Elections are all the rage these days...

Photos from Michi1308 and uhuru1701

So.

The way I look at it, by the end of the day there are going to be a lot of angry Americans out there whoever wins the election. (Maybe also a lot of angry Canadians, Brazilians, Lichtensteiners, and such.)

CNN warns that being angry can be bad for your health ... cardiovascular problems, lung issues, nasty stuff. They recommend breathing exercises to help you calm down. That's great if it works, but sometimes it's like taking deep breaths when you're trying to get to sleep -- it becomes actively irritating.

Psychology Today had an interesting article on anger: "If Anger Helps You Feel in Control, No Wonder You Can't Control Your Anger!"

I liked that article, and it got me thinking. The Old Merry used to use food or drink as ways to deal with frustration. Crunching carrots is great in a lot of respects, but it just doesn't have the same effect when you're having a bad day.

Having a bad day? Scrub!

I read a book on organizing my life, and it talked about using cleaning as therapy, suggesting cleaning out a drawer or cleaning the bathroom as useful outlets when upset. I tried this, and it's a pretty good way to vent when you're having a bad day. Kinda like the old slogan: "If you want to understand a man, walk a mile in his shoes. That way, even if you still don't understand the man, you're a mile away and have his shoes."Even if cleaning doesn't completely dispel the anger, it provides an outlet for your feelings plus you've got a clean bathtub.

Suddenly I understand my sister the Total Neat Freak. That was how she controlled her environment, using Chlorox to drown every subversive germ out there into submission.

How to go from anger to Goodwill

When you're righteously pissed off it is a lot easier to get rid of clutter. For one thing, if the driving emotion coursing through your system is an overwhelming sense of anger, you're much less likely to feel the possessive clinginess of insecurity. That's when it's easier to donate those old jeans that don't really suit you any more. Let them go.

A variant on this might be to put the jeans into the Goodwill box, then not actually take the box to Goodwill until you've calmed down. The ancient Medes and Persians were reputed to debate matters twice -- once when they were drunk and once when they were sober -- before coming to a decision. A modern version, with less empty calories, might be to try the angry/calm idea instead.

Why not vent at the gym?

It's much healthier to expend your frustration on defenseless mildew in the bathroom or a messy closet than it is to bury your emotions in food or drink. Better still would be to work out your frustration in exercise, but if that's not an option for some reason, try cleaning!

What do you do when you're angry? Yell? Demand a recount? Stomp your feet? Watch your muscles grow while your skin turns green and all the neighbors run away screaming?


My name's Merry, and I approved this message.

Boxers vs. Briefs: the latest fitness debate

[By Merry]

Ever notice how depressing it feels to be surrounded by boxes?

I always used to think people who were overly concerned with neatness with neatfreaks. Actually, I still think that, but I’m starting to wonder if a little neatness now and then might be a good thing.

Some people, whom I shall refer to as boxers, live surrounded by Uncontrolled Stuff, a.k.a clutter. (Not to be confused with people who live surrounded by piles that resemble the aftermath of a tornado, but they know where everything is and they're not stressed about having everything out in view. That's Controlled Stuff.)

There's a theory that clutter is related to being overweight. A decade ago, the guru was Karen Kingston, author of Clearing clutter with feng shui. Now it’s Fly Lady, with her book Body Clutter. Even Oprah has gotten on the bandwagon with this notion, with her clutter expert Peter Walsh. Basically the theory is that clutter and excess weight are both used as some kind of buffer system between the boxer and the outside world. If you can't let things go, then you end up letting yourself go, as it were.

Note: these authorities suggest people who tend to live in clutter also tend to be overweight. My theory that people who live in clutter tend not to be in good shape. It’s possible to be thin without being fit, and that seems to be the dividing line.

People who live cluttered lives have more trouble letting go of things or more trouble making decisions. We accumulate clutter because we’re emotionally attached to our possessions or we don't know where they should go and so the stuff stays out on the kitchen table for days/weeks/eons.

You could make decisions for an indecisive boxer, if you want to spend the rest of your life playing nanny. But you can't forcibly take the clutter away from an emotionally attached boxer -- if you throw out all their stuff they feel naked and vulnerable, and consciously or not start gathering clutter again.

Living with clutter or with a lack of fitness is essentially giving up control over your environment, be it your living space or your body. Dr. J. wrote a blog post about a link between obese people and littering. I think it’s the same sort of behavior. I mean, the more you care about your body, the less likely you are to put junk food into it and the more likely you are to keep it in good shape. The more you care about the environment, the less likely you are to litter. Can we extend that to a cluttered home or workspace?

Am I whistling Dixie and postulating whereof I am ignorant? Please feel free to shoot this theory down. I'm open to debate.

Presumably people who practice a more lean, unfettered existence should be designated as briefs. I'm not sure how to verify that lean people are more organized around the house except by finding some lean, fit man and following him home to check out his personal surroundings. Could be an interesting research subject, but any grant money would have to pay for my lawyer's fees when I get arrested for stalking.

Probably that little snag is the reason I haven't found any scientific studies about this. But there's lots of anecdotal evidence, plus it’s on Oprah – what more do you want?

I do believe that people who can bring themselves to get rid of clutter Feel Better. And certainly people who are moving house are more stressed and crantankerous than the average human. Why else would people who fight be named boxers?

Note: the above post is talking about human boxers, not any four-legged friends you might happen to know and love. Honest.