How do you deal with stress without food?

One of my good friends is leaving in 2 weeks to join the Israeli army.  Needless to say, I'm kind of freaking out.  I'm the type of person who tends to eat when I'm stressed, but I'm trying to lose weight and develop healthier eating habits.  What are some good ways to deal with this without turning to comfort food?  I do sometimes try exercising when I get upset about it, and I know it would also be good to talk about it with someone.  I have trouble talking about it though, because I usually end up crying and getting pretty upset.  Any advice?

I work out. It helps me get rid of my frustration. A nice run can really clear my mind.

After I am done working out, I find it easier to talk about things.

Loud music has been proven to help relieve stress. I wouldn't reccomend mopey stuff, but anything that gives you comfort or is familiar to you is good to listen to.

Meditation. Yoga. There are many different styles to these two, so if you don't like one method, there is always another worth trying.

Warm baths or showers.

Naps.

Drawing or journaling is pretty a common way to both relieve stress AND get your feelings out.

Talk outloud in total jibberish. Seriously, if you feel like you're bottled up just talk as loud or as quiet as you want to yourself in total gibberish for a little while. It does wonders.

Care for yourself.. ie put some lotion on after a shower, floss your teeth, paint your toenails, get a massage, go shopping for a new outfit (or window shopping, even), enjoy a warm glass of tea while watching a new movie..

Really, anything can relieve stress, just as long as it's distracting. As far as food goes incorporate more of these foods to help with the stress:

• Turkey and fish
• Oatmeal (which has been proven to slow down your stress response!)
• Frozen berries (Especially strawberries)
• Bananas.
• Small piece of dark chocolate
• Almonds, Pistachios & Walnuts.. and really any other healthy fat like avocados, nut butters, and hummus.
• Warm Milk
• Oranges
• Spinach

I know where you're coming from. Hang in there, sweetie.

Things I do to releive stress:

Dance to some really fun music -  the stupider I look, the more fun it is.

Go outside - the sunlight and nature are relaxants.

Have some hot tea.

A hot bath and a good book.

Playing video games - especially the kind with hacking and chopping .

Thanks for all the suggestions!  They were great, and I'll definitely have to try them. =)  It's been a pretty relaxing summer, so I feel like I've kind of forgotten how I usually deal with stress.  Some of the stuff you suggested (like drinking tea) is something I used to do, but forgot about, while some of the ideas (speaking gibberish) is something new to try.  Anyway, thanks a lot for all the tricks to try.

I like the above suggestions. Often when I'm stressed I will clean. Not just wipe the counters, but mop, steam clean the carpets, move the furniture, clean out the closets, beat the rugs kind of cleaning.

It uses up the energy I would have spent on worrying and it makes me feel better about my environment so I don't have an excuse to be depressed!