Question:
When I saw the doctor this week about these muscle spasms, he advised
me to find more productive ways to relieve stress and tension, now
that I'm a nonsmoker! He suggested gentle stretching, a cup of tea, or
a hot bath.
Additional suggestions from this group?
Answer:
When I first quit, found there was a lot of pent up stress and anger -
I did a lot of house cleaning, yard chores, home improvements, exercise, and
emotional venting.
Exercise is good - it helps us burn off the stress hormones secreted from
our adrenal glands.
Laughing and crying are good in different ways -- both release endorphins in
the brain which help us feel better, and both can help relieve muscle
tension. Crying also releases another type hormone that is helpful in
reducing stress hormones.
The home centered stuff was toward creating more of the type of environment
I felt good in because I had begun to learn when I felt good, the addiction
*itch* was not as intense.
When I first quit last year I decided to take up golf with my DH as he'd
been trying to get me to play for years. I found it was great as it was
something that I've never associated with smoking so whenever I play I get
four hours of completely crave free time :)
How about yoga or swimming.
Possible stress relievers:
aerobic exercise of any kind: running,
walking, skating, swimming, dancing, biking. [standard disclaimers about getting
your doctor's ok before starting an exercise program are relevant]
listening to
music with headphones on
making an effort to breathe deeply and regularly when
stressed
laugh-out-loud-funny movies and books
Great topic. Looking forward
to reading more in this thread myself :^).
I liked to throw things early in my quit! Seriously, I went
to a thrift store and bought a bunch of cheap dishes to
smash when things got unpleasant.
I second the "long bubblebath" idea and, for me, anything
that kept my hands busy (now cut that out, Lane!) was a real
plus. I've crocheted some of the world's ugliest afghans in
the last 10 months :-)
When the libido phase hits, I guarantee you'll discover a
sure-fire stress reliever but I'll leave it to you to make
that gleeful find for yourself :-)
