Stress relief suggestions

[The_Jim]

Definitely avoid alcohol. A hot shower or a casual walk when I get home from a stressful day are my fixes.

 

[WyoCoalMiner]

So my office is currently embattled in a local development dispute. We represent a water district looking to protect drinking water quality. I'm the one that gets to present at all the public meetings. I just did my first tonight. It was very stressful. I'm all kinds of wound up. I'm already one large glass of wine in, without any hope of sleep on the horizon. Any suggestions?

Cigar (Perdomo Legacy Maduro) and peach Crown (double). Works every time.

 

[Doublecluck]

Meditation, magnesium and zinc supplements and Chamomile tea, and as long as you’re not allergic a lot of it. I’ve found like 3-4 cups is what it takes to make a noticeable difference in me.

 

[Khunter]

Only your firat presentation? Find a way for growing your maturity and perspective. You are a professional doing a professional job. Own it and stop internalizing peoples reactions to what you present. Let them own how thye react to the proposals ans let you own how you react to their ‘apa rant?’ dislike for the position you represent.

They dislike the land use controls and really could afre less aboiut the messenger who is just a convenient target to focus on. It is the issue not the person =regarless of what is ‘feels’ like when at the microphone.

Been there done tha with oil and gas development issues. That is. areal hot button topic in my area.

As for your immediate band aid help request I am in too late for that but reading or other focused activity works great.

 

[Salmonchaser]

What you’re doing is good work. When I left Washington 15 years ago, your area was growing like a malignant weed. I immagine it is worse now. Ground water is an important issue in the high desert, if you and others don’t protect it-then what.
Have your ducks in a row, be even better prepared for the next meeting and recognize how important your work is. Then go get a little exercise.
Admin use to stress me out, so I stayed on swings or nights. The calls, not so much. Handle those and go to the next one. If the admin was stressing me out I liked a little DT. But stayed away from the midget wrestling.
Glass of wine not a big deal, I would imagine all the old cops on here will tell you that stress and alcohol are a great catalyst for us getting involved in the lives of people we’ve never met before.
Good luck, I appreciate the work you do and the information you share.
Don

 

[wytex]

Ha, I'm married. So scratch that lol

Too bad, works for us.

 

[rtraverdavis]

@Irrelevant is there anyone you work with who is in the trenches with you on this dispute that you really connect with? That you can be real with and share humor? If so, I’ve found that in work related stress, creating some sort of plan of action with manageable steps with a person I really connect with is super helpful when things feels unmanageable. Even if I never complete all the plans we made, and even if it ends up totally changing, there’s something calming about creating a clear path forward (even if the path sucks) with someone I can be dark with.

Exercise and meditation help too.

 

[Johnny Bravo]

In all seriousness now….when I feel stressed a short walk does help.

 

[SAJ-99]

So my office is currently embattled in a local development dispute. We represent a water district looking to protect drinking water quality. I'm the one that gets to present at all the public meetings. I just did my first tonight. It was very stressful. I'm all kinds of wound up. I'm already one large glass of wine in, without any hope of sleep on the horizon. Any suggestions?

Figure out what the source of the stress is. Is it presenting in public meeting? is it in knowing the material and answering questions? is it the result, i.e. winning/losing? Realize that stress response is normal. It is trying to motivate you in fight/flight choice. Flight seems impossible so use it to plan and prepare. Clearly you have this task because others believe in your ability to do it. Good luck.

 

[Irrelevant]

I'm pretty high strung. And prone to care a little too much. I did get to sleep but only for a few hours. I've been up and at for a couple of hours now, putting in miles on the treadmill. I feel better physically, but man, that's a lot of time to be reliving questions and comments in your head.

I haven't had any great revelation. A few answers that I wish I would have phrased differently, but in general I feel pretty good about it. Except the developer made it personal, that I'm the reason people don't trust scientists anymore. That i KNOW what I'm saying is a lie and am doing so because I'm deliberately sowing fear and profiting from it. While that's ridiculous, it's also hard to hear. I, like most professionals, try to be as objective as possible. I tried to convey there side accurately and fairly. But having someone you out in that way in front of so many people, well, that's just hard.

 

[Nameless Range]

@Irrelevant is there anyone you work with who is in the trenches with you on this dispute that you really connect with? That you can be real with and share humor?

A coworker of mine used to travel around to rural areas as a representative of govt giving presentations on stream quality, and the potential implications of what they were finding. At one of those meetings, some weathered old coyote stood up and said to the room, "THIS SOUNDS LIKE A BUNCH OF AL GORE BULLSHIT", and the crowd went wild. A decade later, it's still an inside joke for us and we say it all the time when we wanna boo something.

 

[rtraverdavis]

I'm pretty high strung. And prone to care a little too much. I did get to sleep but only for a few hours. I've been up and at for a couple of hours now, putting in miles on the treadmill. I feel better physically, but man, that's a lot of time to be reliving questions and comments in your head.

I haven't had any great revelation. A few answers that I wish I would have phrased differently, but in general I feel pretty good about it. Except the developer made it personal, that I'm the reason people don't trust scientists anymore. That i KNOW what I'm saying is a lie and am doing so because I'm deliberately sowing fear and profiting from it. While that's ridiculous, it's also hard to hear. I, like most professionals, try to be as objective as possible. I tried to convey there side accurately and fairly. But having someone you out in that way in front of so many people, well, that's just hard.

The lie that all experts are full of shit and have a personal agenda is one of the great undoings of society. (Like the one that, because I'm a public school teacher I'm turning my students into trans commies.) Sorry man. That would eat at me too.


PS.
I'm turning all your children into trans commies.

 

[SAJ-99]

I'm pretty high strung. And prone to care a little too much. I did get to sleep but only for a few hours. I've been up and at for a couple of hours now, putting in miles on the treadmill. I feel better physically, but man, that's a lot of time to be reliving questions and comments in your head.

I haven't had any great revelation. A few answers that I wish I would have phrased differently, but in general I feel pretty good about it. Except the developer made it personal, that I'm the reason people don't trust scientists anymore. That i KNOW what I'm saying is a lie and am doing so because I'm deliberately sowing fear and profiting from it. While that's ridiculous, it's also hard to hear. I, like most professionals, try to be as objective as possible. I tried to convey there side accurately and fairly. But having someone you out in that way in front of so many people, well, that's just hard.

If you feel good about it then that is a good place to be. Personal attacks are more common these days. He may have done it because he couldn't attack the data.

 

[WesternWyoming]

When you’re trying to do the right thing and it’s also your job to do the right thing of course you care! You are a hero in my book.

Those who make it personal in a public meeting are hurting and fearful themselves and want to tear you down to make themselves feel powerful. They want you to hurt like they do.
And when you’re talking about water things get all kinds of crazy.

On any difficult terrain, trust your feet and keep your balance.

 

[El Jason]

Too bad, works for us.

Same.

People kill the messenger all the time because they lack emotional intelligence.

You are the messenger. Remember that. It’s not about you. They don’t hate you. They are emotional about the issue. Not the person.

Stay professional. It’s hard when you just want to say GFY, but keep your dignity and your cool. Been in your shoes may times.

My wife and I hike a lot with the dogs. It’s great conversation time and very therapeutic.