :tup: Lovely to watch you unfold and bloom. Do you feel that these skill sets contributed to your awareness and appreciation or was it something else?

When I can walk, I find a clear mind or Mindfulness Meditation exhilarating. :hug:

 

[Deleted member 12723]

okay here goes, walking in the woods, self care in a routine, playing games on my I Pad and taking naps as I am able to right now.Writing in my spiral notebook and somehow making my anxiety levels calm down. Medication to stabalize me, Being on the forum. Cooking a good meal. Getting projects accomplished great source of satisfaction. Writing letters to family. Sitting outside in the sun. Taking care of my potted plants inside and out gives me so much pleasure. Learning new computer skills with help from others. Using my new phone to text to my daughter. If I think of more, I will come back to this. Oh yeah watching good movies on tv.

 

[Recovery4Me]

@gizmo :tup: Simply beautiful lifestyle! Thank you so much for taking the time to share such warmth and peaceful centering.:hug::hug:

You have really succeeded in so many ways Giz. Amazing successes and you are most modest concerning them. (((hugs))) Thank you, my friend for such lovely visuals of serenity. I shall think on your offer a bit.:)

 

[Deleted member 12723]

@Recovery4Me thank you and you are welcome.:hug:

 

[EveHarrington]

I can't help but feel that a big part of the problem may be the mental construct that you have of PTSD in your head-----a hamster wheel.

By definition you'll never get anywhere inside a hamster wheel. I've never had this imagery in my head. My mental picture is linear (forward, backward, to the side) but always moving in the healing direction overall. Other times it's a sine wave of sorts with varying amplitude, but that goes forward to infinity so at least I'm going somewhere.

Maybe changing this mental picture could help your mind believe there's somewhere to go other than round and round the hamster wheel or simply off the hamster wheel (as really off the wheel stops you spinning in circles but you're not necessarily going anywhere.)

How did I lower stressors? Many of the above mentioned + many other ways as well. Stressor lowering was a general product of healing on whole. Can't really pinpoint a certain thing that was THE reason.

 

[ghotiff]

One thing I also do is that each month I write up to 4 goals for the month. They are more written as priorities than goals. For example last month was school holidays for my kids so my main priority was that my kids found the school holidays relaxing and rejuvenating. Because this was my main priority anything else I felt I "should" do only happened if it fit within that main goal.

Eg. I didn't focus on my kids diet too much...so that when getting them to eat more vegetables started making the household stressed, I stopped and took a step back because I had a clear goal/priority for that month and it wasn't vegetables. Any other goal/priority I wrote had to fit within my main one. So, it for last month it was cleaning out a particular cupboard....my kids don't find watching me clean stressful and I knew I'd have the time while kids enjoyed some TV.

This month has a boring and stressful priority so vegetables will have to wait to be prioritized next month.

I find that writing out my priorities for each month allows me to know/plan for what I want and to then feel success. It also stops me feeling like I'm not doing enough. Eg vegetables will be prioritized, just not this month because I know what I must prioritize this month.

I keep these in my notebook that I carry with me and if I feel I haven't got much done I go back and realize that I did achieve my priorities, eg my kids did have a relaxing holiday and that was more important to me than how many vegetables they ate.