How I Found My Zen And Other Ways To De-Stress

I stress out every day. I can’t really help it. It’s part of my job. I work as a newspaper reporter, which is one of the top 10 most stressful jobs a person can have. Every single day I stress about making deadlines, posting stories on Facebook, setting up interviews, taking photos and planning stories for the upcoming week. And that’s just before noon.

It’s the nature of the industry. We’re always, always on a deadline. Even when we’re not on deadline for a story, we’re on a deadline for something else. So yes, it’s all very stressful. But it’s okay, because I found my zen, and a few other ways to de-stress!

Working in this craziness every day requires a little stress therapy…Ok, a lot of stress therapy. In fact, I have to de-stress myself on a daily basis in one way or another. Some days, I even double down to really give myself a deep cleanse from all the insanity that is my job.

So, how do I do it?

First, I’ve learned to leave work at work. The news never stops, and I could easily work around the clock every day. I used to be that person who read emails at 9 o’clock at night and pulled open her laptop to squeeze in a few more minutes of work before bed. Now, I don’t check my email anytime after 7 p.m. If there’s a breaking news emergency, someone will call me. Anything else can wait until the next morning.

Second, I have several activities and hobbies to help me chill out after a long day.

Usually, my evening starts with some kind of physical activity. If I’m not completely wiped out from my day at work, I’ll hit the gym to work up a good sweat. This has multiple benefits for me. It gets my blood flowing after a day of mostly sitting at a desk, and the rush of endorphins gives me a nice mood booster, which is especially helpful after a crappy, stressful day. On days that I need more of a de-stress than a workout, I’ll pull out my yoga mat. I especially love yoga for the massive calm it puts me in. I’m always majorly zenned out after a good yoga session.

On the days that I don’t get a workout in, I usually crochet. I’ve been knitting and crocheting for years, and it’s something I do to keep my hands busy. It also goes great with a good Netflix show. I can chill on the sofa and crochet for hours just letting my worries work themselves out into the yarn.

Lately, I’ve also started taking up beading. I especially love beading because it forces me to block out any other stressful thoughts or worries about my day to just focus on the wire and the beads. The only downside to this newest hobby of mine is that I don’t often wear jewelry. I now have a stack of about 15 bracelets on my dresser that I don’t know what to do with. But beading is my new de-stress obsession, so I’ll keep beading my worries away until I drown in bracelets.

To cap off a de-stress evening, I’ll usually light an incense stick right before going to bed because there’s nothing like having a wonderful, sultry smell wafting around the room. Incense is the ultimate relaxer for me.

Without these de-stress methods, I would be one highly stressed and probably very short-tempered person. Thankfully for my own sanity (and the sanity of everyone around me), I’ve found my zen.

source: http://totallythebomb.com/how-i-found-my-zen-and-other-ways-to-de-stress