Back to Old Habits

As in all times of stress, I turn to coping strategies that have worked for me in the past. First option: Gym. Since college this has been the activity of choice to relieve stress. It's physical, I can grunt, or even yell. I can feel like I'm actually causing some pain to whatever it is that's leading to my anxiety. I need total concentration, thus, my mind isn't free to ruminate. The rush of endorphins makes me feel like nothing can touch me. For about 15 minutes. Then I get tired. I stink. And I crash. While lifting weights is something that I still love, I find that it doesn't help as much as it used to in coping with stress.

Stuck in a quandary, I'm forced to find something else. While seeing a good friend this weekend, I started listening to some music by one of my friends who I pledged with in college [Ido Zmishlany of Last Week (Now solo artist of Lion of Ido). Great stuff, definitely check it out]. In addition to stirring up some old memories from college, it also inspired me to start playing again. For those that don't know, I play the guitar, bass guitar, and played the upright bass in a classical orchestra in junior high, as well as a jazz band in high school. Somewhere in college, it took the back burner and continued to do so in grad school. I think I'm lucky to have been seeing this friend over the weekend because if I didn't I may not have realized that I had another way to tackle my stress.

So in addition to becoming more driven and focused on my research, I've now turned to an old hobby (and talent) of mine. That's two positive consequences of the dissertation process so far.

From Pics for Blog

From Pics for Blog