What Are Your Pet Peeves?

June 29, 2009

We all know that stress impacts our health. Our daily goal should be to reduce stress. That's a tall order, since life seems to be getting more stressful. Let me share with you some of my pet peeves that cause me a lot of stress.

Aisle Hogs. If you sit on the aisle in an airplane, you cannot go to sleep. I can't tell you how many times I've been in a middle seat on a cross country flight and the person next to me decides to fall into a deep slumber (except of course to miraculously wake up for food!). Given the decreasing size of seats and the growing size of people, it's impossible to either climb over them or wedge between the seat and the person without touching either. Honestly, it's like you're a hostage! So if you want to sit on the aisle, ya gotta stay awake.

Parking Incompetents. I park at a Starbucks every morning on the way to work. Yes, I know....I am addicted to caffeine! But my peeve is when SUVs occupy two spots. Or worse: when they park in the spot next to you, and it's too close to your driver's side door. It becomes impossible to squeeze in. Don't people know they need to be equidistant from both parking lines!?  Now granted...my Starbucks has a Bikram yoga studio above it, and yoga-ites are probably in a rush to get all hot. But seriously, watch where you park! Otherwise, you're hot and I'm bothered!

Sweaty Gym-Goers. I try to go to the gym 4 days a week, to relieve the stress of the aforementioned peeves. But I am surprised how many people don't wipe the equipment after they're done with it. Seriously, it's gross! I know it's a gym and we're sweating, but I really don't want to come into contact with other people's sweat. Ya don't need to walk around with antibacterial wipes, but if ya shvits a lot, carry a towel.

So what do I do when I get in these situations? Here's how I try to relieve my stress:

Deep breathing. Sounds simple, but most people don't do it right. Stand or sit up straight. Put your hand on your stomach, and slowly breathe in through your nose. Feel your hand move up. Then slowly breathe out through your mouth, feeling your hand go down. Try it a few times next time you get stressed. It works for many folks.

Laugh at the absurdity of it. Laughter is always good medicine.

Listen to music. I talked about what's in my iPod in my last post...and honestly, music does help to relieve stress.

What's your pet peeve that causes you stress, and how do you deal with it?

Comments

[tom hanks trivia]

No mention of road rage here? :)

[Katrina]

One of my pet peeves is mess. I've always been highly organized so things were in the right place (maybe not dusted). But a while back I developed epilepsy and now have short- and long-term amnesia. I don't recall where I put things myself! When others make this worse with their sloppiness, I'm not happy. Put things where they belong!