Stress, noun
1.  Pressure or tension exerted on a material object:
2.  A state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or demanding circumstances:
3.  particular emphasis or importance

At the end of each Cardiac Rehabilitation session, we have 30 minutes of “relaxation”; gentle music, overlaid with softly spoken instructions to focus on eliminating tension from different parts of the body (“now we’ll focus on our thighs…”), breathing deeply and generally chilling out.

It feels good, indulgent.  It rounds off the Rehab session before heading out into the big wide world.

According to Wikipedia; “the body’s way to respond to stress is by sympathetic nervous system activation which results in the fight-or-flight response”. 

I’m not entirely sure where lying down with your eyes closed, chillaxing fits in to this evolutionary response – I’m sure it will become clear in time, but we haven’t done our “Stress Management” education session yet!  (It was actually supposed to be last week, but it got switched with “Medication” at the last minute!)

I guess that we are made to deal with our challenges face on, or to turn tail and run away!  Biologically, we’re not made to dwell some things too much.  Relaxation is a good way of re-establishing a sense of calm and stability after doing what you need to do.

The bottom line is, we all face stressful situations of differing degrees every day.  They cannot be avoided.  Even locking yourself away can be stressful for most of us (“What’s going on outside?”)…

Which brings me to my stress of the week…

We recently received a Planning Permission notice for a house to be built at the top of our garden.  Seven houses in total, in two plots, but it’s the one that will overlook our house, replacing a nice wooded area that I’m concerned about.

Fortunately, there’s a simple solution that will allow the development to proceed without giving us too much cause for concern.

Unfortunately, the people that have applied for the Planning permission seem to think it’s OK to ignore us, and have been doing so for several years!

It’s very frustrating!

I find I need to think relaxed, warm, calming thoughts each time the potential development enters my mind…  slow, deep breaths…  “You are feeling relaxed”.

We will fight.  There is a course of action we can follow.

I will practice my relaxation, and hope they have a section on “responding to unwanted planning applications” as part of the “Stress Management” session when it’s eventually held!