Stress

My life seems to be on one of those, " why can it never just be one thing at a time" sort of track. I'm relieved to say that for the most part, I have my health, my faith and my friends all in good order. My family however is enduring a bit of a tumultuous time. Without going into much detail, my family seems to be on a path of illness. I'm the oldest of 4 and so far the only one who in the last 3 weeks has not required some hospitalization. Two of us received some diagnosis's' that didn't necessary provide relief and both of those siblings are under 18 and living at home with my parents. That of course means that my poor parents are feeling a little claustrophobic with the stress, health and hospitals. Everyone is alive, and everyone will be alive for many more years to come, but there will be a lot of rehab, possible hospital trips and plenty of chaperoning. I spent all afternoon in the hospital waiting room with my mom while we waited for my youngest sister to get an MRI and having spent all night awake with excitement of the news of my new nieces arrival marking the first child for my other sister, I was more than exhausted when I arrived home after class late last night. Brittany and the baby are doing well, but still in Japan which means it will be days before a picture of the baby will make it's way to me. The Marines have given my sister word that it is likely that she will be sent to the front lines with-in a year, and while I hope that an infant will tug at their heart-strings and make them change their minds, I can't help but feel like I should begin shopping for a crib and highchair. If my sister gets sent over seas, my niece will move to my parents house, and spend half of the week with them, and half with me. That way neither of us get overwhelmed with a baby jumping into our lives full-time. Plus it will make the transition easier for us all. I have no fears for caring for my niece and helping my sister in whatever way she needs, but I am not sure I am ready for an infant and than toddler full time. I am fearful that my sister will miss the opportunity to bond with her baby and I am fearful for my sister who will endure situations that I never hope to witness. These are of course all still speculations, but I can't help but stress over the possibilities.

As my personal life faces more challenges, my school work seems to be following suit. It makes perfect sense to me, but how to break the cycle. Work is actually getting easier, but having worked 60 hour weeks for the last 3 weeks, it doesn't seem odd that everything else in my life seems to be suffering.

I woke up this morning for the 4th day in a row irritated with how little I was able to sleep the night before. My neck is sore, my back is stiff and my stomach is in shambles. I'm stressed. Human nature and fact of life, but I need to find ways to de-stress. I'm toying with a stress relieving yoga DVD to use before bed each night, in hopes that it will calm me down and allow me to sleep easier. My concern of course is that after 9 hours of working, and 4 hours of class when I finally get home I may pass out before I get a chance to chant, hum and make a human tree.

What are some ways you relieve stress? Anybody have some great inexpensive tips? I would love to find a way that I can release emotions at any time, instead of having to schedule appointments for de-stressing. What have you found works?