Finding My Happy Place

As someone who has struggled with anxiety over the past year after losing my father, raising a headstrong toddler and other life hurdles, I’ve been open to trying many different methods to cope better with stress. In the past, when someone mentioned the words meditation or yoga or Zen, my inner snark would immediately release some sarcastic remark filled with dated pop culture references such as “Wax On, Wax Off.” “May the force be with you.” "Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey." However, as I learned the hard way, sarcasm will only get a person so far in the process of finding inner peace so I decided it was time to try some useful “tools” (as they call them in the wellness field) to help me relax and feel more centered.


Meditation - Therapeutic or Just Plain Creepy?

I decided to go the free route to find good guided mediation videos. I figured the best place to start was on YouTube. What I didn't realize is that there is a lot of false advertising in the titles of some of these videos. One video that claimed to contain the "most relaxing voice on the internet" contained one of the most annoying nasally voices I’ve ever heard. Another video started out okay but then suddenly there was a shapeless being involved which the narrator stated could be seen as either an "eccentric person or a glowing light" and all I could imagine were the aliens from Close Encounters of the Third Kind as my “guide” and I was no longer relaxed but freaked out instead. The next video I tried had a voice that closely resembled that of Rod Serling from the Twilight Zone. Not where I wanted to go to find my Chi. Shut that one quickly. I finally found a couple of videos that really work for me but it definitely took me a good bit of trial and error to find them. Now, I can close my eyes and immerse myself into a beach scene with warm air and cool breezes without being surrounded by an alien who speaks like The Nanny.

Gonna Make You Sweat

When I first started using the gym, I was seriously out of shape. I didn’t think I was as my clothes (mostly) fit which had been my own personal fitness test before I was proven oh so wrong. My back, according to the trainer I used for my one free training session, was held in the quintessential posture of someone who sat at a desk job all day. The trainer ran me through a series of exercises that caused me to huff and puff like a chain smoker after 5 minutes of cardio exertion. Apparently, the infrequent cardio that I had partaken in before this session- which consisted of me reading a magazine while casually pedaling an exercise bike on the lowest setting - didn’t really count. I’m proud to say that after 8 months of regular gym attendance, I can do 35 minutes on setting 8 on the elliptical machine and can do arm curls with a whopping 12.5 lbs. This is much better than the 5 lbs weights I started out with so yes, you should be impressed:)

Send in the Clowns

Dad always thought laughter was the best medicine, which I guess is why several of us died of tuberculosis. ~Jack Handey, "Deep Thoughts," Saturday Night Live

While I’ve realized that humor alone may not be a cure-all for anxiety and depression, I still find that humor is one of my greatest assets during stressful times. Learning to laugh at certain situations even when it seems there is nothing to laugh about has always improved my mood. Relying on humor, along with writing and swapping tales of joy and woe with my great friends have been my biggest saviors. That and therapy. Sometimes a girl just needs some expert advice.

To end this post with relevant humor, I thought I'd quote my favorite line from last week's The Office episode:

Andy Bernard: Am I angry that Gabe stole my girlfriend over the summer? No. I’ve been through anger management so right now I am sitting on a nice beach in Cape Cod gazing out at the white caps. Oh, look there is a humpback whale. So pretty. And it’s eating Gabe.”