Frantic (Stress Management)

It has suddenly dawned on me that my mind is in a nearly constant state of frantic stress, even when my body is at rest. This must stop, because it causes me to feel tense and tired all the time, is not beneficial to my health, and honestly probably does not actually increase my efficiency very much due to the increased mental strain. It also makes it more difficult to be loving or helpful to anyone else. Worry is not worth sacrificing well-being; I need to find a better coping mechanism. I think a good plan would be have a regular time-out, a peaceful time/place which will, over time, allow and teach my mind to be at ease. Hopefully this will lead to clearer thinking, increased health, and a better ability to be kind, productive, and peaceful. Solutions that come to mind include yoga, meditation, and some sort of outdoor activity such as hiking. The problem will be in the execution; the very mental activity which I seek to alleviate is what will attempt to stop me from relieving it. I always feel an obligation to be working, thinking, doing, worrying- it's almost obsessive, partnered with the guilt I feel when I pause. It's ironic, how I surround myself with things that remind me of this ideal yet seemingly unattainable lifestyle: calming photos of nature on every screen in my view, zen calendars, mediation books & quotes, etc etc., and yet every day slip deeper back into the clutches of stress. My waking peaceful moments are filled with worry, my dreams play out worst-case-scenarios, and I lay awake contemplating disturbing thoughts. Of course, things must be dealt with- work must be done, strategies considered, action taken. But the mind needs rest, and peace is an important part of work. Mental rest gives energy to the mind as sleep energizes the body, and restorative mental activities are like nutrition to a starving mind. Anyway, all that poetry-sounding stuff aside, I need to find a practical, do-able way to de-stress and center myself daily or weekly. Now, I just have to keep myself from stressing about how hard it might be to find a time/way to de-stress...it's a vicious cycle.