When meditation isn't enough

[dolphinpatronus]

I'm curious. What do you guys do when meditation just doesn't seem to be helping reduce your stress? I have so much stress & tension lately (about a week now) that I just can't seem to relax. There are a few things that are somewhat out of my control that I can't fix at the moment & a few that I'm working on but I can't clear my mind enough to meditate properly recently so it's not helping. I've reduced my caffeine & sugar intake so that I'm not over stimulated. I've been trying to drink herbal tea blends that are specifically blended for the soothing qualities & I even refilled my Ativan prescription but I can't seem to get myself into a positive headspace. I'm open to any suggestions.

[Myrth]

Chamomile tea. Hot bath with Epsom salts - nice long soak. Essential oils. Running, running, running - releases endorphins which are the absolute best "drug" for fighting stress on this planet.

Petting your dog or cat. Sex.

Lots of options.

[Firebird]

Like Myrth said physical excercise is a great way to reduce stress.
However if much of it is environmental, you'll need to change either...
a. Your living place
b. The way you veiw and/or react to what's happening in the environment.
And I gotta tell you, meditating can be stressful in itself, especially if you are trying to force it.
I was terribly frustrated for a very long time, and still I find myself thinking about the grocery shopping or whatever. But I let it go, then in comes the next crazy and intrusive thought, and I think, ok...bye bye, next...etc etc. Seems if I can just come back to my breathing, and focus on that it works pretty well.
I found that a cd with guided meditations works ok too.
blessings, Firebird

[Moonfire]

As someone who is living with anxiety, I understand this struggle. I like to use some breathing exercises. My personal preference is whenever I breathe in, I imagine a warm fire in my chest and it grows with each inhale. Then when I exhale I either imagine it shrinking or I imagine that I'm blowing out the fire. A variation I've also used is I imagine a large, ancient tree in my chest. And when I breathe in, it grows leaves and blossoms flowers and when I breathe out, a wind comes through and carries away the leaves out with my breath. Usually at this point they have turned brown, like the coming of autumn. Its very calming. :3

[dolphinpatronus]

Thanks everyone. I'll be trying some of these tonight.

[AnaisStar]

Yoga!! Im a yoga teacher so I cant stress it enough. (sorry for the pun).

I think of Yoga as moving mediation, which is totally is. Some people have a hard time sitting still to mediate, so yoga will help. It will help to calm the mind and get you centered and connected to your body. Yoga was actually created by gurus who would mediate all day to ease the body pains they would get from sitting all day.