It's pretty impossible to experience life in the 21st century without being intimately acquainted with stress. Working, dating, mating, and just existing in our mercurial meat sacks can produce anxiety in even the most chill of people, so Twitter users are offering up their stress quips and tips in honor of #StressAwarenessDay.
It's well-documented that stress — chronic stress in particular — wreaks havoc on our bodies. Stress maxes out your endocrine system, your heart, and your immune system. It makes you more susceptible to diabetes, irritable bowel disease, heart attacks, and strokes. And don't forget that whole "stress eating" thing which can inspire the consumption of mass quantities of not-so-healthy foods, because it's not like we're all housing kale salads when the pressure is on at work or at home.
However, the good news is that fighting stress can be kind of fun. Sex has been proven to decrease anxiety and stress, as has a variety of slightly less erotic activities, from yoga to biking. Meditation is another great method to up your relaxation quotient, and sometimes medication is the best way to cope if your stress is completely unmanageable.
Here are five ways that Twitter users are coping with stress on #StressAwarenessDay.
