Tips on managing stress/not getting sick from stress?

Hey all! I'm Marie, and my step father is having some issues.
He's very sick and is in palliative care, he's lost his ability to walk and see, because of his advancing diabetes and spinal injury.
I'm so worried about him, and it's so different not having him around.
I'm feeling sick even, and I don't want to be a burden to my mom who is stressed out even more?
Besides things like meditation because I really can't relax, anything for tips?

My go-to stress reducer is to take a breath.

For me, life has been incredibly busy what with tight work deadlines, tight schedules for rehearsal, and working on a house renovation...and sometimes, it seems like too much. When it feels like it?s getting too bad, I take a breath, and I try not to fret on things that are out of my control. It?s certainly easier said than done...but it works.

I also find that talking to someone helps a lot. My go-to person, of course, is my boyfriend, but I?ll also talk to my friends/parents/boss/stage manager/etc.

It helps to get shit off of your chest. No one person should have to face those burdens alone.

^ 100% agree, speaking about the issues help lay them out in front of you and perhaps it might be you realise that actually what you thought were large issues are in fact very much manageable. Ergo alimonarong or at least reducing the stress.

Otherwise I find music to be a great stress reliever. Not specific relaxation/meditative songs (I actually feel these are a little bit of a placebo or you stress yourself out when it?s not actually helping), but just music you love.

For me I burn my favorite candle, put on some relaxing music and try and meditate on what's going on. I try to tell myself that I just need to relax because freaking out won't get anywhere or fix anything. Try to take baby steps. You might feel like you might be a burden to others like your Mom but it might be best to sit and talk with her and lay everything out. That way you two can work on this together. :D

Honestly, talk to someone, and try to get lots of sleep!

I also find that listening to music helps me a long with those things.

I know sleep doesn't always come easy, but for me the more rest I get, the lower my stress levels are the next day.

And if you need someone to talk to, you can always talk to me.

I never found the talk-to-someone tactic useful, but I'm probably minority. When I tried that, I got even more stressed after the talking.

But I agree about listening to music. Not relaxing music, but death metal or hard rock works best for me.

If you feel like you could be burden, then do something. Clean your room, do the dishes, take out the trash... I can't even count how many times I've cleaned whole house when I was feeling like a burden (or how many useless programs I've written when I was feeling that I was procrastinating).

Glass of whisky and a good book works for me.

Thanks guys! He did call and tell me not to worry, and I actually just ended up taking gravol to ease my stomach but today was really hell with how sick I got.
I do feel weak because I got so sick, though.

Your physical health is not good a lot of the time, right?? I understand how you'd feel like maybe it bothers your mom, but no one is gonna get mad at your for feeling bad.. or if they do, then screw them, because they really shouldn't. Your step father is right with telling you not to worry. Past a point I think you have to focus on taking care of yourself first, and do what you can when you're feeling a little better.

I could invite you to my korrina forum sometime and you could read my fangirling over her on there ;)

That might put a smile on your face. My crush on her tends to make other people around me happy xD At least, my friends I have already like hearing it, anyways. I guess theres those that don't....(but she does make me happy at least :3 i hope this helped!)

Glad to hear an update with some decent news!

Exercise has always been a stress reliever for me, the physical exertion is just something that I feel like I can channel my anger/frustration/stress into and put it towards something productive. Lifting weights is good but even running can be really relaxing, listening to music and just focusing on putting that next foot forward can really be therapeutic.

Bidoof FTW said:

Glad to hear an update with some decent news!

Exercise has always been a stress reliever for me, the physical exertion is just something that I feel like I can channel my anger/frustration/stress into and put it towards something productive. Lifting weights is good but even running can be really relaxing, listening to music and just focusing on putting that next foot forward can really be therapeutic.

Click to expand...

I agree about exercise.

For years walking my dog has helped me push through depression :) I don't think i'd be here right now if not for that animal.

That said, pets are a good idea to turn to at times of stress too,

currently, I'm so nervous It seems to me that I do not have time and I'm losing ( what to do? help, please

Sometimes when I get too stressed, I just distract myself for a while. Time away from fretting about something gives me a bit of perspective and the distraction calms me down for a while. So I'll watch something interesting on netflix, listen to a podcast I love, or get lost in a video game for a while. This works especially well for stressors that I can't really do anything about, so there's no point on dwelling on them 24/7. u_u

Thanks guys! And yeah my health over all is actually bad too lol, so that may be a factor, but I'm feeling better today and I'm eating well.
I'll just try and not think the possible worst conclusion, but I can try everyone's tactics!

Joker said:

Thanks guys! And yeah my health over all is actually bad too lol, so that may be a factor, but I'm feeling better today and I'm eating well.
I'll just try and not think the possible worst conclusion, but I can try everyone's tactics!

Click to expand...

Honestly, there are some exercises you can do to help you manage stress on the mental side (meditation, gratefulness practice, etc), but it seems like you are stressing out physically more than mentally.

I am not a doctor, but based on personal experience, I recommend taking a magnesium+zinc supplement alongside vitamin D. Stress raises cortisol, which depletes magnesium. We need magnesium to regulate sleep and mood (and stress) and we also use vitamin D to absorb magnesium too.

It's been a game changer for me. Try taking it for 2 weeks. It's super cheap, too, so it's worth a try.