THE DAILY WRITE

Will You Believe Me If I Told You

. . . that I love housework?

June 22nd: What’s your favorite way to relieve stress?

Not kidding. At all. Very early in life, I learned that physical activity is one of the best ways to get rid of stress. The trick is to pick an activity we enjoy. For some it is exercise, for some, it is dancing, yoga, aerobics, and for some, like me, it is housework. Oh, I also enjoy yoga and aerobics.

Here is the science behind this.

When you are physically active, your brain produces those feel-good neurotransmitters called endorphins.

Here’s my logic: we all have stuff to do. Stress is usually caused when they don't get done. Different things stress different people. For example, my friend freaks out if she hasn’t bought enough milk/groceries/whatever.

Another friend is always misplacing stuff — and looking for them delays her, making it worse.

If we got to the root of the issue and solved those, wouldn’t we have less stress?

And thus, the following are my favorite stress-busters.

Doing housework

Since I always have a too-much-to-do list in progress, I just get going. Housework is never-ending, what with that kitchen sink filling, cooking to be done, dust accumulating, and so on and so forth!

I just pick a thing, crank up the music, and mop, skip and jump. I even pretend to be a rock star using the mop as a microphone. Win-win. And? Instant gratification over a cleaner house.

Going outdoors!

Sometimes I like to take a walk around the area with my camera when I am stressed about something. Getting outdoors puts things in perspective for me, as it helps me take the attention away from myself and realize that there’s a whole world out there. Observing other people makes my problem look more manageable. Plus, photography always puts me in a good mood.

Listening to music

I have a playlist for all types of occasions, thanks to YouTube. So all I have to do is turn it on and listen — and feel better.

Writing

I have always found writing therapeutic. When we express ourselves in writing and describe what is bothering us or causing us stress, it suddenly doesn’t look so bad. We are able to nail down the issue and think about solutions or at least a better way to deal with it. Works for me.

Singing

Nothing like belting out a few numbers at the top of your voice to drive away stress. Playing a musical instrument also works as it focuses your mind away from dwelling on the stress.

Meditation

A wonderful way to deal with stress — and it doesn’t have to be complicated. All I do is sit quietly for a few minutes at a time. Blank out the mind. Allow thoughts to flow in and out. Get my breathing under control. And I am ready to face the world.

The most important thing? Whatever is causing you stress, deal with it. Allowed to build up, stress can cause serious health issues. It does not have to come to that!

Key message: Stressed is just desserts spelled backward. We can turn a stressful situation around with a few easy and simple strategies.

Loving thanks to the editors of MIDFORM 🌻

Vidya Sury, Collecting Smiles ❤ Did you smile today?

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