Stress and Relaxation

I'd say Americans in general are too stressed. Life is stressful! There's so many things to worry about now, it's not hard to believe that suicides are always rising. It's not hard to see why people are having heart attacks younger and younger, why they're overeating, why practically everyone has been on Prozac at one point or another.

I myself find that relaxing is not something I am able to do naturally. I am always wound up. I'm always on the brink of an anxiety attack. I can always feel when my blood pressure rises. One little spark and I'm going to blow like dynamite. Hell, I don't even get a good night's sleep most nights - the body's natural way of letting things go and healing itself.

Part of my quest to make my life happier and healthier is definitely to work on this facet of life.

I've started trying to do twenty to thirty minutes of yoga every morning, but even the thought of that stresses me out. My brain screams "I could be doing something else with that time, I should be doing something else with that time!" and I can't help but listen. Some days I win, but I'll admit that most I don't.

Just about the only thing I do find helps me unwind a little is taking hot showers. On stressful days I can take four or five showers. The hot water loosens my sore muscles. The sound of the water falling drowns out a lot of the thinking that never seems to stop.

I think if I could just have a vacation, it'd help... but really my life is almost like a vacation already. I work from home, I set my own hours. I choose to work a bazillion hours because we need the money, which makes me worry more, which makes me more stressed, which makes me want to not work. Its kind of a vicious cycle.

Anyone out there have any great relaxation tips or techniques I can fit into my hectic, car-less, low cost life? Cause I'm not having luck finding anything.