Some R & R

What I do to recover after something stressful or tiring depends on the duration of it. If it's just been a long day, I'll spend some extra time looking at funny things on the internet, and/or let myself have a free day off from going to the gym. Both of those are enough of a treat to get me to cheer up usually.

If it's been more than just a day or two, I start progressing down my "spectrum of stress", beginning to eat worse and worse food, sleep more, and spend more time alone. If I've just had a long week or so, that might look like baking more than usual, spending more time with just one or two people, and taking some naps, but if it extends too long I end up sleeping a ton, becoming kind of a loner, and eating far too much junk food.

Hey, I didn't say these were all healthy habits :P

They make sense though, since when I'm stressed out sleep helps me take my mind off whatever the stressor is, comfort food is, well, comforting, and I recharge best when I'm alone or only around a couple people.

While I'm not particularly socially awkward, social interactions take effort for me, and when I'm already tired I just don't feel up for having to keep up chit chat, crack jokes, and make sure I don't say anything too blunt or awkward. (though it should be noted that I have a close circle of people where social interactions almost never feel like work, so if I need to relax I gravitate toward these people).

Time to relax

There are a few things a like to do to relax and recharge after a hard or stressful day but my favourite is nap. I like to come home and get my ipod, pick my favourite album and just curl up in bed. It's great way to relax and just block out the world. It's also even better if it's winter and it's really cold outside, it makes everything so much better. That's pretty much my go to way to relax.

Another way I like to relax is just to watch DVDs or TV. The best kind of movies to watch are ones which are so bad they're funny or just funny ones. It's also great to watch these with friends, particularly the ones that don't care if you haven't made an effort to look good. The really bad movies are the best to watch with friends because they give you something you can all laugh and make fun of.

Also, a combination of both these is a particularly great way to recharge, watch a movie in bed and then sleep.

Going on walks, I find is also pretty relaxing. I had a stressful time recently, so I took my aunt's dog (Because I don't have dog of my own) and I went on a walk around the farm type part round the back of my house. It was good. Partly because dogs will always love you and partly because even though I don't really go out much, I like being outside. Fresh air is good.