How To: NOT Stress Out!

It’s that time of year again. When the rest of the world is preparing for Christmas and all that madness, students everywhere are surrounded by deadlines and exam preparation. How are we to cope?

First things first, get some sleep. If you’re stressing over something your sleep pattern will be effected. It’s just when you’re about to doze off that everything catches up with you and circles around your head and stops you from getting the sleep you need.

When you’re preparing for a deadline or an exam, be extra conscious to get that eight hours of recommended sleep you need. It’ll help you think clearer and concentrate easier, which will make your studying that little less painful.

Secondly, as obnoxious and obvious as this sounds, just take a second to stop what you’re doing and breathe. When you’re getting all wound up and worried your body tends to overreact with you. So take a second to stop and focus on your breathing.

Breathe in slowly and gently, hold it for a count to ten and then breathe out in the same, slow way. Taking a second to do this will give you a break and allow you to sort your head out as well as your lungs.

Now, let’s bring someone else into the picture. When you’re worried or stressing, it often seems like the safest option is to keep it all to yourself. But in fact, this is probably one of the worst things you can do. Talking to those around you about how you’re feeling can actually be a big help as it will enable you to get that support you really do need in times like this.

You’ll often find that if you talk to those around you many people are probably going through a very similar situation. This not only helps you realise that you’re not the only one, and therefore making your worries seem that little bit smaller, but it’s also a brilliant opportunity for you to all rally around and help each other out.

Finally, siting in one spot for hours on end stressing over your work and revision is not a good idea. Even if you do everything else that has been suggested, it just won’t work if you’re stuck in the same place where your stress lies.

So, take a break. Physically move away from wherever you are and just stop for a second. Being in the same environment for hours on end will drive you mad and make it harder for you to concentrate, so give your mind and body a rest and walk away from it for a little while.

Taking a break, whether that be going for a little stroll outside; making a cup of tea or whatever it is that will get you to move doesn’t have to take a lot of time. But it will make such a difference. Once you’ve got your head cleared, you’ll find it much easier to crack on and make better use of your time.

University can be a nightmare sometimes. There is always so much going on in both your studies and social life that it can feel impossible to do it all, succeed and have a good time. But you can, I promise!

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DISCLAIMER: This post is a piece I wrote for an assignment at university. All of it is my own ideas and my own words but just to let you know this is something I have also handed in to be assessed. But I thought it worked well here on this blog and hopefully can be helpful to some of you!

Speak soon,

Rachael