“Stress…”
Shared by Breanne Smedley
Usually August marks one of the most stressful times of the year for me.
It’s the ramping up of the volleyball season.
This entails a lot of planning, preparation, and communication to ensure things are in place for the whirlwind of tryouts, practices, and matches that are about to hit us.
There’s logistics of it all, and the realization that no matter how much I plan, there will still be things that will go sideways.
Like last year when the main basketball hoop in the gym was broken and stuck in the down position on the first day of tryouts, deeming that court unusable.
Or the year before when the gym floor somehow “floated,” making it so the poles no longer fit into the holes. Can’t make this stuff up…!
Things like this are bound to happen, so I do my best to prepare (and check the gym before tryouts, now!), and just accept that there will be things out of my control.
But then there’s the added stress of Brett also being a head coach in the same season.
The planning of childcare for practices, game nights, and overnight tournaments, finding time to plan for the other full-time job of teaching, and how to do “simple” things like clean and feed the family during this crazy time.
As I sat down yesterday and looked at my calendar along with the “to-dos” in each category of my life, I felt it.
A tightness in my throat and chest. A racing heart. A feeling of suffocation from something invisible.
Stress.
I know what works for me to handle stress.
Exercise.
Keep up with my meditation practice.
Plan specific times to get things done in small chunks.
Do a *little* clutter-clearing.
But, what do I usually resort to when this feeling bubbles up?
First, I look around the house and suddenly it looks like a bomb went off.
Every stray sock, piece of dirt, or dirty dish magnifies in my mind and I usually end up shouting, “This place is a MESS!”
Then, I go on a rampage and start cleaning.
After that, I get a little more dramatic and tell Brett that I LITERALLY can’t do anything because I have SO MUCH to do.
Our world now needs to stop for a moment while I spend 12 hours doing nothing but work on my to-do lists.
Don’t try to talk to me.
I don’t need food.
Just leave me alone.
Most of this entails not actually getting a lot done, but rather stressing about what hasn’t been done.
It’s an unproductive cycle.
And usually, it’s Brett that gets hit as a bystander in my stress-filled rampage, then hermit-style retreat after.
It makes no sense why I would move away from what actually works when the stress gets intense.
I guess I should stick to my own advice.
Exercise.
Keep up with my meditation practice.
Plan specific times to get things done in small chunks.
Do a *little* clutter-clearing.
Do what works.
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#DaringlyResilient
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