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Some of you may remember me as the girl who gave all the first-years advice on how to live life on campus. Some of you may remember me as that girl who told you how to relax, and…wait, I didn’t tell you that? Jeez, how could I forget? I see everyone freaking out about exams, classes, life, and I forget to tell you how to breathe, and relax? Well, I’ll tell you now. Â
Do you remember when you were young at the doctor’s office, and they told you to breathe in deeply, in and out, while holding their stethoscope to your back? Remove the stethoscope, remove the doctor’s office, remove yourself from wherever you are mentally. Close your eyes, think of the most relaxing place you know, and inhale. Think about the aspect that’s making it so relaxing, be it the texture of the waves, or the feeling of the sand on your toes. Once you’ve thought of that aspect, exhale. Keep repeating for five minutes. Then, try to return to the work that you’re doing. This will calm you down, sending signals to your body that this is not a stressful situation, and to lower the heart rate a little.Â
If that doesn’t work for you, you can also try moving around. Walk around your room a little, stretch your legs, even do some desk exercises to get your blood pumping! You can even clean your room, or rearrange your desk. Either way, do something that will force your focus onto something else for a few minutes. Once those few minutes have passed, go back to your work, and see if you are not stressed.Â
If neither of those work for you, try changing the way you look at the assignment. Are you thinking “OH MY I HAVE TO GET THIS DONE TODAY AHHH!!” whenever you think about something? If so, try thinking “Ok, this assignment is big, but I can break it down, into chunks. I can work on this chunk right now, take a small break, work on the second chunk, take a break, and then work on the last chunk.” That way, you’re mentally breaking the seemingly big assignment into smaller, more manageable tasks; this will make the assignment seem less threatening, and less stressful, because your brain is now thinking “Ok, these seem easier, I can do those.” Plus, you’re talking to yourself in a much calmer tone, and because the brain responds to verbal tone, it’ll take think “This is not a stressful situation. I don’t need to release all the stress signals yet.” Â
These are how I calm down whenever I feel stressed beyond relief. However, please note that these methods are highly individual, and may work for you, but not your friend. Everyone responds to stress differently. There are plenty of methods out there, much more than I can ever list here. Try them, find what works, and stick with them; they will help you so much more than you realize