Restore
One of the features of the Windows operating system which has come in handy for me at times has been the Restore Point. When everything starts going awry with my computer, I can reset my operating system to a previous state, in which everything went smoothly. It isn't always a permanent fix, but it helps me to calm down and try to figure out the root problem.
I have a personal restore point. I developed it when I was in cancer treatment a decade ago. The treatments were so strenuous and painful that no medication which allowed me to maintain consciousness touched the pain. This lasted for about three months. I learned to restore myself to a functional state by doing relaxation exercises, similar to self-hypnosis. This would allow me to meditate and then nap. When I awoke from one of these periods, I was restored to a functional state. Some days I had to do this process a half dozen or more times.
I looked back over my life and realized that I had a less structured and more sporadic method for doing this restoration process. I had worked night shifts, evening shifts and day shifts equally over my nursing career. I usually had a second job. Nursing in my day was not the lucrative occupation it can be today. While many of my colleagues drank and used drugs to cope in their off hours, I learned to take time to meditate, exercise and sleep enough hours to ward off fatigue.
It is beneficial to intentionally develop a personal restore point which can be accessed whenever stress becomes toxic. The methods are less important than the reduction of stress and renewal of a clear mind. I learned that the most hectic and stressful day can simply be placed on hold for fifteen or thirty minutes. My world does not fall apart. People do not dislike me for taking care of my stress. In fact, taking the time to get back to my restore point makes my life and the lives around me much better.
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