“Relax”.  What is this?

 I don’t have any methods really but I do have some pics that still make me laugh. Hopefully they do for you and take the edge off a little.

{{{{{De-Stress Vibes}}}}} LPT.

I like to lay on the floor and let the bunnies crawl all over me and snuggle up to lulu and pet her.

When I need to de-stress, I like to sit quietly and deep breathe. I used to do this when I came home from work. I would let the buns out then just sit with my eyes closed for 5-10 minutes with no stimuli. I just needed a few minutes without the tv or computer or music.

Good luck with everything and congratulations!

Lay on the floor with the bunny.

I forget about work when I get home. When I see that little bunny face, it makes me smile.

Also, I take bubble baths once every 2 weeks.. it is quite nice and relaxing. It helps me unwind and sleep

pet Cotton     go outside    lie on the floor with Cotton

I have moderate to severe PTSD from being in Iraq, and the one thing that helps me is spending time with Mr. Hopper & Nibblette. They have a calming effect on me.

To de-stress, I take baths…. I actually get so stressed while studying that I have built a little bath shelf thing that makes it to where I can have a table in the bath and study while taking baths. It helps so much.
Sometimes, I just find that it helps to get the heck out of the house. I go out on the motorcycle with my camera and try to take pictures for future art projects.
Now, my next tip seems a bit extreme and psycho but it really helps when your stress exceeds the powers of meditation or a hot bath….
While my parents were going through a divorce, my life was very stressful and unpredictable. I told a therapist once that I would get so angry that I wanted to hit someone. She suggested breaking things. The ability to break something helps build up some endorphins, it allows that physical release of hostility and stress and you feel so much better afterwards. She said that it needed to be done in a controlled manner though, I couldn’t just go nuts and smash everything in the house. You get a few extra coffee mugs from a thrift store and keep them on hand. When you feel that much stress, take down out a coffee mug, put it in a trash bag, tie a knot in it. This way there isn’t a bunch of shattered glass when you are done. I guess you can imagine putting your problems in the bag or something. Make sure you are alone, that there is no danger of hitting a person or animal on accident, and then chuck that bag as hard as you can on the floor. The control you have over the process helps you get control over yourself, the deep breath really helps redirect you and the smashing glass noise is kind of fun and exciting, youre doing something that is against the norm but you know you arent turning into a lunatic because you have made a decision to be very careful while doing it. Afterwards, you pick up the bag, put it in the trash and sit for a few minutes. You will be surprised at how much better you feel. Also, by using those coffee mugs, you didnt break anything you will regret breaking later.

Yes, I know, it makes me sound like a crazy violent person, but really, it has helped a lot and I have learned a lot about controlling anger through this exercise instead of bottling it up or turning to alcohol for help.

I hang out with the bunnies! Just watching them lay around is calming.

Doing anything that gets my mind off of the stress is helpful – I like to read or watch tv (especially crappy reality shows – compared to those people my life looks pretty good, haha)

Breaking things that are cheap sound like a good way to relieve stress. I could have used that this morning.

Chacha, I told you to do this morning 😛

firstly… congrats on your upcoming nuptials lpt very very excited and happy for you!

to combat stress i def like to get into a cuddle puddle with bogart and pinky. i either bun-nap pinky and put her on the couch with me and the dog or i lay down in her room and let her come to me. either way we get a good cuddle. for times when i’m away from the furbabies i do deep breathing. close eyes and just count deep breaths in and out.

when i’m seriously flipping mad or on edge a good breath taking cardio workout is amazing. have you ever heard of bodyrock.tv? i am currently addicted to her workouts. they are short (8 – 20 mins) interval training challenges, there are many in archives to choose from, and they use little or no equipment. i think because they are varied and you only go hard for short durations they are very do-able.

i can imagine how breaking things would really work too! i remember tearing out all the wood paneling in my basement and how great it felt.

Play a video game. Watch a funny movie that you love. Knit. Walk my dog. Learn a new hobby. working out.

Weddings are stressful, but you will feel so much better when it is over. The couple of months leading up to mine I was having nightmares about every little inconceivable thing happening and ruining it all. Best advise is not to sweat the small stuff. Some brides micro manage every little detail, but the more you try to make it perfect, the more likely it is to go wrong.

Now for a little TMI. We have a really fun story about how we spent our Wedding Night. I get sick when I get over emotional. When my husband and I got back to the house, everything, all the pent up stress, emotions, relief it was finally over, joy that it went well, hit me all at once and I spent our first night as a married couple puking all night long. Hopefully it goes better for you then it did for me.

First, I want to add a variation on the breaking cups suggestion, which is to stack several pillows and whack them as hard as you can with a tennis racket. Neither will break, but it lets out a lot of aggression.

Bubble baths. It’s really a relief to know there’s some way to get all you guys to bathe once in a while. (Turns on the pressure so you’ll turn on the faucet. Pee-yooo!)

ROFL Pam.

Everyone can come and take bubble baths at our new house. We have a huuuge tub that fits at least 2 or 3 people and I don’t think we’ll ever use it (not that we don’t wash, but we just take showers 😛 )

LPT, good luck this weekend! I’m so excited for you and I hope you share a picture or two when it’s all over 😉

I hated planning my wedding – I tried to take the most laid back approach possible because I just didn’t want to get overly stressed about it (my job was insanely stressful at the time, so I really couldn’t handle being stressed out about something else too). It was so worth it though, and now that it’s over I love other people’s weddings. Haha. While I hated planning the details of my own, I love hearing about the details of other people’s weddings. It’s fun to think “Oh, that’ll look so pretty” without having to make any of the phone calls or do any of the work. lol Maybe you’ll feel the same when it’s all over.

LPT, I want to add BIG HUGE Congratulations HUGS to you on your big day coming up!!!!!