How do you manage stress?

When when things get hectic and I feel stressed, I go to my favorite room, grab a delicious snack, turn on one of my devices and watch almost any 80s or 90s sitcoms I can find.

Back in the day, my favorites were Fresh Prince of Belair, Friends, Seinfeld, Martin, Living Single and Designing Women. I have several others…but, you get the idea.

The reason these shows were so stress relieving is because you always know that for at least 30 minutes your cares and responsibilities can be put on the back burner and all thoughts turn to laughter and the ability to breath…if only while the show is on.

Watching these actors bumble through their experiences and still manage to find the answers to life’s troubles is not only funny, but to me, encouraging. I tend to take every issue I am dealing with as priority one and sometimes that leads to anxiety, sleeplessness and physical tension.

Laughing is not only a great way to increase dopamine, it literally can improve your mood, outlook, and blood pressure. I love that there are scriptures in the Bible that support this practice.

In Proverbs 17:22, laughter is described as good medicine:
“A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”

God loves us and wants us to be happy. The Bible is filled with scriptures that instruct us not to worry or fear; that is not His Will for us. But He has also given us instructions to have joy and peace in our experiences. And I’m all for that.

Watching a television show is not going to stop life from ‘life-ing’, but it sure will help ease some of the pain…and give you the giggles as a stress-relieving perk!

So stop stressing and laugh it up.

Blessings…vw1.