How do you deal with stress

What about game induced stress? I play a game to unwind, but the developers do stupid shit that put me over the edge even more. I’ve wished a lot of death on some game devs.

Studies have shown that this kind of behaviour tends to make stress worse by reinforcing the physiological changes the occur during stress. i.e. you feel better in the short term, but your body learns that the proper reaction to stress is high blood pressure, inability to think well, etc. etc.

YMMV

I keep a stress ball in my toolbag for times I cann’t wait to relieve stress (usually, during a meeting with sales). However, I get to yell at people with my job (mostly at sales), so that helps.

Past that, it’s gaming and music that gets the blood boiling.

Without it, I start to get headaches in a day or two.

Quick, someone make a game where you can slaughter game devs.

Swap games the moment it pisses you off.

True.dat.

That’s why playing on console is better than PC. 360 and PS2 controllers are pretty damn resistant, I haven’t managed to tear one in half yet. However, I believe the PS3 controller will end up destroyed the first time it happens.

That being said, it’s pretty rare that I actually play a game beyond the first time that happens.

Hit the gym hard.

While I use your route (loud, aggressive music and video games), I think you are being narrowminded here. Meditation is a proven method for dealing with stress and is NOT the same as bottling it in. Different people deal in different ways. Meditation is about letting it all go, just as shouting angrily is. It’s the same thing, different methods. I prefer your way, but I understand the other one.

Oh yeah? Well my way is more manly.

. . . says every bitter adolescent male to ever wallow in heavy metal.

Sorry, couldn’t resist. You laid down an easy straight line.

I use videogames as well, and it isn’t a specific type of videogame that does the job. The idea for me is to just get my mind off the issue causing stress so I can think about it clearly when I’m no longer too worried.

Any focused physical activity is ideal, really. Note that Gordon’s method of screaming and hitting things does not fall into this category.

Weed + MST3K.

Oops, did I forget the smiley?

Someone who was more manly would not apologize in the same post.

Also, we do not wallow. We mosh.

(I meditate too, but I don’t follow the breath. I intensely visualize moshing.)

I find something that will make me break up laughing, like a Fark photoshop contest. 10 minutes of laughing out loud will conquer most stress. Either that or strangle a hooker, whichever seems more convenient at the time.

It’s OUR way, Charles. (sticks his chest out even further!)

I’m generally not a big fan of new-agey sorts of stuff, no matter how old it may be, but I find that one of the more commonly recommended relaxation routines works pretty well for me.

It’s basically the prelude to self-hypnosis. Lie down, breath regularly, tense and relax each muscle group you can identify throughout your body. Done.

The tensing and relaxing may or may not help directly if you are stressed, but really I suspect the point is it will take 10 minutes or so to do the exercise, and it requires a little concentration, so that’s ten minutes off from whatever it is that was stressing you out.

As an aside, if you’re suffering from a tension headache or some similar discomfort, sometimes it seems to help to try to identify and perceive the pain or whatever it is as clearly as possible during this relaxation. Never really deals with it completely, but generally seems to make it less annoying.

More sleep and exercise. If it’s really a bad day at work, me and sometimes a few others will go outside and walk around the nature trail that we have near the office. It’s been labeled “venting trail” because of that. I always come back feeling better.

At one job I had there was this sort of human shaped punching bag thing. When I was frustrated from debugging something I’d go put the gloves on and have at it for 20 minutes. The only problem was that even with my hands properly and tightly wrapped it would take another 20 minutes until I could effectively type again after hitting the bag.