Being in the news biz’ is stressful, and if you don’t believe me, there are the facts to back me up.
Careercast.com is a job search website and is also known for their annual list of the most stressful jobs. Newspaper reporter was No. 8 in both 2013 and 2014, and photojournalist was No. 9 in 2012 and No. 7 in 2013.
And those aren’t the only lists we are making – newspaper reporter was fifth in the most endangered jobs of 2014 and topped the list of biggest coffee addicts according to research conducted by Pressat.
So why am I telling you all of this? Because being in a stressful industry I have long looked for ways to deal with stress, and believe me, I’ve heard it all when it comes to coping mechanisms.
I’ve heard you should exercise, sleep more, meditate and try and cut out caffeine – something that may be difficult for a number one coffee junkie.
But my recent trip to the East Coast has helped me find one small way to cope that is pretty easy to do – find something that makes you feel a bit smaller in the world.
My girlfriends and I went to a wedding in New Brunswick but decided to fly into Halifax first and drive to Fredericton after.
They too come from stressful careers. One is a hairstylist and manages a salon and the other is a recent marketing graduate, balancing late night serving with trying to find a job in her field.
During our first night in Halifax, in between enjoying some wonderful East Coast stereotypes like lobster, dancing to a Celtic band and cheap pints of Alexander Keith’s, we decided we would make the extra drive down to Peggy’s Cove in the morning.
We rented a large van – a Tacoma Town and Country to be exact, that wasn’t exactly what three young women out on an adventure were hoping for.
We arrived at the cove a little worse for ware after our first night out on vacation. But it didn’t matter once we saw the coastline.
If you can ever get the chance to check out this cove, do it.
Gigantic rocks with waves crashing against them, a tall white lighthouse that sticks out starkly against the endless ocean in the backdrop and tiny fishing houses painted in bright blues, yellows and reds.
There was something seriously magical about it all and it made me and my friends feel at peace.
It also made me realize why I felt this way – the ocean doesn’t care if you have a deadline, those gigantic rocks don’t care if you can’t make rent or if you get a promotion. It made me reflect on exactly what is important and how thankful I should be that I get to breathe that ocean air with my pals.
I think it is important to remember that and keep a little bit of that with you when you are feeling high stress.
Every day when I come to work from Calgary, annoyed with the psychotic driver who is riding my tail down that big hill or when I am forced to crank up my heat because of our below-seasonal weather – I make a point of making sure I take a minute to look at something that gives me that same feeling.
