Stress is something so common in college students. With the beginning of the semester under way, the stress is slowly creeping in in the form of anxiety and tension headaches. Honestly, I’m not good at handling stress. I get myself all worked up in my head and forget to stay hydrated and I go downhill fast until I finally realize how stressed I am. Right before I hit the bottom. That’s when I decide to start drinking more water and get more sleep and remind myself to breathe and relax. With a little help from my friends, this is what we thought was best for how we handle stress…
Cry a little bit
It is okay to cry when you feel overwhelmed. Stressful situations can come so quick and you don’t know what to do and it is just best to release the pressure every now and then with a good cry. Don’t just bottle up every emotion that you feel because the next thing you know, you’re going to explode. I can’t count how many times I have cried in my four years of college, but once I was done crying, I felt better enough to get myself going again on whatever task I needed done.
Time management
One of the best pieces of advice I got for being a college student is to keep a calendar or planner where you can see what’s needed to be done each day. Your planner can be on your phone or a pretty spiral one from Target that you write in – just fill in all the information you need like organization events, meetings, when assignments are due, and your next girl’s night out. Being able to take it one day at a time can seriously reduce the stress of not knowing what is due and break up the work into manageable chunks.
Take a day for yourself
The famous Parks and Rec line, “TREAT YO SELF,” comes to mind when you need to reduce stress. Take a day and put on some relaxing face masks, play some calming music, take a hot shower, read a book, or anything that you like to do to relax. There are even meditation apps on your phone that you can use to take a moment and wind down. At the end of my week, I like to put on a face mask and just do nothing for a little bit. Maybe watch an episode or two of my favorite show without have the worry of wondering what it is I really need to be doing. Everyone needs a day where they can just relax and unwind.
Everybody is different when it comes to dealing with their stress. It comes easier to some more than others, but no matter what remember to breathe and know that everything will turn out all right in the end. Remember that it’s okay to take a day for yourself. A lot of things are very important in our lives, but nothing is more important then ourselves.