How to Reduce the Stress in your Life

How to Reduce the Stress in your Life

The Stress Problem

A couple years ago, we had some major setbacks in our family, and I got so stressed out that I began losing chunks of my hair. Like, CHUNKS. I had completely bald patches. I was really worried I was going completely lose all of my hair.  The doctors couldn’t find anything wrong with me (and I was only 26 at the time).

During this time, I just kept plugging on with my life, and when I got home from work, or on Saturday afternoons, I would sit in the bathtub and read a book.  When I got out I would lather eucalyptus tea stress relief lotion all over myself.

I would totally lose myself in the book, escaping from the realities of life for a little while.

It wasn’t’ only losing myself in the pages of a novel or learning something new in a nonfiction book that helped me relieve stress, it was also the act of doing something I loved to do as a child.  Going back to our childhood loves is great balm for the soul. 

A Reading Nook

The bathtub is one of my cozy reading “nooks”.  It doesn’t sound like a traditional place to curl up with a book, but it is a comfortable, soothing place, and if I am going to soak for a while, I might as well read!

I also read that taking a bath is reminiscent of being in the womb, so it is great for comfort and stress relief.  If you’re interested in the appeal of baths check out this article from the guardian.  

I didn’t stop losing my hair until our situation we were in was resolved, but it did keep me going and moving forward with life to lose myself in a book every once in a while.

How to reduce stress:

1.    Find a book you’re interested in.  Here are some ideas:

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon 

The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty

The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult

Chasing Slow by Erin Loechner

Outliers by Malcom Gladwell

2.    Run a warm bath

Add mood lighting, a favorite drink, Spotify, etc

3.    Soak and read for at least 30 minutes (or as long as the water stays warm!)

4.    Towel off and lather a stress-relieving scented lotion. Some of my favorites are:

Eucalyptus tea from the aromatherapy stress relief Bath and Body Works line

Palmer’s Cocoa Butter – especially the Massage Lotion for Stretch marks

Plain ol’ baby oil 

  

Your Turn

We all live stressful lives and have periods of intensely taxing situations.  Next time you’re stressed or worried try these four easy steps and keep yourself moving forward. 

Hannah

What to Read for Fall - Into the Water by Paula Hawkins

What to Read for Fall 

 Into the Water by Paula Hawkins

Into the Water by Paula Hawkins 

Physiological Suspense

            Have you ever been recounting a story to someone and right in the middle of it they turn to you with a confused look and say, “That’s not how it happened at all!”  Then an argument ensues.  You are sure it happened like this, and he is equally as sure it happened like this.  Your memory that once was so clear now seems fuzzy and you’re confused…

            In her book, Into the Water, Paula Hawkins explores this unsettling feeling twisting it into a mystery.  You might know bestselling author Paula Hawkins from her book The Girl on the Train that was made into a movie in 2016 starring Emily Blunt (if you don’t, go read it now!) And this new book is just as incredible! 

Secrets Pull You Into the Water

Memories are fluid, what you perceive isn’t always true, and secrets are dangerous. 

            The river dominates the town of Beckford, and the stories of the Drowning Pool dominate the talk of the town.  Women have been mysteriously drowning in this spot since 1679, but no one totally knows the connection.  Are they all murdered, are they all suicides, could some deaths be an accident?

            Two women have drowned in the past couple of months in 2015, and it seems like these deaths will finally pull some secrets into the light.  But the story twists and turns, pulling you into the water and out again.  You seem to be reading through a haze - the answers are just out of reach – if you could just reach through this opaque barrier you could get to them.

It Starts with Nel

            Nel is woman to drown in the pool most recently.  She was researching the Drowning Pool, dragging up old mysteries.  Nel leaves behind her daughter Lena, and Lena’s best friend, Katie, drowned two months earlier.  Katie’s mom, Lena and her Aunt, Jules, the Detective Inspector, Sean, the headmistress and teachers at school, along with the rest of the town all get caught up in trying to figure out what has happened.  And what is the truth.  And who to trust.

Is what you see, what you get?

            Into the Water is told from different perspectives.  Each chapter is told by a different character, and as each character has major flaws to the lens in which they view the world, nothing is ever totally clear. 

            But if this sounds like a bad thing, it isn’t.  Having so many muddy voices adds to the intrigue as you try to figure out what is going on. 

            Hawkins provides a character list at the beginning to explain who everyone is; I definitely suggest you look over this before you begin, and it’s handy to refer back to as you read along.  

Thriller

            As the weather grows crisper, pumpkins start appearing, and the nights get darker thriller books seem to be the perfect thing to read.  Into the Water is not a terrible horror story, but it is definitely creepy. It made me look over my shoulder when I had to walk through the dark house in the middle of the night to check on my baby, but I didn’t ever feel like I couldn’t sleep or be in the house by myself.  It is the perfect companion to the beginning of fall, the edge of Halloween.

Go Read this Book if you like…

If you like books like Gone Girl, Sharp Objects, or The Woman in Cabin 10 this book is for you!  And you should definitely check out Paula Hawkins other book The Girl on the Train.

           

What’s Next?

            If you are planning on reading Into the Water post below in the comments.

 And if you have already finished it, let me know what you thought (in the comments)!

You can find Into the Water here

Catch up on reading The Girl on the Train here 

Happy reading!

Hannah