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I just added a new function to the site. Now you can subscribe by email… so when I post, you get notified via email. This is pretty much for the non-web2.0 savvy (aka those who haven’t discovered RSS feeds yet), who really don’t make it a point to stop by here too often.

The link is in the sidebar… it’s through FeedBurner, so just put your email address in on the page that comes up, and from now on, you’ll know when I post things. Try it!

Lately I’ve been finding myself really stressed out for no reason… to the point of snapping at people when they really didn’t deserve it. It’s not even like life is really all that awful right now. I just have a bad habit of getting myself into a tizzy.

I’ve been learning how to relax. Not just my body, but my brain and my emotions as well. This is what I do to relax.

1. Music. This is seriously the key to unwinding… for me, anyhow. Grab your iPod, CD Player, or heck, the closest radio, and put on music you love. It doesn’t even have to be relaxing music… I’ve been known to fall asleep to some hard rock before. Worship music, soundtrack music, screaming kids with dreadlocks, whatever it takes.
2. Find something to occupy your brain. If you put your mind on something else, you won’t have time to over-analyze everything else, now, will you? Pick something repetetive and methodical… like the Solitaire game that’s on every PC, or doodling on a sheet of paper, or crocheting, or painting your toenails. If that doesn’t relax you, find something to challenge your brain. Immerse yourself in a problem of mediocre importance. Me, personally, when I hit that point, I code a website or a layout. It’s not life or death, but it takes my mind off of life’s little annoyances.
3. Take a walk. Get out. Go look at something else. Take that music from step one with you. If you’re not into walking, get in your car and just drive. Pull your old bike out of the shed and cruise the neighborhood. Just get out and absorb the change in scenery.
4. Completely clear your head. Everyone does this differently. Some people will get into full-on meditation to clear their head… some people just need to lie in their back yard and look at the stars. Think about God. Think about nothing at all. Just clear your head.
5. Have a heart-to-heart with your best friend. Even if you just end up giggling about something that someone said to someone else, or drawing reeses pieces in a tree and saving it for later (okay, so we’re weird), sometimes a friend is all you need to relax you and get you out of your slump.
6. Do something artistic. You don’t even have to be artistic for this! Get a piece of paper and some crayons and just scribble! Write a book/story/poem/song. Doodle. Draw all over the entire road with sidewalk chalk.
7. Take a nap. Sounds lazy, but a lot of people get stressed out when they don’t get enough sleep. Take a little nap. It’ll probably unwind you pretty fast.
8. Just worship. I’m not even particularly good on this one (today’s confession), but it’s probably better than everything else put together. Just take your focus completely off yourself, put it on Him, and watch everything fall into place.

I guess that’s all I have for now. For some reason, I was thinking about this on the way home from the lake. We went to Sulphur today, which is where we’re planning on having Sukkot, just to scope it out and spend some time swimming. After we ate lunch, I was waiting for a while before I got back in (that’s just the way I was taught, thank you!), and ended up just sitting on the shore, just letting the waves wash over me… just letting everything drain out of my head. It’s the most relaxed I’ve been in quite a while… and it was absolutely lovely.

So what do you all do to relax? Anything? If you all don’t speak up pretty soon, I’m going to have to start up another de-lurking week. Also, what are your plans for Sukkot? We’re camping with some friends of ours, but I’m a little disappointed because the only other “youth” will be my sister, who is fifteen, along with a fourteen year old and an eleven year old. That’s the one thing I probably miss about Sukkots in the past… all of the youth. Oh, gosh, though… I’m not even really youth anymore!

This post is part of The Erulynsky Blogathon
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I’ve got a question for you all this week, and it’s about other people’s problems. Whose problems, you may ask? Anyone’s.

I’m personally one of those people who tend to be a worrier. If I know something’s wrong, I worry about it… even if it doesn’t really concern me. Couple that with an overactive imagination, and you can see why I tend to list a lot of fears on those email surveys. Anyhow, that’s besides the point. I know a lot of times my moods are situation-based… meaning, I could be having a great day until someone I care about starts crying, and then I worry about them for the rest of the day.

Along with that, one of the few good qualities I can tell you about myself is that I’m a good listener. I’ve always been told that… most likely just because I tend to be a quiet person around certain people. Who knows? But this means that I’m constantly hearing other people’s problems (which is fine, seriously) and then worrying about them.

Am I the only one? Do any of you do this too, and if so, to what degree? Does it bug you for a minute and then go away? Does it keep you up all night, depending on the severity of the problem? Or do you kind of shrug it off, thinking that your own problems are quite enough for you, thanks?

This post is part of The Erulynsky Blogathon
View The Erulynsky Blogathon Score so far!