As college students we are stressed most of the time, and sometimes we experience anxiety. I’ve deal with both and they aren’t fun. A lot of stress is caused by ourselves, and anxiety is a disorder that can be managed but can escalate when certain precautions aren’t taken. Here’s 4 ways to get you through those stressful times and that have long lasting impacts on your overall health (Note: wouldn’t tell you any tips that I personally have not experienced to work.)
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Change your Thinking/Perspective. I’ve been reading a book entitled Habits of the Mind by Archibald Hart and its great in helping you realize how much your mind affects your outcomes in life. If you constantly think about negativity in your life you will then constantly talk about it. That will shape your emotions and your actions and then translate into your life. One of my favorite sayings is “you reap what you sow”. Plant negativity, and that’s what you will grow into. It’s not easy to change your mindset completely so speaking out loud positive things helps.
I had to first acknowledge thoughts that were causing me to stress, after I become aware I was able to redirect myself. For example, last week before Fall Break I had 4 midterms and 3 of them were in the same day. In my mind I was constantly thinking of what I had to do and how hard it was going to be. I caught myself a few times and reminded myself that it will be over soon and that I have every ability to get things done. The more I stressed the less I actually wanted to study. Positivity is your best friend and it will allow you to make other life changing steps but first you must get in the right mindset. Perspective changes everything.
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Mindfulness/ Meditation. You may be thinking, “I don’t have time for that”, but in reality we don’t have time for a lot of things if we don’t want to do them. Self-care should be one of those things you make time for. Mindfulness will help you be present even if it’s for 10 minutes. You are encouraged to relax your mind and if thoughts do come of responsibilities that’s normal, but put them out of mind for a few minutes. The best resource to practice Mindfulness is YouTube, you can search “Mindfulness for Deep Sleep”, “Mindfulness for Serenity”, or Mindfulness for Being Present”. Meditating on good things will also help you. I am a Christian and one of my favorite bible verses is Colossians 3:2 which says “Set your mind on things above” this is applied to living a Christian life but also in general. Meditate on the good not the bad and good will manifest.
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Exercise. This is a hard one. Working out takes discipline but it starts at the changing of thoughts. You don’t have to go to the gym because you want your body to look a certain way. You can go to the gym because you want your body to live past a certain age. Either one is fine but if you had no motivation before then maybe living will be motivation enough. Let’s face it Stress is a Killer! Now obviously none of us know the exact time we’re going to die, but stress can cut your years by causing so many health problems its unreal. Stay active and feel better it’s ironic that the more you stay active the more energy you’ll have.
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Watch what you put in your body. Also a hard one, but you’ll feel better. I remember starting the year off right I was eating healthy and managing my stress, but one week I fell off and even had pizza, dessert, and soda all in the same day. Now I am not by any means saying you can’t eat food you want, but some foods make you feel bad especially if not consumed in moderation. I felt the sugar working against me, I was in a bad mood and didn’t feel like studying, doing homework or anything except sleeping. Sometimes especially in college it’s hard to eat healthy when all your food options are set for you. My advice eat vegetables meats and fruit first so then you’ll have less of an appetite for fries, pizza, cake, and etc. Another thing I’ve learned not to do is rely on coffee. I now don’t drink coffee to stay up and do my work because the caffeine will make my mind race and antsy and stressed. If you must get caffeine in your system drink a Kickstart or anything with less caffeine. Research has shown caffeine isn’t good for anxiety. Coffee every once in awhile won’t hurt everyone but personally I stay away from it unless I cant hold my own eyes open.
One last thing is to incorporate lavender, my favorite flower, and oil. I have lavender extract pills from the vitamin store, and will take them when I feel overwhelmed. The night before a big exam, before you get on an airplane, and before a presentation are great examples of times to think about taking lavender. If not orally taking lavender, you can buy the essential oil and mist it or put it on your scalp. There are plenty of creative ways to get lavender in your system.
Allow yourself to breath, relax and believe that you can in fact overcome the stress and anything you want!