Quotes

• All stressed up and nowhere to go.
• Anyone can face a crisis, its this day-to-day living that wears you out.
• Are a few dull moments too much to ask?
• I don't suffer from stress, I'm a carrier.
• I feel like I'm diagonally parked in a parallel universe.
• I read that the typical symptoms of stress are over-eating, impulse buying, and driving too fast. Are they kidding? That is my idea of a perfect day.
• I want my blankie!
• I'm not tense, just terribly, terribly alert.
• It is the aloneness within us made manifest and it destroys not only connection to others but also the ability to be peacefully alone with oneself. (Andrew Solomon on depression)
• It's hard to fight an enemy who has outposts in your head. (Sally Kempton)
• The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. (Henry David Thoreau, 1854)
• Practical guide for successful living: Put your head under the pillow and scream.
• Pressure and stress is the common cold of the psyche. (Andrew Denton)
• Reality is the leading cause of stress amongst those in touch with it. (Jane Wagner)
• Stress is when you wake up screaming and you realize you weren't sleeping.
• We are not victims of the world we see. We are victims of the way we see the world.
• Wipe out anxiety before it wipes you out.
• You know when you're sitting on a chair and you lean back so you're just on two legs then you lean too far and you almost fall over but at the last second you catch yourself? I feel like that all the time. (Steven Wright)

Handling Stress

Husband: "It's good to see you taking time to read a book. What is it?"
Wife: "A book on how to handle stress. The doctor says I get involved in too many things. This is a terrific book--I know all kinds of people who would benefit from a course on this . . . I bet if I tried I could get a good group together! I'm going over to Connie's. She'll know someone who could give a workshop. We could form a committee . . ."
Husband: "I give up!"

Ways to Reduce Stress

• Go to bed on time.
• Get up on time so you can start the day unrushed.
• Say No to projects that don't fit your schedule or that compromise your mental health.
• Delegate tasks to capable others.
• Simplify and unclutter your life.
• Less is more. Two of some things are not better than one.
• Allow extra time to do things and to get to places.
• Pace yourself. Spread out big changes and difficult projects over time.
• Take one day at a time.
• If you can't change a situation try to put it out of your mind.
• If you can change a situation take steps to do so.
• If praying comforts you don't wait to do it when you are desperate.
• Live within your budget--don't use credit cards if they cause you to overspend.
• Have backups--an extra car key in your wallet, a house key buried in the garden, etc.
• K.M.S. (Keep Mouth Shut.) This can prevent an enormous amount of trouble.
• Do something for the Kid in You everyday.
• Get enough exercise.
• Eat a balanced diet.
• Get organized so everything has its place.
• Write thoughts and inspirations down.
• Everyday, find time to be alone.
• Nip small problems in the bud. Don't wait until they become large ones.
• Make friends with people who have similar values.
• If reading the Bible comforts you keep a list of favorite scriptures.
• Laugh at every opportunity.
• Take your work seriously, but not yourself.
• Develop a forgiving attitude--most people are doing the best they can.
• Be kind to unkind people--they probably need it the most.
• Talk less; listen more.
• Slow down.
• Remind yourself that you are not the general manager of the universe.
• Every night, think of one new thing you're grateful for.

Stress Management

A lecturer, when explaining stress management to an audience, raised a glass of water and asked, "How heavy is this glass of water?" Answers called out ranged from 20g to 500g.

The lecturer replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long you try to hold it." "If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance. "In each case, it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes."

He continued, "And that's the way it is with stress management. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on. As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden."

"So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work down. Don't carry it home. You can pick it up tomorrow. Whatever burdens you're carrying now, let them down for a moment if you can. Relax; pick them up later after you've rested. Life is short. Enjoy it!"

The Secret to Inner Peace

If the things in the list above don't help you, here is another suggestion. By following the simple advice I read in an article, I have finally found inner peace . . . It read: "The way to achieve inner peace is to finish all the things you've started." So I looked around to see all the things I started and hadn't finished. Today I have finished one small bottle of Grand Marnier, a bottle of red wine, a bottle of Jack Daniel's, my Prozac, a small box of chocolates and a half-gallon of Baskin Robbins rocky road ice cream. You have no idea how good I feel.

Songs about Being Tired

• All the Tired Horses - Bob Dylan (1970)
• Dog-Tired of Cattin' Around - Ray Pillow (1975)
• Don't You Ever Get Tired of Hurtin' Me? - Ronnie Milsap (1988)
• Don't You Ever Get Tired of Hurting Me? - Ray Price (1981)
• I Am a Weary Pilgrim - The Brown's Ferry Four (1952)
• I am Weary, Let Me Rest - The Cox Family (2000)
• I'm Gettin' Tired of Babyin' You - Peggy Sue (1969)
• I'm Tired - Webb Pierce (1957)
• I'm Tired of Giving - The Spinners (1977)
• I'm Tired of Pride - Russell Arms (1957)
• She Got Tired of Loving Me - The Temptations (1985)
• Sick and Tired - Cross Canadian Ragweed and Lee Ann Womack (2004)
• Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired - David Wilkins (2005)
• So Tired - Etta Jones (1945)
• Tired - Pearl Bailey (1951)
• Tired and Blue - Bobbi Martin (1962)
• Tired and Sleepy - Cochran Brothers (1956)
• Tired Eyes - Neil Young (1975)
• Tired of Being Alone - Rory Block (2002)
• Tired of Being Blonde - Carly Simon (1985)
• Tired of Loving This Way - Bobbie Eakes and Collin Raye (2000)
• Tired of Toein' the Line - Rocky Burnette (1980)
• Tired of Waiting - Ray Davies (1998)
• Tired of Waiting for You -  The Kinks (1965)
• Tired of Walkin' - Joe Hinton (1962)
• Tired of Wearing Black - The Rockets (1981)
• Tired Teddy Bear - Raymond Scott Orchestra (1947)
• Tuckered Out - Jackie Brenston (1951)
• Weary and Worried - The Prairie Ramblers (1941)
• Weary Blues from Waitin' - The Nashville Bluegrass Band (1990)
• Weary Blues from Waiting - Pure Texas Band (1996)
• Weary Nights and Broken Dreams - Dick Thomas (1945)
• Weary, Worried and Blue - Ted Daffan and His Texans (1941)

Songs about Weakness

• He's My Weakness - Ronna Reeves (1993)
• I Get Weak - Belinda Carlisle (1988)
• I've Got a Weakness for Cowboys - Joni Harms (2001)
• In the Arms of My Weakness - Darrell McCall (1970)
• It's a Great Life If You Don't Weaken - Faron Young (1956)
• My Strongest Weakness - Wynonna Judd (1992)
• My Weakness is Too Strong - The Time Jumpers (2007)
• My Weakness is You - Edwin Starr (1968)
• Old Weakness Coming on Strong - Delbert McClinton (1997)
• Seven Days of Crying Makes One Weak - The Harden Trio (1967)
• Strong Weakness - The Bellamy Brothers (1983)
• That's How Strong My Weakness is - Tony Toliver (1991)
• That's My Weakness Now - Jaye P. Morgan and Hank Penny (1953)
• This Old Heart of Mine is Weak for You - The Isley Brothers (1966)
• Too Weak to Fight - Clarence Carter (1969)
• Weakness for the Weekend - Pirates of the Mississippi (1995)
• You Leave Me Weak - Toby Keith (2001)
• Your Sweetness is My Weakness - Barry White (1978)