It’s the beginning of the spring semester here at Illinois State and maybe you are already stressed out. Bummer, right? Not exactly. There are many things people can do to relieve stress, but if you can’t think of any, here’s some to give you an idea.
- Self-care
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Self-care is practically taking care of everything that is you. For some people this may be having a spa day, going to the gym, or even just sitting around and binging Netflix shoe… or two. As long as you take the time to reflect on the things that are stressing you out, taking some time for self-care will give you that relaxing and breathing space that you need to continue on with your tasks at hand.
- Listen To Music
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Music is proven to improve moods. When you do feel stressed, search up some tunes to get those legs moving and grooving. Sometimes it’s great to take a step back from what’s stressing you out and just scream your favorite songs at the top of your lungs. This, at least for me, helps me get all the stressed feelings out. It helps you calm down a little bit and reset, getting ready to tackle the task at hand.
- Work Out
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Going to the Rec center is a great way to relieve stress, if that is your cup of tea. Working out can produce endorphins which then give you this oh-so happy feeling just like an opiate drug would. Think of it as the stress pouring off of you through the sweat, and after that great relieving feeling when you’ve worked your butt off at the gym.
- Write It Out
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Sometimes the reasons that we are stressed are literally mental blocks. Also, sometimes we need to see things visually in order to really get anything done. A lot of the time, we think about things and make them so much more complicated than what they really are meant to be. This then leads me to our next activity. Writing it out can mean two things, you can make a list of things you need to do or pour out a nice long rant of a paragraph and toss it in the trash after. Writing the things, you need to do and crossing them off the list could be a great way to relieve some stress because you are physically seeing how many things you need to do. Another things is that writing a rant paragraph and throwing it away makes you feel like you’re removing all of that negative energy that had you feeling stressed out in the first place.
- Take a Break
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Taking a Break could mean anything from just taking a nap or walking away from the situation. A lot of times after taking a nap, you often feel very relaxed and rejuvenated to combat whatever the task is at hand. You also are able to think more clearly once you have caught some Z’s. Another way you are able to “take a break” is just taking a step back from whatever it is you are stressed about and taking a breather. Maybe it’s a few minutes to collect your thoughts, a 10-minute scroll on twitter, or even just a quick few deep breaths to help you get your ducks in a row.
All in all, we may think that just because it’s the beginning of the semester, and there’s nothing to be stressed out about, that’s all wrong. It happens to the best of us. Hopefully you found some of these tips helpful and could add them to your list of stress relievers when in the time of need.