One of “Those” Days

We all have “those days.”  Everything seems to go wrong.  With my upcoming move to California, I’ve had a lot of them recently.  I am dropping things, spilling things, making far more typos, and my mood swings are terrible.

Occasionally I allow myself a few minutes to feel sorry for myself.  Or, I may cry for a while.  Whatever.  However, I don’t permit myself to stay down for too long.  It would be easy to crawl into bed and ignore everything around me.  I could, but it wouldn’t change anything.

Yesterday was a difficult day, very stressful.  I started cleaning the house.  Since we’ve been packing for weeks, my house is a mess!  Not dirty, but cluttered.  As I was racing around the house picking up this and that, my husband called out to me, “Why don’t you sit down and relax a while?”  I answered, “I can’t sit right now.”  Physical activity helps me shake anxiety.  I could have done exercises, but I chose to do something useful.

After going from one room to another, organizing and putting things where they belong for about ½ an hour, my mind and body were more relaxed.  I don’t know about you, but when I get really stressed, my mind begins thinking worst-case-scenario-type things.  Moving around quiets those thoughts.  I begin thinking clearly and logically again.  I then sat down at my desk and got some of my business work done.

I am not a victim.  Things do not happen “to me.”  I personally create situations where challenging things sometimes happen.  With my clear mind, I remind myself of this.  I then remind myself what a good life I have.  I am in relatively good health.  I have a loving husband, children and grandchildren.  Once the chaos of this move, I will be able to see my children and granddaughters frequently. My bills get paid every month.  No, I’m not a six-figure earner.  So what?  My happiness does not rely on money.

Sometimes when I feel anxiety arising, I’ll stop and take deep breaths.  I once heard a psychologist call it “square breathing.”  I hold my breath in for ten seconds; then release it slowly for ten seconds.  When I’ve blown as much air out as I am able, I again hold it for ten seconds.  I’ll repeat the process two or three times.  For me at least, it can stop me from having an anxiety attack.

I know some of you are wondering why I don’t call upon God at difficult times.  I am not a Christian.  I call myself Jewish, but I am not very religious.

I expect more difficult days in the next few weeks until we get settled in our new home in California.  I’ll use the “tools” I have to cope and not become a basket case.

I know how the Christians among you likely handle stress, and I actually envy you your strong belief in God.  However, I would like to know what other methods readers of this post use to calm themselves in difficult times.

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