How do you deal with stress/anxiety?

[Eleese of Gilead.]

Muay Thai Kickboxing. I get to hit things and sweat out half of my body weight.

Also, I have been known to self medicate.

[smooth operator]

Self Medication (occasionally) and screaming at the other cars on the road/freeway. They don't know and probably don't care that I am screaming at them, so nobody is hurt by my frequent tirades. When there is no reason for me to scream at traffic, I sing as loud as I can.
At home, I tune everyone out with a book or TV.

[sunshine05]

Watching movies all cuddled up with my bf

[titansfan]

Depends on how stressed i am.. i have different ways of dealing with it.

for just everyday stress usually a good book (usually SK), classic rock (usually Led Zeppelin), a good stand up comedy (Bill Engvil) and family time.

Over the hill stress.. a long walk alone to Dairy Queen or Cold Stone and lose myself in a large cup of Chocolate Mint ice cream.

[mudpuppy]

- go for a walk
- play with the dogs
- practice horn
- do a facial mask or some kind of beauty thing
- self medicate
- clean

[Merdoc]

For me, it all depends on the situation. For instance, for most stressful situations, I listen to music. I have a LOT of music, but its always something.

Other times i may read a book, if I need to unwind. Or I go for a walk. I actually love walking....really helps me clear my head, or keeps it in focus.

[frangoldsmith]

i am catogorised as depressed but i think it's all a state of mind! Easy to say but really hard to do!!!!!!

[LadyHitchhiker]

I usually like to bottle things up until I explode... it takes a veeeeeeeeery long time but when it happens it's like I'm Shehulk. Raaarrr!!!

[Speedy2]

A dose of Xanax

[hipmamajen]

I knit, knit, knit. A lot of times I make small items for charity, which gives me something calming to do with my hands and reminds me that others have it far worse! I saw a bumper sticker that says, "I knit so I do not kill people," which is just about where I am some days!

I read. It doesn't have to be a happy book, just one I can get lost in.

I walk. For me there's nothing like cranking a book on tape and hitting the road!

I sing really loud in the shower. The kids hate it, but I figure dealing with that stuff just makes them stronger people, right?

I also sing really loud in the car. Sometimes I see people laughing at me, but that's OK, it's not hurting anyone and maybe they just needed a giggle in their day, too, right?

I pray. In the Psalms, David spends a lot of time whining to God about stuff, so I figure God can handle my whiney crap, too.

I live in denial. I love denial. I've gotten very good at it, and I can slap a happy face on just about anything in my life and move on. Obviously this doesn't work for everything, but when bad things are going down and no one can fix them, you could certainly do worse than ignoring the situation or trying to find some tiny bright side to it.