Life is Sailing

Stress takes on many forms – physical, emotional, mental – strains on our body and psyche. We may break out in hives or small red itchy spots.

I remember when I was a high school freshman stressed about an exam. My hands broke out into tiny, itchy skin-colored bumps, from my finger tips all the way to my wrists completely covered. It was awful! My skin felt stretched and constantly itched with the slightest feel of dust in the air. I thought they would never return to normal, but following a week of itchy “torture” my hands returned to their normal size and texture. Since then I have learned to monitor my stress levels. Every few years, my body screams at me in obvious physical ways reminding me that life is not meant to be lived in stress. I try to listen, but most of all I try not to get to that point of stressed out.

So here are a few things I have learned in order to avoid deep stress:

• Identify when a stressful event is coming your way (change of situation/job conflict, move, new family member, hosting…)
• Notice how your body changes… squinting eyes furrowed brow, clenched teeth tight fists, hunched shoulders, rapid speech… Pick the most prominent and intentionally do the opposite. For me, I just remembered that mine is squinting my eyes (yes, I was doing that as I was typing). This leads to headaches which make me feel irritable. So I am telling my facial muscles to relax, open up even smile. Smiling by itself can help us reduce stress!
• Slow down and smell the roses, i.e. observe the details of your surrounds the sights and smells and little sounds. Take it down to a tiny level and notice the minuscule insect crawling on the ground or gaze into the sky and ponder how vast is the universe. Take three deep breaths right here.

(written June 18, 2025)