Stress relief, each to their own

During a recent doctor's appointment, my physician asked me what I did for stress relief. I rattled off a few things including walking, a hot bath/shower, talking on the phone and then shyly included crying. She gave a small smile and then told me that she thought those all sounded like great ways to destress. I had just been given permission to CRY!

At age 25, it's OK for me to cry - my doctor says so. It's really not a secret to those close to me that I can turn on the waterworks pretty easily. My sorority sisters often gauged the emotional tension of a situation on whether I was crying and one college professor still testifies that he keeps an extra box of Kleenex on hand just for me. (Ironic that we happen to work in the same building now.)

However, my own reaction and susceptibility to crying has evolved somewhat. I recently noticed a girl walking on the college campus and crying profusely. She was attempting to tell someone on the other end of the phone how awful a college exam had been. I rolled my eyes and thought to myself that she had no idea how miniscule that type of worry was. Then, I realized that this image was me just a few short years ago. She had every right to relieve this stress in her life by crying or in whatever way worked for her.

There's so many different opinions on crying - that accompany various stages of life. Little boys are mocked as cry babies by their friends when they fall down and go screaming to wrap their arms around the knees of their mothers. Yet, others find it completely acceptable that grown females cry at holiday Hallmark commercials. For now, my opinion is to do what fits your life, personality etc.

Stress relief does come in very different packages. Some people become introverted, others run, while still others (like me) need to just break down in a full throttle balling session.

Happy destressing!