Breaking out of the (stressful) Muggle Mindset, continued

[The HP Alliance]

Some of you all may have seen this post on thehpalliance.org Sunday:

It’s December, and for many of us that means exams, college applications, and the holidays. No matter where you are or what you’re doing, it can be a stressful time of year. And whether we’re normally Harrys or Rons or Lunas, stress can turn us into full-on Hermione mode.

We live in a culture where it’s okay to act like a pre-exam Hermione all of the time, because it has somehow become “normal” or even “cool” to be that stressed. It’s a Muggle Mindset that says in order to be productive or hardworking, we must live with a level of stress that is so high it can cause us to panic or lose sleep over what we “should” be doing. And worst of all, this Muggle Mindset tells us that if we relieve stress, or if we choose to live at a low-stress level, it means we are lazy or careless (which, of course, is simply untrue).

But we’re not Muggles, and we don’t have to act like them. We don’t have to be that stressed. We can Break Out of the Muggle Mindset, even at this stressful time of year.

For the next ten days, HPA staffers will be blogging about how we relieve stress – and challenging you to decrease your stress levels with us. Join us here every day for new tips and tricks – and be sure to add your own in the comments or over in The Common Room.

Happy December, everyone! Let’s make it stress-free and relaxing!

Our staffers have added two more fantastic posts about ways to relieve stress through meditation and exercise but the discussion shouldn't stop there. If you have a great stress-relieving technique or have questions about a post or want more information, post them here!

[Taekia Blackwell]

I asked Jess if she listened to music while she mediated and this is what she said:

Ron Allen is one artist whose music is relaxing and unobtrusive. If you search for "meditation" or "meditation music" in YouTube, you'll find all kinds of options to try out.

Some websites that might help include:
http://www.mro.org/zmm/teachings/meditation.php
http://www.shambhalasun.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&...
http://www.ashidakim.com/zenkoans/

I can't wait to try it!

[Rose Brazeale]

Lately, I've been relieving stress by listening to Wizard Rock, looking at Harry Potter fan art, and reading fan fiction. Mostly Harry Potter fan fiction, but other kinds, too. Doing nice things for people also helps me relieve stress.

[Tita Pizarro-Lopez]

So guys, what other ways to deal with stress do you have? Like I mentioned in my blog, I like to plan my day--I just have to plan it right. One thing I didn't mention that I also like to do is to listen to music while I have 'me' time.

There is something relaxing about listening to The Beatles for me... It takes me to a completely different place than where I'm at. I can imagine things and think freely since I'm concentrating on listening every single note in the song. I know the lyrics so I don't worry about those. Trying to figure out the guitar parts and almost bring it to the front of my mind while listening REALLY relaxes me. It's like a therapeutic session.

[Taekia Blackwell]

Tita! I love listening to music, it helps me relax and focus. I can't function if there isn't music playing in the background. I sing and dance and get really active to blow off steam. So awesome. Thanks for mentioning this.

I also really enjoy watching movies. Or cooking, which is something I didn't get to mention in my post. For me during a stressful week I'll offer to cook dinner every night (specifically in my apartment at school, at home the kitchen is so messy it just stresses me out more). While I'm cooking, that's one hour of time when I can only focus on that one thing. It offers such great clarity and all of the smells are fantastic and when you're done you have something yummy to eat!

Last year I worked as Jumpstart Corps Member which means I went into pre-school classrooms and mentored 4-5 year olds; on literacy and writing and some social skills. It was FANTASTIC, the best thing to ever get paid to do, b/c it's another time in which you HAVE to forget whatever in the outside world is stressing you out and just relax and be fun for those kids for a two hours a day. I couldn't do it this year b/c I'm going abroad and I think that's part of what made my semester so difficult. I didn't really have an escape, I worked as a file clerk basically and was bored to tears and worried about everything going on in my life for the few hours a day I had work.

[Elin]

The best way to relieve stress for me, is to perform music. I have my guitar with me at home and play on it whenever I want to (which is basically like ten times a day). I know many people like to listen to music and find that very stress-relieving. But to me, performing instead is the way to express and understand my own feelings sort of. And that's how I "mediate".
In the end, I think we all have to find our way of going deep inside ourself and concentrate on nothing more than your own body and soul. It doesn't necessarily have to be something that you are good at (I really can't play the guitar very well), the most important thing is to enjoy whatever you're doing so that it'll help you feel more comfortable.

[BShrib]

Last year I had to pull an all-nighter for my AP English class and I googled something or other and found Kings of Convience. I proceeded to download the entire album and I listen to it religiously. When I need to stay up all night and am stressed, the music is calming, but it doesn't put me to sleep. But then when I'm really nervous or stressed, I fall asleep listening to it because it is SOOOO calming. The album has pretty much become my everything music :)

[iana polyn]

for us students, school works are really stressful. All the homeworks, projects and exams, what i do is i listen to music while doing those things, especially when i'm reviewing for an exam. for some people, listening to music helps, but some just need to be in a peaceful place :]

[Dorothy]

Once a week, or more during my first year of college I would meet up with my friends to sit and talk and drink tea. Tea is relaxing and is good to be sipping on while typing a report or studying for an exam.

[Elin]

I have this really weird way of de-stressing, which is to make sure my nails look decent :P
That sounds kind of shallow, I know. But, in fact, the reason why I at all use nail polish and stuff isn't because I want to look good, but because I want to feel good (i.e. not stressed).
Does anybody else feel less stressed when having nail polish on? Or is it just me...

[BShrib]

I totally understand that. For me, doing my nails is usually a treat, so I can understand why something so simple is a great de-stresser :)

Elin said:

I have this really weird way of de-stressing, which is to make sure my nails look decent :P
That sounds kind of shallow, I know. But, in fact, the reason why I at all use nail polish and stuff isn't because I want to look good, but because I want to feel good (i.e. not stressed).
Does anybody else feel less stressed when having nail polish on? Or is it just me...

[Elin]

That's wonderful to hear! :D
Speaking of; I need to "do my nails" really soon XP

I wonder why it makes you feel less stressed, though!

BShrib said:

I totally understand that. For me, doing my nails is usually a treat, so I can understand why something so simple is a great de-stresser :)

Elin said:

I have this really weird way of de-stressing, which is to make sure my nails look decent :P
That sounds kind of shallow, I know. But, in fact, the reason why I at all use nail polish and stuff isn't because I want to look good, but because I want to feel good (i.e. not stressed).
Does anybody else feel less stressed when having nail polish on? Or is it just me...