Facebook Stress Relief

Until recently, I haven't been one to sign up for social networking sites. While I've heard a lot about Facebook, Twitter and MySpace in the past few years, being a busy person who is no longer in her teens (or even twenties!), I haven't thought it would be a good use of my time to sign up.

Then, I caved and joined Twitter. I like how it's short and sweet. I can feed my blogs there, and easily keep up with others, then get back to my life. I haven't found it to be addictive. (In fact, if you want to 'follow' me and get stress tips there, see this Twitter blog post and join me!)

More recently (about two weeks ago), I caved again and joined Facebook, having heard that it's generally popular with the twentysomething and up crowd, as well as many of my fellow writer friends. While it can be addictive if you're not careful (much more than Twitter, in my experience), I've found it to be a good tool for stress relief, too. Here are some features that I like:

Social Support
Getting a little support, some commiseration and a few laughs with friends is an effective way to step back from what's stressing you and approach it with a new perspective. Facebook allows you to catch up and keep up with many people from your life and maintain contact with minimal time spent, sharing the experiences of your day, and then getting back to it.

Games!
As many of my regular readers know, I'm a big fan of games for stress relief. Games provide a distraction from stress, a way to refocus your energy, and a fun method of tension release, plus they can keep your mind sharp. (Remember, use it or lose it!) Facebook has an anagram game called Word Twist, and a Boggle-like game called Scramble. (I like Scramble more than WeBoggle because you can play with your real-life friends at your convenience, rather than with strangers.) There are also other fun diversions like 'passing drinks' to people, 'food fights' and 'gifts' to give. I'm still learning about it, but there are many quick and fun games there.

Stress Tips
Since I'm now on Facebook, I'll be regularly updating my page with more stress relief tips, as well as playing Scramble with other game enthusiasts (see above). There are many ongoing stress reduction resources found on this site, but for those who use Facebook, having regular tips on stress relief mentioned there can be a good way to stay mindful of and continue working toward healthy stress management.

If you're on Facebook, or if you sign up now, and would like to be 'friends', just find me via my email address: stress.guide@about.com. Perhaps we can all get a game of Scramble going!

More Stress Relief Resources from Elizabeth Scott:

• Develop a Stress Relief Plan That Works
  Learn about the various ways that stress can affect you, and find resources for healthy coping.
• Stress Symptom Quiz
  Might stress be affecting your health? This quiz examines various symptoms, and gives you targeted tips for stress relief.
• Ongoing Stress Relief Resources From This Site
  Free e-courses, free newsletter, RSS feeds and more--don't miss out on all this site has to offer!

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