Stress

How do you cope with stress?

When you feel your stomach knotting into an undercooked pretzel, or the searing headache accompanying the sense of feeling overwhelmed ... do you withdraw to your "quiet place?" Do you try to fix what feels broken by heading for the nearest self-help shelf ... or are you one of the bullies who lash out and attack?

Maybe you handle stress by submerging yourself in staying busy, whether it's putting in extra hours at the office or by smothering the flower beds in a fourth layer of mulch. I have friends who handle financial stress by applying for credit cards and then overspending their new limit.

All those approaches are dead ends and merely prove to me that you're actually a Stress Wimp.

I know your type: You're one of the guys or gals banging the bass drum at the front of the Irritability Parade just because you got a bad haircut. You want the world to notice your anger, but what you need is a new method of coping. Here's two that work: coloring, and blowing bubbles.

Don't laugh. Stress Wimps only laugh when they're fearful of being found out.

I'm just giving it to you straight: Nothing soothes frayed nerves like having a big box of Duane "Dog" Chapman 64-color Bounty Pack crayons in one hand and a Jeff Gordon NASCAR-series Speed King bubble hoop in the other. Nobody in their right mind would tell Dog he has to color inside the lines ... and if you don't like Jeff Gordon, then you need to pack up your minivan right now and take your "Eeh?"s back to Canada.

I can still hear you stress addicts snorting. You're thinking a stressful life is unavoidable for Busy Type-A Men and Women, right? Getting angry and being sarcastic is fun! But think about this the next time you complain to a waitress about slow service: while your food is back in the kitchen getting the cook's best SOT treatment, I'm busy coloring my place mat and have the situation completely under control.

You might be thinking you'd like to stress me out right now by leaving a bunch of stinging Comments down below, but you're way too late. I've already got both hands on the bubble bottle.

So go ahead, wimp. Make my coloring day.


http://www.crayola.com/
http://www.virginiabusiness.com/magazine/yr1998/march98/mybubble.html