Getting through the last month has been a stressful process – there has been too much to accomplish with too few resources over too short a time span. I’ve been able to survive such periods in life only by the use of coping mechanisms such as primal scream or percussion therapy, but at this stage of my life I find that my stress is best relieved through one of two specific activities: service and drawing.
If I am angry/anxious/scared/perturbed I find that doing something for someone else is the shortest path to peace. It doesn’t need to be a major production – sometimes something as simple as holding a door open or letting another driver transit first through an intersection is enough to reduce your blood pressure and bring a smile to both faces.
The other way I can reduce stress in my life is to lose myself in drawing. That might not seem like a stretch for a creative professional but making an image not subject to another person’s parameters can be so nice. I like to draw classic aircraft dating from the turn of the century to the end of World War II, a process that is even more fun when dealing with obscure- hardware or alternate histories. For example – take the image in this post: what’s the proper designation and why would it be painted in this particular color scheme?
See – now you’re “chillaxing” as well…