Welcome back, Counselors! We hope you have had a chance to read and enjoy the first part of our series today on how you can relax and de-compress now that the school year has come to a close (or will soon for some of you still in session).
We asked counselors what they do to unwind, and as you saw in the first post, the number one response was to exercise. Let’s see what else you all had to say about finding your calm.
Also, you can leave your advice in the comments section. We’ll be sharing more tips and tricks on Twitter and Facebook, so we can always use more ideas! (Leave your Twitter name in the comment if you’d like us to link back to you.)
A common response was to spend time with family, pets and friends!
“To spend time with my family!” —Rene’ Kurtz
“Going out with the dog. It’s great to be at the park or in the woods with my best friend.” —Constance Lee
“One of my big stress reliever “to do’s” is hanging out with my animals. We have two dogs and two cats, and watching them play or run out in the yard makes me smile. Plus, every day, they act like they’re so happy to see me that it washes away that stress from work that I’ve been trying to leave at work. If you aren’t an animal person, I think being outside, especially at this time of year, could have the same kind of effect.” —Lillian Keenan
“My #1 stress reliever is a nice, long run with just me, my dog, and my music.” —Gina Windle
Pampering yourself and indulging in those not-very-often pleasures was also popular with the counselors polled.
“I go to the beach, put my folded chaise lounge out and just let the wind & sun wash away the stress.” —Louise McKinney
“As soon as the AP exams are in the mail, it is time for a good cup of coffee and a pedicure…a perfect stress reliever!” —Denise Barnhart
“Chocolate! No, seriously, take a small thing you enjoy and do it for yourself. Mine happens to be having the chocolate. (I try to be reasonable!) I try to deny myself during the normal time of year.” —Lolita Blanton
“My #1 stress reliever is my once a month massage therapy session!” —Jennifer Cashman
“My number #1 stress reliever is my iced green tea in the morning. I look forward to it!” —Janna Varela
“A manicure and pedicure are stress relievers for me!” —Cindy Williams
We’ll be back later today with some more ideas on how you can relieve some of the end-of-the-year pressures. If you follow NextStepU socially, check Facebook and Twitter throughout the day or sign up to subscriber to our blog posts in the sidebar. They’ll be sent straight to your inbox each time we post.
