There are certain situations that almost always trigger my anxiety. They involve time.
As a daughter of a Marine, I’m hard-wired to get places on time or early. My husband operates in what I call Linn Time — he gets to places at a frantic pace at the very last minute. Over the years, we’ve reached a compromise — I’ve eased up on the insistence of punctuality when it doesn’t matter; he’s agreed to leave early to ease my stress levels, especially when it involves getting to the airport.
I felt vindicated recently when I insisted we leave early for a flight — there are two tunnels and a bridge between our home and the airport — and we were stuck on the highway for an extra hour because there was not one, not two, but three crashes on the way. We still made it in time.
Time may seem like a silly thing to stress over, but each of us has our own stress and anxiety triggers and our way of coping with them. And our stresses and anxieties have definitely heightened over the pandemic and in the face of other challenges in our country. Google Trends reports that searches for the phrase “self-care” have been high in recent years (as are searches for breathing exercises, yoga, virtual meditation and calming playlists). Forbes predicts consumers in 2023 will be seeking more brands than ever that offer personalized products for well-being and self-care.
Our May edition — anchored by our annual list of Castle Connolly Top Doctors in the region — offers some ideas aimed at improving stress relief and overall wellness. How about floating in a sensory deprivation tank for an hour? Lounging in a Himalayan salt cave? Or sitting in the forest listening to soothing singing bowls? You can read more in our Spa Revolution story on page 32.
Pittsburgh Magazine’s digital reporter Denise Bonura writes about the Iris Respite House bed and breakfast in Moon, a spot that opened in March to give caregivers a break from the stress of assisting loved ones. It’s the only one of its kind in the region, if not the nation, and serves an unmet, but growing, need.
Online at pittsburghmagazine.com, we offer myriad wellness stories in our weekly BeWell newsletter. Make sure to read reflections from Pittsburgh writer, “mom advocate” and social media influencer Brea Schmidt, who creates space for raw conversation about our approach to self-care and mental health in her blog, “The Thinking Branch.”
As she explains, we need “to recognize the happiness and serenity that lives in a slow speed. To honor our passions outside of our jobs and our parenting roles. To simply disconnect from reality every once in a while, and reconnect with ourselves.”
We hope our stories will provide some inspiration or guidance in your own journey to wellness.
Virginia Linn can be reached at [email protected].