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College is a stressful time for everyone. Between classes, work, and social commitments, it can be hard to not feel overwhelmed. Sometimes it can feel like even when you manage to deal with the stress of being a collegiate, that other people you interact with are testing your patience around every turn. Here are five ways to deal with the frustration caused by dealing with difficult people.
1. Exercise. It’s kind of a cheap trick to include this on the list. Mainly because it’s something you should be doing anyway. But it is a good way of relieving stress and making day to day interactions with people less frustrating. After all, exercise produces endorphins, endorphins make people happy, and happy people just don’t stress.
2. Read a book. It might seem like some weird advice, but getting out of your own head and into someone else’s life might be just what you need. Realizing that other people (even if they’re just fictional) have to overcome obstacles and deal with people making things harder could make your problems easier to handle.
3. Cook or bake or something. Some people find the process of cooking and baking a good stress reliever. It gives you something to focus on that is completely simple. Okay, maybe not simple depending on what you make, but it isn’t anything that requires emotional interactions with people. And even if you aren’t the best cook, it will get you out of your comfort zone and still be a pretty good distraction.
4. Take a hike. I already put exercise on the list, so this might seem like a repeat. But besides me just wanting to say take a hike (because it’s one of those verbally aggressive things difficult people say) this is really more of a nature suggestion. You don’t have to exert yourself too hard or sweat up a storm, but seeing the great outdoors could bring you back down to Earth.
5. Breathe. Okay so difficult people will always exist. Dealing with them is an unfortunate part of life. Whether they be coworkers, bosses, classmates, or random people ruining your day, they will always pop up at the worst time for you. So regardless of how busy you are or anything else going on at the time, when it becomes overwhelming and you’re two seconds from snapping, just stop. Stop everything and just close your eyes. Breathe for however long it takes and don’t get overwhelmed.
Remember, whenever you’re having a bad day and it seems like every person you come across is making it worse, that you have the liberty to take a moment and compose yourself. Whatever you have to do to distress and go back to conquering this college thing is a good use of time.