Unexpected/disruptive/inconvenient/annoying/upsetting/just plain shitty occurrences and circumstances create stress.

Why, how obvious of me to say!

& putting it all aside for another day will only leave you with unimaginable stress.

Again, how obvious of me. However, guilty as charged. 

Simple facts of life go as follows:

With age comes responsibility.

With responsibility comes stress.

With stress comes grey hair.

You do not want grey hair at 23. Trust me.

Now I use to throw everything on the back burner when something stressful arose. Now of course that was after I was finished punching a hole in the wall or breaking my door knob off of my door. As I got older I grew tired of fixing such blemishes in my house…as well as being stressed as fuck.

What have I learned?

1. Anger: a waste of emotion and effort. & most people we get angry at are not worth the energy needed to create anger.

2. There is this thing called physical activity and it can help you. A lot.

A recent discovery of mine…

Slight sarcasm.

Now of course, like many, I have been physically active my entire life but for other reasons. These days I use physical activity as an outlet to release negative energy from the stressors of life–basically referring to life’s shit; the things that catch you off guard ➝ that curve ball you try to dodge but it ends up hitting you in the face and breaks a few teeth [metaphorically speaking] or that 90 year old man you’re driving behind when you have an interview in 20 minutes.

Exactly.

& trust me when there’s PMS involved it doesn’t matter how much you love the elderly, you would run that man off the road in a hot second if you could get away with it.

Let’s get down to brass tacks.

Physical activity: I’m pretty sure it has saved my sanity. & by pretty sure I mean absolutely, completely, one-hundred and ten percent certain. 

#self-medicate

Physical activity is just another way of dealing with life’s stressors in a constructive manner. I personally have resorted to  ⚽ ॐ  🚴 and good ab work out. You know, the kind that makes you want to go “DAMN GURL, DEM ABZ” in the mirror after you’re finished.

Allow me to nerd out right quick. 

Physical activity releases endorphins. 
Endorphins are chemicals that interact with receptors in your 
brain
which in turn minimizes your perception of pain
-psychologically speaking in this case.

So basically, this shit is legit. Legit shit.

Let me tell you something. When I started blowing off steam when something stressful came up [instead of the back burner routine] I was able to enjoy more of my life. When you allow yourself to release soon after x, y, or z happens you feel that much better, much faster. I now drop what I’m doing in the moment, get a little sweaty, feel great about it, then come back to what I was doing with a much better attitude and loads of positive energy. It can really be that simple. 

& while my rant was self-medicating via physical activity there many other ways to self-medicate as well. Get a little artsy, read a good book, BLOG, or just write in general. Anything to take your mind elsewhere for a short while so that you can come refreshed and ready to take on…what ever it is you’re taking on, of course.

& in the midst of all this running and rock climbing on your lunch break don’t forget that it’s okay to speak up.

I’m out ✌

DAMN GURL, DEM ABZ DOE.