Life has a way of stressing us out. Family, work, a bad driver cutting you off, tomatoes that need to be picked…it all adds up. A gal needs a way to quickly unwind and put a halt to an on-coming bad mood from time to time.
You know when Ugly Mom is about to strike. You can feel your blood pressure rising. Your palms are starting to sweat. The tension in your muscles is starting make you crazy.
You need a time out. Period.
Carve out a ten minute “you” break to get a grip, so your family won’t suffer and you won’t add another gray hair to your bodacious quaff.
Here are some ideas…
- Go to your room, young lady. Keep a funny or tranquil CD in your radio and lay on your bed for a few minutes. Stop thinking about what’s making you upset and just listen.
- Phone a friend. Give your pal a call and ask how her day was. If it was awful, help her to feel better. Helping others makes you feel good. If she had an awesome day, laugh and ask her secret to success.
- Stimulate your noodle. Pull out a book or magazine and drink in a chapter or article. If you’re into crosswards or the dreaded sudoku, work on a puzzle.
- Jam out. Throw in Poison’s Greatest Hits and get crazy. Burning off some of the negative energy can make a huge difference in your mood. Plus, being silly always brings a smile to a girl’s face.
- Get your calm on. Take a minute to meditate. Clear your head and start over.
- Stretch your stems. A walk will work wonders for ya, especially if it’s to an ice cream shop. What? I’m just sayin’.
- Crunch something. Munching on something crunchy like celery or carrots will relieve stress. Try it, I triple dog dare ya.
- Chant some gratitude. Step away from the situation and tell yourself, over and over, “I’m blessed to have…” or “I’m so lucky, because…”
- Smooch away stress. Assuming that you’re not steaming mad at your partner, pull him (or her) aside and lay one on him. I’m not talking G-Rated either. When was the last time you made out? Walk away without saying a word. If you don’t feel empowered, I’ll eat my underwear. Okay, so maybe not, but you’ll feel empowered, trust me.
If you can tell you’re on the verge of freaking out, whether that’s yelling, crying or having a full-on mom tantrum (Hey, I’m guilty, too.), you need to step away from the situation. Reclaim your cool and everyone will be better for it. If all this doesn’t work…rant at me on twitter (@JessAriasCooper)…I guarantee I can cure what ails ya, or at least make you laugh about it.
Btw…I know the picture doesn’t make sense, but when I saw it, it just felt right. Photo by: flickr.com/photos/jemstone/21157046/
