After spending almost all of Saturday commenting back and forth with a beautiful lady on my Facebook friends list, I decided to participate in one of my stress-free alternatives to Facebook. Sunday was a relaxing, refreshing day as a result.

Here’s are some (but likely not all) of the things you can find to view and discuss (or scroll past) on Facebook as of late:

• Posts about President Trump’s health and battle with coronavirus (he’s winning)
• Posts about how Joe Biden is losing his mind (I feel for him; my father-in-law suffered dementia before passing away.)
• Memes about 2020 (these are absolutely hysterical most times – I use these to exercise my liver and get a good belly laugh)
• Political debates
• Food posts
• Political ads
• Picture posts (share a picture with this color in it and I’ll assign a color for you to post with on your wall)
• Have you registered to vote reminders, typically listed with the state you don’t live in and a request to register there
• Which would you choose? (usually comes with a group of photos of one item varied with numbers attached – like houses)
• Posts about family members or friends with coronavirus, recent deaths in the family, and other sad life events
• Happy Birthdays and Happy Anniversaries
• Advertisements for many things we don’t need or care about that reflect something we recently posted on our wall or said near our phone
• Reaction videos (ask your kids or grands)

Scrolling past these can be tiring. Mentally and emotionally exhausting. And let’s not even talk about the censorship issues we’re seeing as posts and videos are “fact checked” or deleted. We’re all anxious for the presidential election to come and go so we can (hopefully) get on with life, back to some semblance of normal, and enjoy the holidays. Many are so done with 2020 and looking forward to 2021.

I get you.

It’s healthy to know and understand what we face as a nation. This election is a big one. The coronavirus isn’t going away any time soon, but we are seeing improvements.

It’s also healthy to take a break from it all. To give your mind and emotions a rest. Self-care is important in uncertain times. It helps us to maintain logical thinking and keeps us from wearing down our immune systems as we deal with the stresses of the day.

I’ve put together the following list of 25 stress-free alternatives to Facebook:

1. Take a nap. Sleep is healthy for the brain.
2. Pour your favorite drink and sit outside in the fresh air.
3. Practice some breathing exercises. Take deep breaths.
4. Call a friend. Friends don’t censor you, and most won’t argue with your viewpoints.
5. Read a book. Fiction will get you away from life. Nonfiction may educate you.
6. Get creative. Make something.
7. Scrapbook the year. It’s one you are likely not to forget (even if you want to). Note anything GOOD that came from 2020.
8. Start a thankful journal. It’s always good to reflect on even the small things we have to be grateful for when life is insane.
9. Take a walk. Take the dog with you. Or not. (Mine would walk me.)
10. Play a board game with the family. (Screen free for all!)
11. Go to the spa. Get a massage. Feel those muscles release and relax. (I need to do this!)
12. Take a self-care day. Turn off your phone. Unplug. Do what pleases you.
13. Visit a pumpkin patch or an apple orchard. Take fun pics with and of the family. Eat an apple cider donut.
14. Visit a local store that is selling Christmas items already. (Shouldn’t be difficult.) Find an ornament or decoration that says “JOY.” Take it home and put it in a place where it can remind you not to let anyone or anything steal your JOY this season.
15. Start a journal. Sometimes writing all of your thoughts out on paper helps release the stress of carrying them in your head. Once you’ve written them out, write down a prayer for each one. Flip the negative on its head.
16. Grab a cup of coffee or tea with a friend. Do some window shopping. Buy yourself one (smallish, inexpensive) thing you’ve wanted since before quarantining.
17. Get your hair done. Go for a mani/pedi. Feeling good about yourself helps your stress levels lower.
18. Work a puzzle. (One of my favorite ways to de-stress!)
19. If cooking or baking helps you become stress free, spend a day or a weekend in the kitchen.
20. Take your camera out for a day and find someplace lovely to take photographs.
21. Go for a hike. Take out the kayak. Play a round of disc golf. Go to the putt-putt range. Go to the shooting range. Go hunting. Fishing.
22. Take the family out for dinner and a movie.
23. Go bowling or roller skating.
24. Take a Saturday and hit the yard and estate sales and flea markets with your hubby or mom or sister or friend.
25. Visit a botanical garden, a zoo, or an aquarium. Spend the day leisurely wandering and admiring God’s creation.

As they say, this too shall pass. The question remains, what’s to come? Hopefully, prayerfully, 2021 will be a better year.

Which of these 25 stress-free alternatives to Facebook will you be doing? If I had to pick my top three, they would be:

• Saturday yard sale/flea market.
• Photography day (our leaves are beginning to turn).
• Self-care day.

Let me know your top three in the comments below!