Whether it be about an upcoming test, project, presentation or just life in general, college students are no stranger to stress. Though some stress can be good for you, too much can be detrimental to both your physical and mental health. Here’s five ways that I’ve found to help lower my stress when it’s exam season or when life just gets a little too hard.
1) Dr. Pimple Popper videos
This stress reliever is not for the faint of heart. Dr. Sandra Lee, also known as Dr. Pimple Popper, has gathered a cult following on social media with her gruesome extraction videos of cysts, zits and all other wonders of the human body that can be popped open. If you’re one of those people that secretly loves popping your zits and others (absolutely no shame), watch a few of her videos and feel your stress reduce dramatically.
2) Jam on your planner
TBH, nothing makes me feel more stressed out than having a disorganized planner. So take an hour or so to color code your classes, write down all of your due dates ahead of time, decorate with stickers and make it a little more aesthetically pleasing. After all, seeing an upcoming test you completely forgot about is a little more bearable when it’s written in sparkly gold, right?
3) Color
Coloring books aren’t just for kids anymore — adult coloring books can help combat stress and remind us of a time when life was simple. If you don’t want to splurge on a whole coloring book (these ones from Amazon are very reasonably priced), print out a couple pages and get to coloring. These mandalas are perfect for printing and helping your stress go down while you color.
4) Clean your makeup brushes
When you’re feeling frustrated, stressed and helpless, take it out on your makeup brushes. Aggressively scrub that Beauty Blender, ring out that foundation brush and clean those crease brushes. If nothing else, your brushes will be clean (since most people, myself included, don’t do that as often as we should) and you won’t be adding additional stress of mixing your new makeup with last week’s. If you aren’t a makeup kind of person, do this with paintbrushes, laundry or even dishes. Something that will help you take your mind off your stress while being productive at the same time.
5) Make a list (or three)
It doesn’t have to be your basic, three bullet point to-do list or grocery list. Personally, I’ve been making lists every week of things to be grateful for, things to save up for, things to be happy about and the list (pun intended) goes on. Make it as fancy or as straightforward as you want (I like looking at Pinterest for inspiration for my bullet journal). But focus on doing that and not on whatever stress is lingering on your shoulders.