h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Reading over a few of the other postings on relaxation tips made me get all tense just thinking about how DULL they all sounded. I mean, yeah sure, I might end up falling to sleep in self defense by lighting incense, looking at fish, eating a healthy meal, yoga, hot baths with candles and . . .

Oops, sorry, where was I?

So, this is my question? Why can't relaxing things also be exciting?

Like what?

WELL I DON'T KNOW! THAT'S WHY I'M ASKING YOU!

Sorry, I seem to be a bit stressed . . .time for a

sure--go dancing or play some pool or something like that. Or some people like whitewater rafting or skydiving. Whatever you enjoy that works for you.

whitewater rafting??? skydiving???

I said exciting, not life-threatening!

but thats what's exciting about them ;-P. And after your done ordinary life doesn't seem half as stressful.

Riding horses or a motorcycle works well too.

In fact, sithkael, all of your 'exciting' suggestions are quite valid ones.

And I was not saying that the usual relaxation techiques I've been reading about are in any way wrong or silly - it's just for me they don't work.

I mean, if I could actually sit down to meditate, or take a long hot bath or GET A GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP, I'm sure I wouldn't even be on this conversation thing.

I also wonder why most relaxation techniques are always to do with 'letting go' or 'forgetting our reality'. Even for awhile.

My question was - and I think it's also valid - Why can't we relax whilst doing all sorts of other things?

Before I developed a very dodgy hip, I used to run every morning. I ran for at least an hour (really not actually enjoying the running bit) but what I totally loved was after I'd finished my mind was so blissfully empty of everything. My body wasn't actually feeling very tired, but it felt a bit tired, and in a very good sense, and my mind was for once not thinking about anything at all.

So, are all relaxation techiques based on 'distraction therapy'?

I think for the most part they are, simply because brooding on whatever is stressing you out does no good--you have to teak a break from it and just do something else. So you distract yourself. Since I have a very active mind I tend to prefer doing things that require all my concentration (i.e. riding a half-broke horse or hiking a rough trail, or doing a very complex peice of embroidery) or in really extreme cases of anger stress either doing something insane like howling at the moon or some sort of potentialy life threataning activity or playing very violent video games.

I have also found that doing something that brings the problems to the forefront of my mind sometimes works. I'll write pages and pages of ranting and poetry about it, or sketch, or simply find a nice tree and spout off to it before hugging it (hey trees always listen and they don't offer bad advice or get tired of hearing you bitch).

I guess it just depends on the mood you are in and what kind of stress you are dealing with. I ususally just tell people to find something they like to do and do that when they feel stressed. Traditional relaxation techniques are great for many people but they don't always work. A combination of things is usually the best bet.

hi sithkael,

Distraction therapy! I can go along with that.

I think that, possibly like you, I have a similar very active mind that is in constant need of distraction. So, for me, getting into a hot tub with candles just makes me all squirmy and impatient. I'm not knocking hot baths, in fact, I WISH I could do this to relax. That it would be enough.

Anyhow, nice to hear from someone else who needs to do stuff to relax that other people might find quite stressful.

What can I say? This being alive business is rather a stressful one, so we all need to find our own ways of relaxing that not only work but are also healthy.

I sometimes resort to unhealthy things like cigarettes or a few glasses of wine to 'calm down', although I know that ultimately this puts a lot of stress on my body (though it may help my mind to relax for awhile). So in the end, it has only given me the illusion of being relaxed.

Hug a tree, eh? Me? I hug my cats. They also never offer any advice, bad or otherwise, and let me rant as much as I need to. Then they go - 'hey, where's the catfood?' Totally putting me and my problems into perspective

Surprised no-one else has mentioned pets in this thread as therapeutic - it can be so soothing stroking a cat.

Also interested in the active mind aspect - If I'd stopped to think about it, that explains why hubby can just sit & 'rest' doing nothing & I can't. There are times when I'm exhausted & need a quiet sit down - then I'm likely to nod off! I get too impatient doing nothing, I'm definitely one for alternative activities to relax, even if they are fairly quiet gentle ones.

It's relaxing the active mind not the overactive body that gets to me. Being more active in anything helps switch off the inner voice that never seems to stop making lists and berating every effort. Dancing is a personal favourite but even something as mundane as washing up or ironing can bring calm back to a frazzled mind. I'd rather be doing all of that music, incense, massage kind of stuff with company.
If I'm on my own, just throwing myself into something active that engages my mind, something other than the latest worry of the day. "A change is as good as a rest"... in my case better.

hi kat-erwaul,

Yes, I definitely agree that it is much nicer - and far more relaxing - to do all the candle, hot baths, incense sort of stuff with appropriate company

I suppose the only 'calm' sort of thing I do to relax is read.

Though I've been thinking about checking into this newest yoga - can't remember the name - that is presently all the rage. I've heard it is very very physically challenging and leaves you feeling like a wrung out dish rag at the end (but a HAPPY AND RELAXED wrung out dish rag!)

I am curious about where the line might be drawn by physiologists or neurobiologists.

I enjoy thrilling or risky activities, too. But I think I enjoy the adrenaline, endorphins, or other chemical responses of my body, responses which give me a feeling of euphoria or exhilaration. The "rush" is great, and when it passes, your body can feel "loose" -- as though you had just taken a sort of muscle relaxer or pain killer.

If it is that feeling which is "relaxing" you, then I would hazard that that chemically induced relaxation should be distinguishable, from a physiological or neurochemical perspective, from the kind of relaxation produced by techniques such as mindfulness.

I think I read an article recently on mindfulness in the New York Times commenting on MRIs done on Buddhist monks. But I do not think it compared the results to those of persons on medication or on an "adrenaline high."

Roller coasters. When you're tense, angry, stressed out, there's nothing better than mindless screaming and laughing as you are tossed, turned, yanked, thrown and dropped through a really good, really tall, really fast roller coaster. Especially if you can talk the operators into letting you go around again.

hi desiscore,

So you are saying that the sort of 'relaxed' feeling one gets from doing something very physical or risky is a result of released endorphins, adrenaline or whatever. This sounds very possible.

But then, is this less valid than other relaxation techniques - if it works for the person who cannot 'relax' otherwise?

Can we truly say that one form of relaxation is better than another?

Just wondering. . .

Hi Azahar!

No value judgments here -- at least not in my posts.

I do not know if one "form" of relaxation is better than another, but I do believe that activities we find relaxing could affect our minds and bodies in vastly different ways.

If I had made my parents happy and gone to medical school then I might have a better idea of how much good or bad an activity could do for the body or mind. But I think I would only have a stronger opinion -- I have found that doctors don't always know what they think they do.

My own wager is that the old standard applies here: "all things in moderation." Not just one form of relaxation but several. Not too much of any one form.

Not-a-doctor (of medicine) Desiscore