got stress?
Yep, this girl does…That’s why she’s sitting in her cubicle inhaling Reddi Whip…straight out of the can.
I’d love to give you wise advice on how to cope with stress but given that this Sometimes Healthy Girl was voted “Most Stressed” out of a high school class of nearly 500 students, not sure how credible that advice would be.
10 Years, None the Wiser?
Sadly, not much has changed in the 10 years since I graduated high school (yes 10 – my reunion is in July). Plus, when I was voted “Most Stressed,” I lived a simple country suburban life in Nebraska. Now I live in the most fast-paced city in the world. As you can imagine, the intensity of the NYC lifestyle hasn’t helped me out in the stress department.
Nevertheless, in all those years of trials and tribulations, I have developed some coping “mechanisms.” Over the past couple of weeks, some positive changes at work have increased my stress level just a bit. Yesterday was a 12 hour humdinger at the ol’ office so I had to reach into my bag of tricks to keep myself from calling my mother to say, “I’m so stressed. I can’t handle it” or gchatting my brother to say something similar.
Here’s How a Sometimes Healthy Girl Copes with Stress
1. She finds a healthier alternative to her UNhealthy go-to habits, such as downing an entire 1 pound bag of pretzels in under 60 minutes.
Yes, I ate all three in 60 minutes. I have teeth of steel
Chomping on apples calms my nerves. I never said 3 a day was “normal” but I feel it’s a step up from the giant bag of pretzels. The Reddi Whip is a whole different issue…that just can’t be helped.
2. She walks home in the pouring rain.
You can't rain on my parade, blurry NYC. It is impossible. I am unstoppable.
As I mentioned last week, walking home really gives me time to slow down a little bit and think. During the day, my mind is usually moving at a mile a minute, so walking home gives me time to process and decompress. I think I’m starting to like walking in the rain. It makes me feel so…low-maintenance.
3. She creates incentives to motivate herself to work out.
Sometimes ya just need to zone out and work out
Since I had not yet seen the “I Don’t Want to Work Out” flow chart posted on Carrots n’ Cake (please check this out!), it was pretty hard for me to convince my exhausted self to work out last night. But, by timing my work out to coincide with The Voice, I easily made it happen. Knowing I just had to make my legs move while being entertained by that adorable little Javier Colon (what a cutie!) made it just a little easier to throw on those gym clothes.
So much happier after! Look at me taking a pic with my new phone. I am special.
4. She Makes up Excuses to Throw Ice Cream Parties.
A Sometimes Healthy Ice Cream-Creation: 1 parts ice cream, 6 parts cherry and 10 parts Reddi Whip. YUMMY!
Okay, that’s not entirely true. The ice cream party was for our interns, who started yesterday. But I’m sure you can pretty easily guess who organized the party. Your truly. And I made sure to have plenty of cans of Reddi Whip so that I could steal one all for myself. Thus, the beautiful picture above. My ice cream sundae consisted of two small scoops of ice cream, 1/4 a can of Reddi Whip, 6 cherries and some sprinkles. My coworkers didn’t even tease me about this one, because by now, they know what to expect from a stressed out Sometimes Healthy Girl.
5. When all else fails, she reads a cheesy poem about an underdog who never quits.
For some reason, I’ve always considered myself an underdog. I’m not really sure why. Perhaps, it’s because back in the 1st grade, I wasn’t allowed to play Red Rover due to fear of breaking my fragile, skinny arms. Or maybe it’s because I had buck teeth up until I got braces when I was 16 (trust me people, there is nothing more humbling than growing up with two big front teeth that stick out ever so slightly over your bottom lip and following that up by accessorizing your very first prom dress with a shiny pair of braces.) Or perhaps it’s simply because a lot of times, it feels like I have to work just a bit harder and longer than most of the people around me to get the job done right.
Regardless, since high school, I’ve really had this “the underdog can overcome anything” mentality. I once found this poem that completely represents the way that I approach life, and since then, I’ve brought it with me everywhere. It’s hanging on my fridge, in my office and on my wall at home in Omaha. It’s 100% cheesy, but just because Chloe is coming to town, I am going to share with all of you.
I didn’t write this poem…and I have no idea who did. But whoever you are, thanks for helping this Sometimes Healthy Girl develop a life motto!
And with that, I’m off to indulge my stress/Chloe-cravings with The Notebook and some fro yo!
Question:
How do you cope with stress? Any favorite sayings/poems.
I “chug” reddi-whip quite often too. Aint no shame in our game 😉
I never knew so many people liked Reddi Whip. I feel so normal now!
Thanks for all the ideas — they make a lot of sense. 🙂
I love our Reddi-whip obsession 🙂 I honestly finished off the can in my house last night after work… must remember to buy another one today! I think if I ate three apples in one day, well let’s just say you would not want to be near me for quite some time (TMI-gassy, sorry)
I deal with stress by taking a walk, zoning out by reading blogs, reading a magazine or book, talking to my mom, going for a run… and eating! I am working on the eating one, it’s not the best way to deal with stress!
I too am working on the eating one (thus the three apples!). But yes, Reddi Whip is a great way to make ourselves feel better 🙂
I love the sundae ratio! haha.
I cope by stress by either taking some down time for myself (hot bath, drinking warm coffee and reading a book), I might also take my puppy on a long walk to clear my thoughts….although my favorite thing to do is sit down with a HUGE glass of wine.
I agree with you – wine makes EVERYTHING better!
Honestly, I cope with stress by taking a nap.
Hahaha.
Okay, I also go to cooking if I’m stressed, but 70% of the time, I take a nap.
I love the ‘read a poem’ to get rid of stress 🙂 That’s a good good idea!
Oh, and ice cream ALWAYS helps!!
haha I just love that poem! It’s so cute 🙂
ooooh stress. I feel you, lady. I usually make lists to help me realize that there is time to do everything that needs to be done, and tell myself to calm down a lot. Yoga helps too. And when in doubt, fro yo 🙂
Cupcakes always make me feel better! But my biggest stress reliever is shopping! I can’t control and it instantly makes me feel better!
Just found your site…..I love it! So normal and down-to-earth. The Reddi-Whip is NO big deal……I just tell myself it’s mostly air. 🙂 To de-stress I make lists. Sometimes more than one….one at work, one at home, one in the car, one in my purse…..but they all have the same items on them. Then, I get the satisfaction of crossing things off more than once!
Thanks for reading and commenting! I’m so glad you like my blog 🙂 Such a good point about crossing the same stuff off those to-do lists – I imagine you do feel accomplished crossing them off a few times 😉 I like your style!
We need to have a de-stressing party. You bring the Reddi-Whip. I’ll bring my trusty bag of Milano’s.
mmmmm…sounds delicious! I’m in 🙂
Bahaha – I love that first pic!
I like to go outside when I’m stressed, or at least open the window. Fresh air usually helps to calm me down a bit. Chocolate is always good, too.
mmmmmm…Chocolate. I could go for some chocolate right about now. Thanks for putting the idea in my head! 🙂
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