stress
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pleasegodno
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like i said, you just have to try to readjust your attitude, unless you want to get on antidepressants (which are used for this condition).
The Gardener
Senior Member
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Taking a vacation is the most effective method I use to combat stress.
I went into a dark period like that, heavy stress, thought all things sucked. I had taken time off work before, but it didn't help. I decided to take a real vacation. In these days of cell phones and dial-up networking to the Corporate Network it is all to easy to take 'time off' yet still find yourself worrying about work, family, friends, other troubles.
You need time to get away from it, you need some time for simplicity and some free white space for a few weeks of your existence.
I discovered this when I decided to take two weeks off, and instead of going somewhere 'accessible' I went instead to Honduras and ensconsced myself in a beachside bungalow at quite a reasonable rate. I made sure everyone at work knew where I was at, and reminded them I would be completely out of touch.
It was sublime! I stayed in a small town, and mixed with the locals. No American network TV, no cell phone, no laptop computer, just the cycles of the sun and the sound of the tide to remind me of the concept of time. I fished, listened to the boat captain's stories about his adventures. I laid out in the sun and read books I have wanted to read but set aside because back home I 'had no time' for reading. I walked around town and enjoyed simple pleasures, a local cocktail specialty, a marinated beef kabob from a sidewalk vendor, some local music. I hiked. I met some other tourists and we chartered a boat to take us up a nearby river to take in the scenery. We had a wonderful conversation on the boat, me , the other couple, and the boat captain and his son and daughter. He anchored the boat offshore his pier and we swam and cooked sausages and drank beer to the sounds of the local soccer call on the radio.
Best of all, I slept sans alarm clock. I woke up when my body felt like it, usually around 11am or so.
It is one of the best vacations I have ever taken. I swear that those two weeks added 10 years to my life! And, upon return I had a refreshed and completely new attitude towards my responsiblities back home. I had a new spirit, and rediscovered the human within myself and rediscovered the reasons why I like my job and appreciated the benefits and money it gives me. It was an eye-opener.
Anyhoo, stress is not necessarily an indication of a bad situation. Sometimes, it is an indication that your perception of life is out of balance.
I went into a dark period like that, heavy stress, thought all things sucked. I had taken time off work before, but it didn't help. I decided to take a real vacation. In these days of cell phones and dial-up networking to the Corporate Network it is all to easy to take 'time off' yet still find yourself worrying about work, family, friends, other troubles.
You need time to get away from it, you need some time for simplicity and some free white space for a few weeks of your existence.
I discovered this when I decided to take two weeks off, and instead of going somewhere 'accessible' I went instead to Honduras and ensconsced myself in a beachside bungalow at quite a reasonable rate. I made sure everyone at work knew where I was at, and reminded them I would be completely out of touch.
It was sublime! I stayed in a small town, and mixed with the locals. No American network TV, no cell phone, no laptop computer, just the cycles of the sun and the sound of the tide to remind me of the concept of time. I fished, listened to the boat captain's stories about his adventures. I laid out in the sun and read books I have wanted to read but set aside because back home I 'had no time' for reading. I walked around town and enjoyed simple pleasures, a local cocktail specialty, a marinated beef kabob from a sidewalk vendor, some local music. I hiked. I met some other tourists and we chartered a boat to take us up a nearby river to take in the scenery. We had a wonderful conversation on the boat, me , the other couple, and the boat captain and his son and daughter. He anchored the boat offshore his pier and we swam and cooked sausages and drank beer to the sounds of the local soccer call on the radio.
Best of all, I slept sans alarm clock. I woke up when my body felt like it, usually around 11am or so.
It is one of the best vacations I have ever taken. I swear that those two weeks added 10 years to my life! And, upon return I had a refreshed and completely new attitude towards my responsiblities back home. I had a new spirit, and rediscovered the human within myself and rediscovered the reasons why I like my job and appreciated the benefits and money it gives me. It was an eye-opener.
Anyhoo, stress is not necessarily an indication of a bad situation. Sometimes, it is an indication that your perception of life is out of balance.
hairschmair
Established Member
- Reaction score
- 11
wow.. just *READING* that made me feel more relaxed.
Summer is coming. Maybe I'll try Jamaica myself
Summer is coming. Maybe I'll try Jamaica myself
The Gardener
Senior Member
- Reaction score
- 25
I cannot over-emphasize the importance of taking a vacation from time to time.
Traveling to off the beaten track destinations have been some of the best experiences of my life. Instead of going to some bullshit tourist haven, such as Cancun (now, mind you, Cancun has one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen, but it is not really 'getting away', per se) go to a non-touristy area where the lifestyle is truly different than your own. Go somewhere that is a feast for your senses, go somewhere that is a challenge, go somewhere unspoiled and natural and free.
It's hard to do at first. It is really easy to book a trip to a place like a small coastal town in Honduras, but harder to explain to your friends why you are going there. When you say you are taking a vacation, you want to impress your friends with some well-known and 'sexy' destination. Avoid this syndrome and tell them that you are going somewhere different because you want go somewhere different and, explore the real world a bit, and avoid throngs of tourists.
I remember when I was booking this trip, my parents calling me while I was on the web booking my flight to Tegucigalpa. My parents' reaction was 'where is Tegucigalpa?' I told them, Honduras. Their response was basically one of 'why the f*** are you traveling to Honduras?' I told them that I came across a website of some beach bungalows for rent there in a small coastal town, and that I speak Spanish and am tired of Mexico, and want to go somewhere low key but hospitable that is not overwhelmed by Westerners for a change, and this place seemed to fit the bill.
You have to go for it and see the world. I spent a week at the Westin in Acapulco and for the life of me there was no difference in the experience that if I had spent that same week at the Westin in Abilene. That is NOT travel and exploration. It was a typical cramped hotel room fully stocked with American cable TV and a dining menu stocked with Western food. Screw that... Barbecuing fish on the beach with a bunch of hospitable Hondurans while listening to soccer and watching the sunset was a far better meal than anything on the room service menu at the Westin in Acapulco.
Traveling to off the beaten track destinations have been some of the best experiences of my life. Instead of going to some bullshit tourist haven, such as Cancun (now, mind you, Cancun has one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen, but it is not really 'getting away', per se) go to a non-touristy area where the lifestyle is truly different than your own. Go somewhere that is a feast for your senses, go somewhere that is a challenge, go somewhere unspoiled and natural and free.
It's hard to do at first. It is really easy to book a trip to a place like a small coastal town in Honduras, but harder to explain to your friends why you are going there. When you say you are taking a vacation, you want to impress your friends with some well-known and 'sexy' destination. Avoid this syndrome and tell them that you are going somewhere different because you want go somewhere different and, explore the real world a bit, and avoid throngs of tourists.
I remember when I was booking this trip, my parents calling me while I was on the web booking my flight to Tegucigalpa. My parents' reaction was 'where is Tegucigalpa?' I told them, Honduras. Their response was basically one of 'why the f*** are you traveling to Honduras?' I told them that I came across a website of some beach bungalows for rent there in a small coastal town, and that I speak Spanish and am tired of Mexico, and want to go somewhere low key but hospitable that is not overwhelmed by Westerners for a change, and this place seemed to fit the bill.
You have to go for it and see the world. I spent a week at the Westin in Acapulco and for the life of me there was no difference in the experience that if I had spent that same week at the Westin in Abilene. That is NOT travel and exploration. It was a typical cramped hotel room fully stocked with American cable TV and a dining menu stocked with Western food. Screw that... Barbecuing fish on the beach with a bunch of hospitable Hondurans while listening to soccer and watching the sunset was a far better meal than anything on the room service menu at the Westin in Acapulco.