So, I’m a social worker and when you’re out in the field it can get pretty exhausted from all the heavy information we are exposed to. Then when we turn on the news, or use our phones, we are reminded of the risk and statistics we are working with everyday. It can feel pretty scary and it has an impact on our physical body. But lately my husband and I have found two things that have helped out bodies recover from high stress.
One is comedy. In January 2024, we went on a cruise, and probably went to about 5 comedy shows, which we mostly enjoyed. The laughter was so good for us. So, a couple of weeks ago, I found $10 tickets for the Melbourne Comedy show and we went to one about cake. It got even better, because the business next door was a cake shop. We laughed about food related content and cake for an hour, then got yummy Greek desserts. It was such a relief for us, and we felt a noticeable difference in how our bodies felt after the comedy shows. So, in 2024, we are adding more comedy to our list to help respond to long term responses to stress.
Second, is water. I bought my husband a ticket for a swimming with dolphin and seal experience in 2021. We decided at school holidays to use his ticket and purchase another one for me. It was so unreal, there were so many dolphins. They were swimming under us and next to us, both dolphins and seals. It was such an adrenaline rush, and something that truly took us away from our thoughts and felt pretty healing being in the water with nature. We will probably be purchasing another lot of tickets, because it was just a highlight for us.
I think adding laughter and nature to our days or being more mindful of having it in our lives, is important for responding to long term stress we are getting through our day jobs.
-Get outside, in the water, with animals, go for a walk during the day, or look outside the window
-Find what's funny to you, perhaps it's comedy, romance novels, movies, games nights, or coffee catch ups with friends