After a long stressful day at school/college/work or just generally around the family, the stress that daily life brings, what do you do to unwind?

Personally I like going the electronic route: Go to my desk (My desk has a PS2, A T.V, and my computer in it.), pop in a good anime on the my T.V and play a game like WoW or Half-Life. During this time I'll call my girl friend, which is really nice since she makes me happy. Occasionally I like to sit on the couch and lay the guitar. It feels good when I have a good tune going, but it's hard not to get a little aggravated since I'm new. Either way I think letting out a few cords on the guitar is a major stress reliever.

How does the rest of my local warriors like to calm down and keep the stress are bay?

I normally just turn on some tunes... Such as:

Happy Hardcore techno (Newgrounds audio portal has a few of these if you can find them...)
Angry Industrial techno (Newgrounds audio portal has a lot more of these than the previous one, but still hard to find)
or
The Trooper - Iron Maiden

and pretty much any other song that happens to be on my playlist :-) So really, I just listen to music and go "*sigh*".

Oh, and I do homework. It isn't a stress *reliever*, but it sure as hell distracts me from all of my petty problems in the world.

Anndd... Cold showers work to. Really cold. The kind of cold that makes you exit from the shower and feel that the bathroom is almost 15 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than it was before... Those really distract me.

I talk with my friends online, call people, etc.

Some people will know what I mean XD

Other than that? I write. I write best when I'm stressed out/emotional, so I can put that into some work on something, anything. If I don't have anything that I can work on, I'll make something.

When I'm upset/pissed/stressed I go walking with my iPod.

I typically listen to 2pac or Nas, both of whom rap a lot about the projects and harder times than I have to deal with. It helps me realize that, really, I have it fine, and that I should be thankful for the lot I have.

Or sometimes, I drive out to my local bookstore (with my iPod) and read manga.

When pissed off at something, games. The more violent the better, so I can take out my frusteration on someone without being arrested for it.

Other than that, I talk to people on msn a lot, watch anime, listen to music, and write a lot. Those who know me know I'm active on 4 seperate boards right now, admin on 2 of them.

I agree with Takua on the writing thing, although I try(operative word) not to explode all of a sudden to people who I'm talking to on AIM.

Playing video games, or watching T.V. (I can be found beating the crap out of whatever new monster spawns on the next floor of the Item World in Disgaea, usually, when I'm at home).

One other thing I do? I yell. Really loudly, and before my fam gets home. It helps out a lot, 'cause then I'm not taking anything out on them, and that's always nice (a punishment-free day/night).

I agree with Raven completely. Nothing like ripping the wings off of a Harpy when your stressed.(God of War reference FTW)

My former way of dealing with and relieving stress wasn't healthy.

I have Trichotillomania (dare ya to try and rap that ten times fast XD); a disorder that, when I'm stressed out, causes me to pull my hair out. I've had this disorder since I was 9 years old and trust me; I know how it works. Despite the usual questions of "Does it hurt?" or "Why don't you just stop and find another method of dealing with your stress?", I'm not really bothered anymore by the questions or comments made by people who have no clue.

Oh, no it doesn't hurt, feels good when I'm so keyed up and stressed out that I'm not able to stand it. I did a report on it for my senior project and linked it, in my personal opinion, to the same branch psychologically as the people who cut or burn themselves to release their stress or the emotions they don't know how to release in any other way. As for just quitting.... I'm working on that even as we speak; it's long enough so that I'm able to walk around somewhat comfortably and not have to hide it beneath a hat or bandana (Sorry Fuzz, no more bandanas if I can help it!) right now. My goal is to stay pull-free and greet the New Year completely covered head-wise for the first time in nearly 11 years.

I've been looking for other alternatives to stress relief but, eh, it's harder than I thought. I've started exercising a little more, half an hour on a treadmill when I go to work, or I'll go into the Group X room on my breaks and crank my music up on my Mp3 player and let my body move where it wants/how it wants to on the dance floor. Music helps a lot, especially when I can find a song that matches my mood.

A nice hot bath and a good book is also a good stress reliever, well, books are love anyways so, XD.

For me it's a simple dark and quiet room with maybe one candle lit and possibly some soft instrumental only music playing. I'm a very visual person so for me, taking away the visual tends to calm things down greatly.

For anyone who knows me, they can completely understand the whole "quiet" part as it doesn't happen much around my house.

Sekai: Keep it up! You are doing great!

I used to write as a stress reliever, but the longer I've progressed in college, the less that happens. The reason being my goal of writing professionally: it's harder and harder to let go and just write crap. Not that I don't still do that, it's just not as therapeutic as it once was.

I often will find myself playing a game of some kind, whatever I happen to be making my way through, though that can be a double-edged sword. If the game frustrates me, it's more harm than help. Neverwinter Nights especially recently has been irking me off and on...

Sometimes, if the weather is nice (or if I'm stir-crazy and it's not) I'll go for a walk. A long walk. I loop the campus a few times and generally am out for a couple hours, not really thinking, no destination or time in mind, just... moving. It doesn't really help anything, but it puts distance and time between me and my stress, so I'm a bit more refreshed next time I have to deal with it.

Really, one of the biggest stress relievers for me these days is my friends. Be they online or in person (though more often in person), I generally am able to go to them and use them as a distraction. An evening at one of the apartments around here and I'll forget all about what was causing me distress... until I get back to my lonesome room, of course, but after an evening like that, I'm generally only back long enough to sleep.

Sometimes I'll just put on a playlist, or even a single song on repeat, and put my head on my desk and just listen. Dive into the song and absorb it, beat by beat, note by note, until it's all that's on my mind.

I probably have other coping methods, but I dunno offhand what they are.

Stress? What's that?

I don't generally get stressed out a lot, and I think that I'm too high on life to be. And in using that phrase, I mean that I generally have a stoner-level calmness without stimulation from any kind of drug. I suck serenity out of the atmosphere.

In those rare instances that I do get stressed, I tend to get really aggressive. I like to beat things until they bleed, which I think is just a sort of defense mechanism, considering I have a gigantic complex about showing weakness. That said, I have gotten to the point once or twice where I became so worried/stressed over something that I actually cried about it, but even that works as a sort of relief, insofar as you're actually letting the pent up feeling out.

And sleeping. Sleep is the only place that I can still find peace in a lot of times.

Usually when I get to my breaking point, I'll go to my pillow and scream into it as loud and long as I can. After that, depending on how stressed I am, I either let myself cry for a few minutes, or scream again. Usually, I'll end up praying for a bit, too, just 'cause I know I can rely on God to answer me and set me straight out of my wallowing.

Ultimately, it comes down to God answering my cry, 'cause He's sufficient for all my needs.

EDIT: And no, I'm not just saying these 'cause I'm a Christian. This is probably one of the best reasons why I'm a Christian...

I go walking too, Nighthand; on the other hand, I only zone out for the first 10 or 15 minutes... I spend the rest of the walk steeling myself for whatever hard thing it is I have to do. (It usually is something that is hard for me to do.)

Actually... I spend the second 10 or fifteen minutes trying desperately to think of a way to avoid the hard thing I have to do... I try to find an easy way out. 99 times out of a 100, that gambit fails... and I come back to the original problem, exactly as it had been, still listening to music as I walk around aimlessly.

After 20 to 30 minutes, I know that I've got to do what I've gotta do, and then I start the steeling.

After all, I'm usually stressing out after I've failed to meet some kind of goal, after I've made a terrible mistake and am required to beg for forgiveness, or after someone else has made a terrible mistake and I'm required to forgive them. In either of the three cases, I have to muster up my courage and get it done.

That's an interesting situation you have their Sekai. What you should do is grow your hair out... AND CONTINUE TO WEAR BANDANAS!!!!!

Send us pics once you've done it!

When I'm pissed off, I PVP irl...



Actually, I just kill loads of people in WoW. The higher the body count the better.

Something like this

(except that's not me, but it is the class I play, and the body count is somewhat similar)

When I get stressed out, I do Aikido. It isn't that I throw my anger into my martial arts training, but that in training I can empty myself of everything. Aikido is the way that I let go of everything except the here and now; I find that incredibly therapeutic.

Other than that, I try to help my friends solve their problems when I am stressed out. It's a nice way to dodge my stress rather than actually do anything about it. I swear, I'm more helpful with others than I am with myself. xD

I guess it depends on how stressed I am at the time. I sometimes cry, and give myself some quiet time alone, but I think I usually go to my friends to talk and vent. Sometimes a long, hot shower helps, too.

It all goes back to where I am at the time for what I do :huh:

I know what you mean man, I can't tell you how nice it is to hit something with my shinai in Kendo practice when I'm stressed out. Then again, that's pretty much the entire point, so I get to beat something up with a long stick and practice at the same time. So yeah, go me.

Though me getting stressed out doesn't happen overly much either...much to my friend's aggrivation some time. Hell, some of the guys at work's favourite pass time was trying to see if they could get me to snap. My friends get a bit aggrivated to around exam and essay time when I'm perfectly calm, and they're stressing and freaking out...then again, I barely try at any of the above things and seem to get decent marks...

Well, it really depends. Sometimes I just take all my anger out on a pillow and feel like screaming, but I really don't. It's kind of the usual anger, but there are different methods I use to calm myself down.

Usually I just clear my mind from everything and think about the thing I'm angry about it. I find a solution to stop my anger, then, I just go about and do my every day business.

Yet sometimes I just read a magazine or something to get my mind off it and onto something. :P

Hmm... stress. The interesting phenomena known as a building of tension that causes any of a series of disadvantages pending on the amounts. Lack of luster, lack of hunger, insomnia, quick fatigue and irritability, among others. Progressed and pushed too far, capable of causing a burn out and even death due to a cardiac arrest.

Funny enough, it does not seem to stick on me, but rather come and go with the mood. Essentially, stress rises with my adrenalin levels and can cause me to get violent. I combat it with writing for the most part, though an easy hack'n'slash game to rip out some guts and gore does a nice job as well.

If all else fails, I just go berserk for a bit and bash the first idiot to show his ugly mug (and it will always be a he/him/his).

Nighthand: "Moving" is probably one of the best things to do for me when I'm stressed, I have absolutely no idea why, but I had forgotten to write it in. If I could do it more often, I'd drive on the parkway to relieve stress, just pulling in the environment and letting my senses do the talking to my mind, rather than my frustration and momentary anger. It is actually quite cleansing >_<

Arinyes: Stress being a come and go thing is awesome, and actually, the thing is, if I really wanted to stop being stressed by something, I could just 'let go' of it. I mean, I get the feeling as if I could let go of it, but I just... don't. It feels like it'd be wrong to do so, like it'd be mentally awkward, like I'd pay for it later (even though the few times that I have actually just 'let go', I never payed for anything anytime afterwards, and was in fact rewarded for my actions).

Anyone else get that feeling, that you CAN let go, but you just don't want to?

EDIT:
It's amazing how many stress-writers we have here >_< Kinda tells you something about the divvy community ;)

I don't really get stressed out, but when I do, I mentally float on water like I'm at the pool. Instantly calm. It's my anger that is harder to release. When I reach my limit, I will punch anything within range. I've actually dented one inch thick steel door, my knuckles were bleeding slightly. Violent games help by picturing source on enemy and then shoot and/or slash them to pieces. Is that normal?

Hmm... I do at times, when the world seems especially like shit and the opportunity passes, is go out into a good (rain) shower and get absolutely soaking wet. One of those very hard rains that has thick drops, is cold and will get you pretty wet just for sticking your head out for a moment. Once you get past the point of the discomfort of clothes getting wet and the cold, the water standing in your boots as it were... such an awesome disconnection from the body... extremely liberating to be sure.

The only thing that totally beat that was one time during a summer vacation with backpack on the back strutting stitchless through the forest during a rainstorm. :angel: