I've been stressed at work and I'm a workaholic, and tend to do a LOT of work at work during workhours but since I also have a business I do plenty of work at home as well. A lot of this work is not even totally productive and my to-do lists doesn't go down making me more stressed.

A thing that's been a habit for the past year was that each time I'd feel stressed after a full day of work, I'd REAALLYY want to just go home, curl up on my bed all comfy, eat parfait or ice cream or takeout, and watch netflix.

It made me spend way too much on takeout and made that into a bit of a habit. Thankfully I recognized it in January and took it one step at a time - eliminating ANY buying of delivered food. So now I'm good there.

I've been working out cosnistently lately but I still have those moments where my jaw ACHES from the stress (that's been the thing for me) and I just want to do nothign but curl up and comfort myslef (with food). This week for example was that week. I skipped my workout even though I was telling myself this workout will be great stress relief, I guess it hasnt become a habit just yet.

SO I am looking for words of encouragement and tips for making working out a stress relief that becomes your GO-TO, as well as any tips for making a ritual or a hhealthy habit of de-stressing after work, especially when the stress is so intense you feel it physically (like I do in my jaw).

Appreciate it!

If you grind your teeth at night, you may need a mouth guard. My sister's jaw ached because she grinds her teeth at night. The mouth guard helped. She got it at the dentist's office.

After you work out, you could take a bath with Epsom salts. That helps me to destress. You can soak for 15 minutes, and it's quite relaxing.

I workout twice a day. Before work and before lunch. These are my stress times. Not everyone has the time for that. But my job is fricking nuts, and my work has a gym so I use it.

The best stress relief by far is intense cardio. For me, that means a run. I weight train too but running puts me so near death, everything else (i.e. work stress) seems trivial. So, if you are stressed, push yourself hard on your workout. I ran 9 miles tonight. And after that, there ain't much I give a sh!t about.

I also make my workouts "my time". No matter what is going on, I do my workout. That especially applies to work. Tight deadline? Still workout. Want to meet with me? Sorry, have to do it later (that's my workout time).

I find it has no negative influence on my productivity. The break even helps me increase my productivity because it helps me to take a step back from work problems and to solve them more pragmatically. So it is false economy to skip out and work more. But it does a whole lot to help reduce my stress. So working out consistently makes me feel better (about my work, personal life etc.) and I achieve as much as I would have at work anyway, if not more. Win win.

In fact, one of the reasons I got obese in the first place was trying to deal with my stress about work by just working harder and neglecting my health (bad diet, no exercise).

That was a road to ruin.

2 decades wasted.

Would have died before seeing my pension.

I workout now and work smarter. And I look and feel great.

Well, personally, a good workout is starting to become a de-stresser for me! Haha I guess it's because, at school and work, I sit down all day, so not having to use my brain is already a good rest.

I'm just going to list some things I can think of, then you can see if anything fits your fancy!

- yoga (I don't do it myself, but people say it's effective)
- good book + tea
- power nap, if you know how to control your time (I don't haha but it's an option)
- banana ice cream! if you want to keep up your ritual, just with a healthier option; that way you can leave your bananas in the freezer in the morning and make your ice cream once you get back to watch netflix with!
- audiobook or podcast you like
- long shower/bath

If you really are needing an absolute de-stressing moment after work, though, you may want to start changing some habits in the workplace so you're not wearing yourself out too much during the day (if possible, of course).

Oh stress!! We all know it so well huh? I agree, when I am super stressed I wanna curl up with some ice cream too!

I will say exercise is a good stress reliever, especially when I am mad I feel I work out the hardest.

I also suggest some tea. Yogi makes a nice detox one that I really like. Traditional medicine makes a lavender and chamomile one that is nice too.

So tea and a nice book? I recently started getting into audiobooks. After staring at a screen for 8 hours I can't stand to look at my kindle or little words on paper. Most libraries now have digital collections. I put on some headphones and sit down and close my eyes and just listen to the story!

My de-stress involves a scalding hot shower, fuzzy socks, comfy pjs and usually a chapter or two out of a book, or a movie. The second destresser involves violent video games and loud music.

Exercise is actually one of my stresses, because it's not quite a habit for me either. its a fight every single day to get me to the gym after work. I do it, but it's not in the fun category yet.

I gotcha, I'm there too. I know it's possible to make it fun, and with time it will become that de-stresser that others talk about but it's not there yet. It used to be once upon a time but it isn't right now.

I like fuzzy socks Still all the comfy things I enjoy.. the shower idea is good too. I don't take baths at my apartment cause our bath tub isn't the newest. It's not bad but it still kinda grosses me out to think how old it is haha, so I can't do that.

I'm gonna go to the gym tomorrow after work and just go and do it. De stress that way. Get it through to my head that exercise is my stress relief once and for all.

Breathing, meditation, chi gong, stretching. These all help me so much.

If I can't commit to any of those I take a hot shower and take a long time to apply moisturizer all over like a mini massage. I have one of those massage pillows to that you plug into the wall, its' great.