689 THREE STEP STRESS BUSTING PLAN :)

At times when we have too much on our plates

It's important to be aware of being in response mode rather than self control mode.  If we know we're in response mode, we're half way home to regaining control in terms of determining which portion of the stress to let go of in hopes of relaxing (un-tensing) the over-extended state of our brains.

In case you'd like to consider a three step strategy for decreasing stress, which just popped into my mind, ready or not, here it comes ... :)

First we'll set a serene scene, Sooo ...

Please close your eyes and imagine yourself relaxing at a picnic.  Now glance across the grass and see a pair of ducks, swimming languorously through calm waters of a peaceful pond while you're waiting, patiently, for a trusted friend to arrive.  Next, close your eyes and inhale ever so slowly while your mind photographs a brilliant blue sky casting shimmering sun beams deep into the pond, and hopefully, upon exhaling, once again, very slowly, your mind feels less stressed more at peace, ready to consider the three step plan that your friend, Annie is about to draw forth from her basket and lay out on our picnic table before your eyes, which you may open, right now :)

STEP 1

Visualize reason for stress:  Picture yourself in your kitchen, standing before closed fridge imagining everything you FEEL the NEED to do and really WANT to do as well as EVERYONE you love and everyone you do NOT love stuffed into your fridge

Next, picture your BRAIN switching places with your STOMACH :) 

Uh, hold the phone—stop smiling, please.  This stress busting stuff is serious business ... my business, to be exact ... so, please follow my directions to the letter!!! :)

Picture yourself flexing muscles, standing in front of that fridge, swinging open the door, watching everyone you know and every responsibility you've assumed suddenly vibrating in place, leaping out of fridge and into your open hands so quickly that it's all you can do to stuff everything that's pouring out of the fridge into your mouth without so much as allowing for time to bite, chew on, swallow, absorb, and digest the essentials into your brain (which is, of course, below your belly button).  If you eat too much too fast, unhealthy emotional refuse begins to back up, creating a choking sensation of constipation, culminating in heart burn and crazy brain attack ... all at once. ( As that was quite a mouthful, Please read run on sentence, again :)

If, rather than calling yourself control freak, you begin to see your role as chef-in-charge-of-kitchen, you may be able to divide responsibilities, taken on, into healthy meals, individually plated courses, and bite-sized portions, instead of picturing the entire contents of the fridge on a ginormous platter, impossibly being absorbed into your brain, all at once. :)

After taking a step back to laugh at your ginormous attack of brainiac indigestion, please close door to fridge, close both eyes; inhale counting to six, exhale counting to eight, inhale more deeply than before ... filling lungs with much needed oxygen for heart to pump downward toward belly button where stressfully stretched brainiac is desperately in need of a sensible diet.  Please reread last run on sentence and actually DO breathing exercise before reading on ... otherwise your natural state of elevated anxiety will not calm down and if you choose not to follow this plan then why go on reading at all?  Breathing exercise meant to increase oxygen to brain.  Increase oxygen to brain allows you to function less responsively more responsibly.  Being your trusted friend, I'll wait, patiently, while you inhale :) 

Now, picture my eyes laughing into yours while we saunter round small fishing pond, watching pair of lucky ducks swimming, together, away from the fray ... And after accomplishing mind calming step one, let's inhale re-energizing oxygen once more before commencing with step two ...  PS Consider teaching this plan to everyone you love.  Co workers, as well.  Remember that only open ears will breathe it in :)

STEP 2

Decide what to keep or clean out of fridge :)

Ask yourself, seriously, which responsibilities you graciously took upon yourself, years ago or yesterday, which may actually belong in a fridge that now belongs to another full fledged adult, whom you love and are taking care of all too well.  Place responsibilities in question to one side of kitchen counter.  Place responsibilities to keep, for now, back in fridge.  This step may be reconsidered.

Question whether this is the right time to take on anything new.  If a new endeavor brightens your mind AND lightens your spirit, consider leaving it in your fridge.  If common sense suggests that any addition to brain work at this time proves to increase dissatisfaction (stress) in terms of what your mind FEELS FREE to create, consider the wisdom of transferring whatever is new to freezer, temporarily, without mistakenly perceiving of self as quitter :)

Spread newspaper on third spot of counter to wrap up emotional sh_t that pours out of fridge, concerning sour bile you are trying to swallow but are not swallowing well, because it keeps backing up, choking your throat.

This ridding self of emotional bile is the most difficult part of entire three step plan.  It may be best to brainstorm how to shrink wrap emotional sh_t in posts down the road, so this post doesn't grow as long as the last :)

STEP 3 

Clean out fridge—over these next few weeks—for real.  Begin to empty fridge by slowly delegating responsibilities that belong to others :)

As others will naturally balk at releasing responsibilities to them that they have come to see as yours, turn your mind toward the future so as to save your brain-bile from boiling all over negative reactions of others, which you cannot control.  Cut negativity in half by choosing to inject your responses with positively focused kindness and patience while teaching others to perform chores, which you have practiced to near perfection.  Hopefully, positive focus will keep your bile at a simmering level, so that if the bile of others) boils over, causing their brain's energy source to burn to a crisp, yours will remain strong.  (Reminder:  Brain's energy source is the spirit)

Find ways to burn up bile productively by running, playing a sport or whatever works for you that does not include yelling :)

Choosing to sit down at a family meeting in order to open up, calmly, about being over taxed and needing help with creating change is more important than you may know.  This may be a good time to review a story, concerning my decision to go on strike at home as written in Posts 612-619, titled: 

ON STRIKE!  ... having packed a series of simple three step plans inside my brain, which lead me toward success, your friend Annie has come to consider herself a lucky duck, indeed!  :)