Stress Relief

One of the big lessons I've learned in the past couple of years is that I need to be mindful of how I manage my stress. During grad school I didn't have great stress management habits. I maintained a busy, irratic schedule, never planned enough time to properly take care of myself, and ate for comfort. It's not surprising that I gained 25 pounds during this time.

Now I am thankful for two simple little activities that keep me healthy, relaxed, and happy: 1) walking the dog everyday that I can and 2) treating myself to coffee once a week.

It was Grandma who first encouraged me to get a dog because of their ability to raise melatonin levels. Mayo also writes in its Live Well newsletter that there is a significant, positive difference in body fat for people who walk dogs versus people who don't. There is no doubt that coming home to Deci makes me happy. After a long day at work, I now look forward to walking her a bit to decompress from the day.

I started taking myself on "coffeedates" back when I had to check audiometers before work twice a week as an extern. I found that I ended up with about 30-45 minutes to kill between listening checks and my first patient of the day. Soon I got into the habit of filling that time with a latte and a good novel. I enjoyed this so much that I keep it up to this day, even though I haven't needed to check audiometers for the past six months. This is a great habit for me because I used to have no control when it came to gourmet coffee drinks. Now I am so accustomed to treating myself on Thursday mornings that I can resist the temptation throughout the week.