I was a christian for 26 years and was used to praying through the hard times to feel better. Now that I don't believe there is a god out there in control of everything, I've had to come up with other ways to de-stress. Sometimes I just remind myself of how far I've come and what I've been capable of. Sometimes I take deep breaths. How do you de-stress when things are tough?
Creative sex usually helps.
Lol. That's if the stress allows you to get into the mood.
Yoga, meditation, weed, playing and/or listening to music, getting out in nature, exercise, hard work, and sex and/or masturbation seem to be the most sure fire ways to clear my mind. Hot tub, sauna, massage, stronger psychedelics and swimming are all primo reset buttons for me too but I don’t get to partake in them often.
Breathe slow and loud; get into a good book; work up a sweat, usually a fast walk or an uphill hike; smoke a bowl; sip an alcoholic beverage; clean house; silly YouTube videos; sex (only this far down the list because I’m solo)
But mostly I avoid things that cause stress to spike, like TV news, any Trump news, cities, drama. Stress still rears is ugly head, hence the big bag of tricks listed.
>sex (only this far down the list because I’m solo)
"Best I ever had was me." -- Woody Allen.
Now don't start talking about finger licking good.
Every morning, I start my day by going to the local YMCA (usually walking). I swim for twenty minutes, doing the backstroke with my eyes closed, and meditating in the pool. As best I can, my thoughts and focus are solely on my breathing and the movement of my body as I move through the water. When I am finished, I feel both relaxed and a bit exhausted from the workout.
I used to do it through drink and music. The drink part doesn't work so well any longer. These days my time is spent between 2 of my computers (I have 3) and keeping them in top shape for music, movies, TV, etc. all around the world. They are my "projects." These days I'm greatly into IPTV and also using my router to block ads and totally change my DNS.
If a woman was around we might try sex. That needs a lot of experimentation and practice also.
I meditate, journal, have a cup of tea, play mindless video games, read, write stories...
Sometimes, I must remind myself that I need wait it out. As there is not always anything that can be done. I also do the other things that you mentioned.
I analyze my thoughts and determine if I’ve been thinking untrue things ala Dr Maxie Maultsby. That is usually the case when I am stressed. The stress could also come from being in danger. In that case I try to go with gut feelings.
When I look back on my life I realize that more than 95/98% of the things I worried about never happened. I think that a major cause of stress is not always the situation that we find ourselves in but more often our thoughts about it generate stress. Of course, if you find yourself in a hostile working environment and there is nothing that you can do to change the atmosphere, then leave.
Walk by any body of water,meditate,certain music,420,playing guitar, strolling through the park/woods...for different stress levels,different solutions
In general, even tough my life is not easy, I have little issue dealing with stress. Just the way I am wired, I'm certainly not special or in denial. To the extent I do feel any, exercise is best. A cigar with cognac is effective as well.
I meditate daily so as not to built up stress...intense physical workouts help me as well, especially if it involved punching something...
Petting my black cats seems to calm me down and take me away from it all...
I like all of the suggestions people have given...one of each works for me!
I walk a labyrinth if there is one nearby. Or, I take a hike in the woods, bring my hammock, and find a place to relax and enjoy the quiet.
Deep breaths are good, but deep drags on a pipe work better. Seriously, I de-stress by getting in my car and driving down rural roads (they are all rural roads here) while listening to Neil Gaiman books, or maybe Terry Pratchett's. Or late at night, I may have one or two shots of aquavit and listen to the Rolling Stones until the dogs protest.