Eating, Drinking, Smoking Your Stress Away?

How many of you don't have stress? C'mon, I'm not seeing any hands. . . . so everyone gets stressed from time to time, right? But how do you deal with it? Or maybe I should ask, do you deal with it? Many times we don't. We just push on, keep our lives going, make sure the kids are happy, make sure dinner is on the table. This isn't exactly healthy, but oh, it gets worse. Besides just ignoring it, our other awesome way to deal with stress is this beautiful thing called self destruction. Some smoke cigarettes, use drugs, drink excessively. I'm not telling you to stop these things, well maybe the cigarettes and heroin, just think about how you use them.

Here's a great example. This week, two of my clients were found dead in their apartments in totally separate incidents. Talk about stress. In my business, sad but true, the immediate thought is "was it a suicide?" and "should I have been doing something different to prevent this from happening?" To top it off, our dog is not well and money is always an issue. My immediate response to all of this was a plan to drive directly to Culver's and eat a turtle sundae.

WOW! NOW THAT WOULD REALLY HAVE HELPED!! Consider this scenario. I am totally upset, driving home. Here is the conversation in my head:
Good: "Don't do it, you'll regret it."
Evil: "Just eat it. It's just one sundae."
Good: "You'll hate yourself."
Evil: "You already hate yourself, who cares?"
Good: "You're better than this."
Evil: "You SUCK"

My goodness, I can see this decision to eat a turtle sundae is helping my stress so much already!

The moral of the story is that even though self defeating behaviors can bring a sense of short term relief, they usually lend themselves to even more stress down the road. Had I eaten the turtle sundae, I would have absolutely loved every bite and may have considered licking the little plastic container clean. The turtle sundae high would have lasted for a half hour, maximum. And then guess what? That little good vs. evil conversation would turn into a screaming match of "I TOLD YOU SO" vs. "SHUT THE F*&% UP".

So, Little Miss Blog Writer, what do you expect me to do with my stress? Thank you for asking. I happen to have a few suggestions. Start with giving yourself a little time. If your immediate response to stress is to drink a gallon of whiskey, give yourself a half an hour to set your stress aside. Then come back and think about the gallon of whiskey again. If you still really want it, maybe you should go to an AA meeting instead. All kidding aside, this is really about impulsivity, that immediate, poorly thought out reaction. Instead consider alternatives. You know what's coming next. This blog is about exercise isn't it?

So how did I handle the turtle sundae quandry? I basically just stopped in my tracks. I refused to allow the good vs. evil conversation to take place and I told myself that a turtle sundae, no matter how delicious, would only encourage me to feel fat and be very angry with myself later. So, I proceeded to drag my butt to the YMCA for spin class. After a full hour of that, I just wanted a hot shower and some rest. I had actually forgotten about the turtle sundae. And the stress and tension I had carried through the week had faded away, leaving me more equipped to face the rest of the week.

Next time you are stressed and find yourself grabbing the pack of cigarettes, corking the fourth bottle of wine, or sitting in a drive thru, stop and think. Will I feel good about this decision in an hour? Will it really help my stress? Consider replacing it with a brisk walk, raking leaves, or playing catch with your kids. The effect of this method of stress relief will be more long lasting and much more rewarding in the long run.

Finally, two things to take into consideration. First, the downtown Oshkosh YMCA offers spin classes at 5:30 on Thursday evenings that are taught by my friend Mike Magnuson. It's a killer workout and also pretty entertaining. Second, a turtle sundae at Culver's has 960 calories and a whopping 60 grams of fat. Do you know how glad I am that I didn't eat one?