I feel it all.

I've always loved parties. Seriously. Everyone getting together and having a grand 'ol time, awesome! I'm in! In a similar vein, I've always hated exams, sad movies, horror flicks - everyone getting together and being stressed, sad, frightened. BAD!

It's like I feed off the emotions of the room. Put me with 10 people stressing out and running around panicking and I'll be all "OMG! RUN AROUND WITH YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR! OMG! WHY ARE WE RUNNING AROUND WITH OUR HANDS IN THE AIR? NEVERMIND! IT DOESN'T MATTER! WE'RE ALL STRESSED OUT! AAAAAAAH!"

Sometimes it's worked out ... You know, in certain situations, empathy can be a good thing. Consoling a friend, being a listener... In those situations, it's a gift. But holy shit, sometimes it can be a pain in the ass! Like trying to maintain a cool head in the midst of a stressful time at work. Three quarters of the office freaking out about this, that and the other thing and I'm left rocking back and forth in the corner with my fingers in my ears.

And feelings, thoughts, ideas are hard things for me to let go of. Coming home from work and trying to switch to calm mommy mode is exceedingly difficult sometimes. Even after decompressing over dinner, I'm still sometimes so agitated by things that happened that morning that I'm still ranting by bedtime. A guy in a flashy BMW cutting me off on my route home will stick with me for DAYS. Seriously, he's done it twice in the past week. I remember you, jerk.

My escape has always been music. I tend to listen to the same stuff over and over and over, mostly because I know how it will make me feel - like a perscription drug for my mind. I have music to help pick me up, music to keep me calm, music to cry to, laugh to, yell to. My emotions feed off the music instead of the world around me. It's like I'm on my own little island. Lately, however, music hasn't been helping as much as it should. Sometimes the outside world is just too much and whilst adrift on Classical Music Island, a construction crew of Sales Reps starts blasting away on the beach.

So my question to you (if there is still anyone who's reading!!! LOL!): How do you deal with stress? What are your escapes from the stressors of everyday life?

I'd love to hear some fresh new ideas :) I promise I'll only visit your island briefly! ;)