Is it a good thing to do? You bet your bananas it is! When periods of stress and symptoms of tension arise, some psychologists believe that it is healthier to stop worrying and to take a completely different tack. Yell at the television. Make faces in a mirror. Do the mashed potato. Tramp around the house like Groucho Marx. Hold an animated conversation with yourself.
We’ve all got a bit of the outrageous lurking beneath our sometimes overly self-controlled exteriors, and it can be healthy and tension-relieving to let a little of it surface. Anything will do as long as it’s unusual and fun but harmless to yourself and others.
Breaking out of your normal routine through a little harmless wackiness isn’t difficult. Most importantly, it can help you take the world and yourself less seriously and, by doing so, ease some of those stressful feelings.
Being wacky should help you survive those particular moments of stress when you feel like screaming out loud, but it’s also important to try to control stress on a regular daily basis. The simplest way is to relax, although, for most of us, that’s apparently not as easy as it sounds. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, few Americans really know how to relax or how to benefit from relaxation. And the benefits may be considerable indeed, because relaxation can help prevent headaches, ulcers, and hypertension.
What exactly is relaxation? According to the experts, its’ doing something you really enjoy that is totally absorbing, a complete change of pace from your normal routine, and doing it for at least a half hour each day. Don’t be afraid to try something new, completely off your beaten path – like needlepoint, learning how to dance, or taking up painting, sculpting or any of a number of hobbies you always wanted to try. Start an indoor garden. Build a bookcase. Do anything out of the norm you want to – but do it regularly.
Many folks feel guilty when they’re relaxing. They feel that it’s not productive and they’re doing nothing. But the experts reassure us that relaxation is not all inactivity and it’s not self-indulgent. In fact, it’s an important key to safeguarding your mental and physical health.
Robin Westen writes about health for national magazines.
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