In practice

Yesterday, my lessons learned in Stress Management were put to the test. My boyfriend tried surprising me with a fully planned day of activities. We went shopping, cooked a nice dinner, saw a movie and then he took me bowling. When we arrived at the Bowl-O-Drome, there were no lanes open so we traveled to another bowling place across town. The lanes were filled there as well. In an effort to make me happy, he saw a Friendly's across the street and offered to get me ice cream.

I was excited because I love a good sundae, but after being seated we ended up waiting too long for service. I grew anxious and tried to remember what I had learned in stress management. Instead of waiting around, I wanted to get up and ask a server to take our order. Being proactive in my life helps me avoid stressful situations. However, my boyfriend doesn't like to entertain bad service so we left.

When we got home, I felt a need to write in my journal. I just needed to get my frustrations out. I was upset to see that I had not packed my journal, but I pulled out a piece of paper to write on. The act of putting pen to paper really calms me down. When I finished, I took a deep breath and joined my boyfriend on the couch. I later told him my frustrations and how I just wanted to get them out of my system before I interacted with anyone. I knew I would only bring a bad atmosphere with me if I had not gotten rid of my anxiety.

Journaling saved me once again :)