We all, at some point or another, feel like we have a lot on our plate and sometimes no matter how much we want to, we can’t go on. Sometimes you just have to step back and take a moment. When I find myself in those moments, I find that following and keeping in mind these tips helps me reduce my stress.
1. First things first, remember that nothing is truly permanent. Everything that you experience, whether it is good or bad, will change eventually, therefore whatever is overwhelming you, will pass and will be resolved. You are in control, (more or less), of where you end up and what you do.
2. Writing is your best friend. What I mean by this is, writing can be beneficial to you in many ways. It is a good way to first jot down all of your thoughts without censoring, judgment or worry. You can also get a clearer understanding of what you have going on, making it easier to pin point what you need to work on the most or even coming up with solutions to your problems. In doing so you can also keep track of your progress and find relief; similar to when you vent to your friends.
3. A continuation to the writing tip is, planning. Keeping up an organized schedule for yourself is something that I have noticed has helped me a lot. Not only will you have a more structured and visual representation of all your tasks; but it will become easier for you to divide up tasks by day so you don’t have a lot of things piled up at once.
4. Exercise! It doesn’t have to be anything extreme, just a nice 20 minute walk outside a few times a week could be enough to burn off some stress and clear your mind. Find out what suits you the best; there are many different exercise routines out there; you will not regret it.
5. Listen to your body and your emotions. Allow yourself to take a break from time to time. It is essential that your mind and body is in a good state of being in order to achieve your goals and daily tasks efficiently. It does not have to be a lot of time, minute long breaks throughout the day could do the trick. Like with the exercise, you must find what suits you the best.
6. Last but not least, do not hesitate to ask for help or talk to someone if you find yourself struggling. You would be surprised how willing to help and how supportive those around you could be. If you do not trust anyone around you enough to let them know, you could always just go over to your college counselor. They are there to help you and provide any advice or information that you might need, after all it is their job.
Sometimes it is easy to get caught in the daily routine and forget to take a moment for ourselves, especially when you are in college and have a lot of work. However, it is important that you do not let it accumulate inside, it will catch up to you just as easily as deadlines do. So remember to keep these tips in mind next time you feel overwhelmed and stay dedicated, we all go through it, but it is how we handle it that will make it all worth it in the end.