My Top Five Stress Releases

Right now there is so much going on in my world, I don’t know about you! Owning your own business with so much economic chaos going on around is nerve-wracking. We are fortunate to be very busy, but we always have an ear to the ground trying to figure out what will happen in the future, and identify how as a business we might need to move to meet client needs. At the same time, in my personal world there are also a lot of stressors. Don’t we all sometimes feel like we are playing a bit of Whack-a-Mole in our personal lives? I take my mental health seriously, especially given how stressful my line of work is, and how much of other people’s grief and emotion I am dealing with daily in my field of work. 

Here are five things I do on a regular basis to de-stress a bit, and maybe these can help you, too.

1.) A Grounding Walk. I am very fortunate to have my office a block from the waterfront in Old Town North. I often pop out of the office and head down to Tide Lock Park and do a quick loop to clear my head in between clients and projects. I look out over the river and try to just reconnect with the world for a moment. 

2.) Fun with Friends.There is absolutely nothing that I love more than spending time with someone I enjoy! Even if it is a movie night with one friend on the couch catching up with a takeout pizza from Stracci, or a dinner I helped cook with lots of friends, or just catching up with colleagues and friends casually. Other people always lift my spirits. It’s one of the reasons I’m so active in my community!

3.) Work Out Consistently. I work out fairly regularly, and if you go to the OneLife in Old Town, you have likely seen me. I need to work out for my physical health, but it really helps my mental health, too. I like to work out in the evening, when possible, to give my mind a clear separation from work. My brain ceases worrying while I’m spinning, rowing, lifting weights or any other workout. I also love a slow run around Alexandria with a girlfriend where we attempt to solve all the world’s problems. 

4.) Organizing and Cleaning. I am VERY type A. And sometimes when my life feels chaotic, I need to organize and clean things. At work it might be my case list, it may be my calendar, but it might also be something simple like organizing a drawer, cleaning my kitchen counter, or something fun like organizing part of a vacation. Literally putting things in place and cleaning helps me process and feel like I can more easily move forward. 

5.) Working On My Sleep Routine. It’s not perfect! Adrien Cotton would have a lot to say about it, but I do try to read before bed, and not stay up too late watching television and letting the “scaries” set in. Since I live alone, late nights when things get quiet are when self-doubt can creep in. Sometimes that means, it’s just time to go to bed and wake up refreshed ready to start anew. 

How do you find stress relief? Share in the comments.

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