Nowadays we feel like we are taking our life into our own hands visiting some local supermarkets.
No doubt like many, this day and age, we frequent more budget level supermarkets for the majority of our shopping needs, for prudent use of fund purposes as much as necessity - see our post entitled "Break Time Quickie - The Importance of a Stressbusting™ “WTP” Analysis" for the basis of this.
And of late, we have noticed that that browsing around a major supermarket can feel rather like being a participant in the gameshow "Supermarket Sweep", in which participants are rewarded points for shopping volume collated into their trolley over a timed smash and grab round with no rules of engagement 😂.
Trolleys, baskets and pushchairs appear to be the weapons of choice for many ardent lemming shoppers out there, deployed as ankle or leg biting bulldozers to navigate into favoured areas without having to wait for anyone who has had the audacity to get there first and spend more than a millisecond reviewing their purchase options.
Nowhere is this phenomenon more evident than in the so called "special offer" aisles located down central areas of certain supermarkets, where clamouring for the limited stock whatever it takes is commonplace.
And if you can survive all that on your way around, then at checkout be ready for shopping to be hurled at you or into your trolley or basket after eye watering rapid scanning by staff seemingly brainwashed into denying at all costs any suggestion that there is an individual or team commission for speed of processing customers out the door!
Not a great start to the adopted life of a packet of oreo biscuits, for sure.
So how do you Stressbust™ through this inescapable weekly calamity.
Well, knee pads aren't a practical option and nobody can beat the discount outlets when it comes to convenience and value for money.
So, predominately, like much else in the modern world, it has to be faced with a smile on your face, for starters - see our post entitled "Engage your Inner Child to Stressbust™".
And by making plenty of time for your shop so you are not so aggrieved when someone queue hops you shamelessly or the supermarket has closed all counters bar one in rush hour while other staff try to push customers toward self service counters, in accordance with 'company policy' that will eventually put them out of their jobs.
Patience needs to be a virtue here, and deep breathing the order of the day where necessary to avoid a spat - see our post entitled "Stressbusting™ Techniques to Manage & Calm Overwhelm" for tips.
Avoid aggression back at all costs - remember that contrary to the hoarding conduct of some poor fools, it really isn't "The Hunger Games", and there is plenty to go around. So revel in taking the moral high ground per our post entitled "Break Time Quickie – Disperse Aggression with an Ancient Technique".
And if you favour the good old days of a less prescritive, more pedestrian shop, then use online tools to establish which are the store's busiest periods of the day to avoid - see our post entitled "Embrace Technology to Stressbust™" for greater context.
To vote with your custom, mix and match from time to time - by using local retailers for certain produce, you can literally play a vital role in their very continued survival.
And at the other side of the spectrum, bigger supermarkets mean longer walks, which could stand as a whole day's valuable exercise - see our post entited "A Smart Watch is no substitute for a "Smart Approach" 😉.
As a final observation on a serious note, there is a recognised medical term called agoraphobia which means fear of busy public places (such as supermarkets, shopping centres, trains, planes and airports). This apparently involves unpleasant symptoms not unlike those endured during panic attacks - see our post entitled "Identifying & Stressbusting™ Panic Attacks" for symptoms and basic coping techniques if of interest, as we do not observe any supermarkets making provision for actual or potential sufferers of this condition.
Conversely in the case of budget stores, we have observed more generally that disabled access as a whole is hugely limited given space constraints and sheer volume of people, and that not many disabled people therefore frequent them. And nor do the stores offer more than extremely basic, if any, delivery services.
Those supermarkets might thus do well to revisit their business models, because as a trade off to the extensive profits they are making in the current economic climate, discounts ought as a matter of law to be available to all, not just to the self serving trolley bashing brigade.
And remember, choice of supermarket not the only way to budget- see our post entitled "Top 10 Super Cost Effective Stressbusting™ Tips to Dietary Wellness that SAVED us money" for other innovative methods.
We would, as always, most welcome readers own experiences relating to the above.
NB Always consult a specialist medical advisor if in any doubt or if you have any pre-existing medical condition(s) before committing to any course of remedial action yourself.
Please see our "Legal Notices" section for further important information in this regard.
Patient love,
MikeyM™&LouLoU™ 😊😍😎🧡💛💕 xxxx