No, your stress shouldn’t be causing your body to hate you.
Hair falling out, acne appearing when you have normally clear skin, not sleeping or waking up at random times during the night and becoming physically ill. These are all the signs of being too stressed out. It’s normal to incur stress, but when your social and educational life starts to spiral out of control, so do your stress levels. We then look to the things that we can control and we then continue to spiral. Here are a couple tips to get your stress back under control when life feels like it’s falling apart.
Take a Minute to Breathe
Stress can happen at any point in time, but getting to such high levels of stress is not normal and can be dangerous. So take a minute that it feels like you don’t have and just breathe. Let your thoughts come and go, but don’t hold on to them. There are great breathing techniques online that can really help feel like you’re getting oxygen back into your body. One of my personal favorites is breathing in for four counts and exhaling for two, then four, then eight. Doing this helps me start to relax and gives me something else to focus on. Even when I am stressed to a high amount, taking the moment to breathe and start to let things go can help release some tension that your body is holding. It can help release the tightness in your chest or ease it to some degree.
Essential Oils Can be Your Best Friend
I can’t lie when I say that Bath and Body Works stress relief line is my favorite during finals week…and most weeks. Everyone has their opinions about essential oils, but you can’t deny that they don’t smell good. The act of putting on the eucalyptus and mint lotion that I have calms me down especially when I am writing an essay on a time crunch. Getting specific smells that I associate with destressing helps me immensely and is an act of self care that reminds me to take care of myself. Finding a scent that you enjoy and relating that to stress relief can remind you to take time to calm down and really focus on the task at hand.
Don’t be Afraid to Go to The Gym
When I am really stressed, all I want to do is go to the gym and run. On a typical day, I hate running with a passion. I wouldn’t run by choice except when I’m stressed. This helps get my heart rate up while also allowing me to listen to my music. I am able to disappear into my own world for 15-30 minutes and not focus on anything but the exercise at hand. This really helps me relax and work out a lot of the tension that my body holds when I am stressed. Lifting weights, walking, yoga, anything that is physical can really help with distressing and feeling ready to take on the rest of the work ahead of you.
Set Little Goals For Yourself
When working on a big project or assignment, setting little goals can really help in getting the project done. Giving yourself little study breaks, a snack, or five minutes of entertainment really helps in being able to reward yourself when you get to a certain point or have spent x amount of time studying. This method really helps me get work done and not feel as stressed.
Remember stress shouldn’t be the one ruling your life and though sometimes we feel the effects of stress, getting to an extreme amount isn’t. There are things that we focus on later in the week that we forget to actually focus on what is happening in the now. This plays a big part into how stressed we get. Whether it’s friends, family, or school, remember it is okay to put yourself first and to take care of yourself.