Stress is the epidemic of the 21st century.
National Stress Awareness Day occurs every year on November 2nd. It is a day established to raise awareness about the serious consequences that rise due to stress, and the impact it has on people’s every life, and in some cases, people’s mental health.
Being a college student studying in a foreign country, I got introduced to a degree of stress that I had not encountered before. Stress intervenes with everything, starting from an individual’s personal life, and all the way into his academic life as well.
Dealing with stress is definitely not an easy task, however lacking the ability to handle one’s own stress results in issues multiplying and taking over an individual’s life. Stress is inevitable, and finding ways to ease stress is essential.
Prior to writing this article, I conducted a short survey asking students of the University of La Verne about the ways that they cope with stress. The answers, despite being diverse, were condensed into groups that share similar factors.
The following list encompasses “The Top 5 Ways University of La Verne’s Students Deal with Stress.”
Food
Food is definitely one of the most documented ways that people deal with stress. Stress eating is considered a medical issue, where individuals tend to eat over their required daily intake leading themselves into obesity, heart problems, and digestive issues. The main problem with food is that it should not be over consumed, as it could generate more problems that would result in additional stress.
Netflix
Watching movies and series is an excellent way to pause reality, and get sucked into another world, with a set of problems that is different than your own. It has minimal consequences other than deteriorating ones social life. If done with moderation, Netflix is one of the best ways to help relax a person, and get him ready to take in the more serious aspects of his life.
Sleep
Sleep deprivation causes stress, thus sleep is a perfect solution for stress. It is observed that individuals who are facing problems with their personal or academic lives tend to spend more time asleep. Health wise, sleep is beneficial and has been proven to reduce stress, however, it is important to remember that excessive sleeping leads to an individual who is running away from his problems. It is important that sleep does not get in the way of a person’s daily routine and responsibilities.
Music
Music has been proven to help an individual unwind, regardless of the genre. Depending on a person’s taste, certain genres are aimed towards triggering certain memories and recollections. It is beneficial to listen to music that triggers happy memories in order for music to help relieve an individual from excessive stress; otherwise, an individual may be flood by memories that he has been trying to escape or memories that create additional stress on an individual.
Talking to a friend
By far, the most effective way to deal with stress is by talking to someone. At times, it is difficult to talk to a family member about a individual’s own problems, due to concerns about burdening them with extra problems, or not wanting them to worry about oneself. A friend is a perfect person to talk to; they are of similar age and would have possibly gone through a similar situation that they had learned from. It is proven that shares ones thoughts in public helps relieve the stress of handling a certain situation by oneself.