The other night when my husband arrived home from work after midnight he was surprised to see me awake and watching an IQ’d episode of Parenthood. In hindsight it does sound a little strange. He was even more surprised to see me sitting there in tears.
Parenthood does it to me every time. Family issues, albeit extreme, that most people can relate to in some way. Sometimes it’s tears of joy and at other times it’s pure misery. Every episode provides a reason to cry. My husband constantly expresses his amazement that I would watch a show like that. But it’s cathartic. I know that I’m assured of a big juicy cry. It’s the surest way that I will be reduced to a weeping mess.
I like to indulge in a good cry if I am particularly stressed. I don’t look for a tear-jerker every night though. I attempt to mix up my stress release.
Channeling surfing for TV trash can do it too. If I can lose myself in the ‘real’ life of another then all the better. Those Real Housewives of any city in America are particularly useful for taking my mind away from work. Years ago I would dive straight into a light celebrity memoir or trashy fiction – thank you Candace Bushnell, but as I read all day and night for work staring at the small screen is the better antidote.
Technology keeps me tied to my work all day and night. I receive work emails on my phone and can access my websites that way too. It’s too easy to focus on work round-the-clock. I find myself checking messages on my phone and tablet while I am watching television. I have the three screens going at the same time and can multi-task across them.
It means that I never stop unless I force myself to. So the other evening was an example of me doing just that. The reason I was still awake beyond midnight is that I hadn’t realised I was watching a double episode as I was so engrossed in the highs and lows of the Braverman family that I lost track of time. I may have gone to sleep late that evening but the sleep was good quality. I was able to purge the stricture of work with a good old-fashioned flood of tears and it was wonderful. If you’re feeling stressed you should give it a go.