Oh yes. I mean, my co-workers are great. But it really can get tiresome to be asked 20 times in one hour "Hey, am I going home today?" (working with old people with dementia, and you can either get them angry and upset by telling them the truth - "You live here" - or pacify them by lying to them and saying "Yes, your son/daughter is coming to bring you home in the afternoon").
Long walk, headphones on with a podcast on a non-work related topic I’m interested in is a great way when the weather cooperates. In the winter, hopping on the rower in the garage for 20 - 30 mins brings me back to earth quickly.
I’m fine. Everything’s fine… I don’t have constant thoughts of am I a good enough father.. am I a good enough son to my parents. Have I let them down… are they proud of me… am I the partner my wife deserves… how do I go about ensuring I keep moving forward in my career… what deadlines do I need to meet… do I make enough money… what bills are coming up due… I should prob put more into my 401k… should I get life insurance… how much… does my partner love me, or the life I provide.
Walks with the dog and a flashlight to entertain me. Video games, building stuff for my DND campaign (only sometimes game building can be stressful) playing with my cats.
If I really need to distress. My good pair of headphones loud enough to drown out the world. Regular stress, video games. Time with my wife. Just turn my brain off.
If the stress hasn't reached a critical point that makes me take a benzo, I make a calming tea made of many types of flowers and herbs, then I drink it with milk, which is called around the internet as "moon milk".
Then I play stardew valley or some other cozy game listening to music. I work until midnight at home, which is the absurd shift in my IT job. Usually on a good day, the last 2 hours are relatively calm, so I make a reservation to try calming myself and lower my cortisol levels to sleep. But I cannot say it will work everyday. Some days I am so mentally ill that I really need to take some medicines and a joint.
Here is my 4 steps:
1. I hug my cat and play with him (repeat this step as much as possible 😺)
2. Drinking a hot chocolate/tea etc...
3. I play video games with my friends on discord
4. Reading or watching videos about history
Lean into a few beers, unload and sort tools/equipment and maybe tinker a bit on a project, do a wee bit of hunting in the back yard, scrub, and oil my work boots, wash the truck, etc.
I work in b2b financial sales so some days are very stressful for me. The gym has been the best option. No matter how bad it gets i always feel better after.. even if im tired it seems to give me more energy. Not a gym rat by any means but for sure helps
Couple different options depending on how I feel. Sometimes I lift or go for a run and/or relax in my massage chair. Watch anime if it's a new episode day especially. Have a beer (a time or two a week only. I keep track and won't do this if I've already done it this week usually or if I do it's only once more and I cut out having a drink from maybe saturday). Work on some art for my comic. Sometimes just the commute home while listening to a good audio book is plenty enough.
Mod a game to oblivion then if it runs I don't play I'm just happy the mods work well together then sleep as I tell myself "I'll play it next time". I think I have like 20 games under "next time".
Hobbies are a big thing. Everyone, men and women, needs something that is just for them. You can't turn it into your income. You can't do it because of someone else. You need to do it just for yourself because you want to. It also needs to be legal.
Personally, I like playing a few video games (mostly sim racing) and I like doing stuff with my RC cars. I got one buddy who likes distance running and tracking statistics around his distance running. These are things that we do strictly for ourselves because we want to.
Beer. Run around in Diablo IV for some time, turning my brain off for a while as I smash demons and cultists. Cook. Go for a walk to listen to some 3-hour long podcast.
When I worked in a high stress corporate environment I drank too much whiskey. Now that I'm retired and live a very comfortable, stress free existence, I drink too much wine.