How do you cope?

[Rapscallion]

This place kept me sane back in my retail days. These days I'm management

Rapscallion

[bhskittykatt]

I...I play Runescape. I'm sure some WoW players have something to say about that. But I like it, and it's cheap, so nyah.

A nice workout in the morning puts me in a good mood for most of the rest of the day. No SC, at my workplace or seen elsewhere, can really rile me up. I'm just not rile-uppable when I'm high on endorphins. I was driving back from the gym the other day, and some guy cut me off on the interstate, and I was just like "meh".

Also, just getting out of town helps whenever possible. Getting a change of scenery, even if it's just to the next town down or even just taking a different walking route.

[Sapphire Silk]

I've noticed a lot of my friends and family struggling with the stresses of work recently, I just wondered how you all cope?

Me - 2 hours of walking a day
Brother - Drinking
Friend - hysterics

Are any of these reactions normal?

They're all normal; yours is healthy. Drinking is OK in moderation, and as long as it is not your ONLY coping mechanism. So's hysterics, but it can become unhealthy if it is your first and/or only choice of reaction.

There's a reason I wanna take up a martial art. :P I'm one aggressive bitch when I'm not at work.

I went back to Tae Kwon Do last January. Best decision I ever made: I've lost 30 pounds and 9 inches off my waist, I feel better, I'm happier, and I expanded my social circle. I participating in TWO holiday parades this weekend, just for the fun of it. I haven't been to a parade since high school.

My other choices include reading, hiking, venting here (or on Fratching), and playing Diablo (tho just got Skryim and am waiting for Windows 7 so I can install it on my Mac).

[42_42_42]

well, I take medication because I have generalized anxiety and panic disorder....

other than that, bubble baths with a glass of wine and a good book, massages from the hubby, and plenty of um, "adult time" help.

[dragon_wings]

plenty of um, "adult time" help.

*snickers* I thought that too. I just didn't post it. :P

[42_42_42]

*snickers* I thought that too. I just didn't post it. :P

hey, a good orgasm'll get rid of any stress!

orgasms for everybody!

[Ghel]

Video games for me, too. I've been playing Dragon Age quite a bit lately.

I also spend a lot of time on Second Life. I sometimes wish I could mute CWs or SCs the way I can mute annoying people on SL.

[Geek King]

I sometimes wish I could mute CWs or SCs the way I can mute annoying people on SL.

You can, but it tends to make the policemen flustered and stern.

[ShadowBall]

Depends...if I'm at work, I may go sit in the bathroom for a few minutes and regroup (translation: cry), walk around, or more likely since I can rage pretty hard sometimes, I rip paper to shreds or grind something sharp into a table, fantasize about slowly killing whoever has pissed me off.

At home, I might cry, play a video game, read something, fantasize about slowly killing the object of my frustration, or try to have an orgasm (hey, it releases more than just sexual tension).

Even when I was a kid, one of my favorite methods of coping with people I fucking hate is to draw them in very unflattering or horrifying ways. I still do that now and it's quite therapeutic to draw someone I hate committing seppuku while having their throat slit.

[Pixilated]

Only have a parttime job at the moment, as I am a fulltime student, and the only seriously aggravating thing about it is the erratic pay. Friend says, "You have to make them stop!" And, um, how would I do that? As long as they do pay me, it's not illegal to have a Byzantine, incompetent system. Initially I was hoping this would morph into a fulltime summer job, but I think I'd rather go back to the They're Everywhere!! coffee and doughnut shop I worked at two summers ago, despite its being in a REALLY huge tourist area. At least with them you could guarantee when your pay would arrive.

Other than that, I read -- and spend way too much time on the computer, LOL.

[Quillsilver]

-Reading...I read all the freakin' time. I used to write, too, but haven't in a long time. I keep thinking I'll get back into it, but haven't yet.

-Cuddle and play with my fuzzy puggy children.

-Back home, I did theatre, but there's no real theatre group here, so I make do with watching movies with my husband.

-I also play XBox (Mass Effect, Red Dead Redemption, Left 4 Dead if I'm really in the mood to shoot a lot of "people"). If I'm in a quieter mood (or just exhausted), I go into FB and tend my farm on Zombie Island...lol

-If particular people have really been pissing me off, I load up Sims 2, make sims of them, and kill them off

[Chazzie]

I walk an hour to get to my bus stop every morning, even though the weather's getting freezing, it always relaxes me as well as wakes me up for work.

... I also drink. And play Left 4 dead. At times both.

But during both work and in my spare time, I sing. It's very good for stress reduction. It helps to have a radio at work so I don't look like a psycho. But I'll sing to songs I don't even like.

[blas]

I exercise like crazy on my days off at the gym, otherwise I have free weights and stretch and do a tad at home as well.

I smoke. Not healthy, but I think it helps me not kill people.

I treat myself to McDonalds at the end of every work week. I usually have Subway on the last day of work, if I can afford it, and try to keep other meals somewhat healthy.

[Flying Grype]

Normal, yes. Healthy, not all of them. Having a drink to relax while being with friends is one thing, but getting drunk to numb yourself is another.

I sleep, game, and eat sweets.

[Rosakala]

Video games. I play lots of Dragon Age, usually DA2 if I want to hack n slash as 2 has waaay faster combat then Origins ever did. Recently I've gotten into playing Forsaken World (free MMO) and squash stuff there.