Have you ever had one of those days were you felt like something inside of you was just going to snap under stress? As I type this, I’m sitting in a room, alone, listening to soothing music on Slacker Radio. To go along with the music, I’ve got a CAO La Traviata burning in the ashtray and a steaming cup of coffee aside it.
Today has been what seems like one gigantic ball of stress. Since I awoke this morning, my cell phone has been making non-stop noise. If it wasn’t the sound of someone calling to talk, it was the sound pf my email, text, voicemail, or blackberry messenger alerts. Just when I thought one issue has been dealt with and behind me, another came roaring forward.
On top of my Blackberry causing my blood pressure to rise, my house phone seems to have rung out more in this single day than it has all of last week combined. Couple the noises of being connected to the grid with my overly clingy pooch and you’ve the workings for a stress related breakdown. No matter where I go within the house, the stresses seemed to find me.
While the stresses I mentioned would be enough to drive me crazy, on top of all that, my wife insisted on showing me each and every free sample she received at a Babies R Us store wide baby shower for expecting women. I know these things are important to my wife, but today was just not the day to show me the inner workings of a baby bottle which we won’t be using until July.
More than once I tried to simply find myself a quiet spot to do something fun, to try and take my mind off of the things that were picking at my sanity. Unfortunately the stresses got the better of me and I simply couldn’t enjoy myself with any of the things that I normally find to be fun and entertaining.
My wife, who I love dearly, could see the stress on my face and was kind enough to run out and pick up some dinner so that we wouldn’t have to cook. After dinner, she went out to a movie with a friend and gave me a quit house to try and unwind in. I’ve turned my Blackberry off, turned the ringer down on the house phone, disconnected from Twitter and Facebook, turned off my email client, and am finally starting to feel the stresses of the day melt away.
Days where I get this stressed are few and far between, but they do arise from time to time. It is times like this where I wish that I wasn’t so plugged in. With so much going on each and every day, I find that a day or two of being disconnected is exactly what the doctor ordered. Unfortunately it isn’t often that I can afford to turn it all off without the burden of being buried in correspondence when its time to get back on the grid.
I’m curious as to what you do when stress begins to build up beyond normal levels? Being winter with snow and ice on the ground, I’m unable to spend an hour at the range sending lead flying at paper targets, which I find to be a fantastic way to de-stress in the warmer months.
10 thoughts on “The Stresses of being too Connected”
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i to find a hour or so at the range to be very helpful in reliving stress, its funny i didnt get to bed last night till 1 am because my wife kept talking about a crib and basonett she wanted , and how she wanted to have it all by june when we arent due till september. i feel ya walt. if i cant get to the range which seems to be happening more and more often , then i play halo on xbox, its someting im pretty good at and if i cant shoot up a paper target i shoot up some poor schmuck in an online video game. or just sit in the dark and breathe, maybe smoke a cigar. its hard to get unwound when your stressed, this was a good read.
Going to range is an amazing stress release. Seems like like with every pull of the trigger the stress chips away. unfortunately, my local range is down a dirt road which I’m sure will be a mess at the moment. Can’t wait till it warms up and it is easily accessible again.
I dont tend to get too stressed anymore. Ever since my neck injury I have had to deal with that 24/7 so I have had to learn to adapt a bit. If I do get stressed, most of the time I can just unwind by watching a funny movie or tv show while puffing away on a cigar.
You know, I have never owned a gun. Hell I only ever shot a gun like twice my entire life. I have a sword, but no gun. I must live in an alternate reality LOL
Mike
I never shot a gun until a couple of years ago. After that first experience I went out and bought something inexpensive to use at the range. Since then I have bought a couple more. Loads of fun 🙂
I don’t think I could shoot one now anyway, with the way my neck is – dunno. Maybe if i got something with 0 recoil, and I mean ZERO, I may be able to shoot.
Mike
Mike,
The recoil is actually kind of fun. After my first day shooting, sending a couple hundred rounds down range through an AK, several SKS models, and shooting clays with a 12 gauge, my shoulder felt raw. When the weekend was over I had a bruise the size of a grapefruit. From that experience I learned to keep the butt plate tight against my should and not let it “ram” me.
Pistols are fun too. Biggest one I’ve shot was a 454 Casul, which was all kinds of fun….lol
Clinical hypnosis– not kidding. I went to a hypnotist named John Cerbone and he put me through an hour long session and then gave me a tape that I use when I need it and/or before I go to bed. The tape is literally him recording the session he gave me. I was so impressed that I’ve considered more than once going to his classes to give others sessions; I think my liking to it came because I was a skeptic who said “Yeah, haha, this WON’T work for me” and came out saying “WOOOW. My stress level is at a minimum, I feel refreshed and relaxed but more aware, and my thoughts are clear and concise. I can’t believe it worked!”
It works… I’m tellin’ ya. It might make you laugh at the thought, but it REALLY REALLY works. A cigar might relax me, but hypnosis does wonders for the mind, body and soul.
Steven,
I’ve actually heard a number of stories of how hypnosis has helped people. We actually have a regular visitor of Stogie Review in the business which runs a Hypnosis website (Cal Banyan via CalBanyan.com).
Even hearing these positive stories, I’ve always been skeptical about it working for me. Its cool to hear yet another success story.
I’ll definitely have to find him now. Like i said, I was skeptical and didn’t think it would work for me, but felt great (and a ton of relief) when I realized it did.
I always go to my Devotional Bible. Amazing how each testimonial always seems to apply to the area of need. That’s just me…