Hello, how’s your week been? I wish I could say mine’s been great, but that would be a lie. See, I’ve been dealing with this thing called stress. I’m sure you’ve come across it a time or two every week, so you know that it’s not the most fun. Whether it’s work-stress, relationship-stress, school-stress, health-stress (oxymoron?), we all face it every now and then.
At the moment, my every hour has been preoccupied with school and work obligations and it’s taken a toll on my body. When I start falling asleep in my favorite class, I know something is wrong.
Now I’m not going to preach “how to get rid of stress,” because frankly, I have no clue. If you do, hit me up. But dealing with stress is something I do often and I’ve boiled it down to a routine so I can turn to it in times of need.
How I Deal With Stress:
1) I focus on my health. My health, sleep and nutrition become my main concern because I know that if I don’t sleep well or eat well, nothing else will get done.
It means going to sleep at a decent hour regardless of how many pages of Media Law I still need to read.
It means eating nutrient rich foods like fruits, vegetables, avocados, peanut butter, and whole grains. During times of stress some people tend to overeat while others tend to under eat. Both have negative consequences and can even affect our studying and resulting exam grades. I try to treat stressful times, like exam work, like a normal week.
My usual (and favorite) dinner.
It means exercising. Nothing alleviates stress for me more so than running. But realistically, some days exercise just doesn’t fit into the schedule. So I take it day by day, assess my to-do list and take note of how I’m feeling mentally and physically. Some days I need a relaxing yoga class, some days I want to run the stress out and other days I just rest.
2) I take one day at a time. This is something I always try to do, but I really focus on it during stressful times. Why worry about tomorrow’s events when I’m not there yet? It’s hard to keep focused on the present, especially when you’re studying for an upcoming exam. By reminding myself that tomorrow will come when it comes I release control of the situation and come to terms with the present. There’s nothing I can do except prepare to the best of my abilities and worrying won’t do me any good. In simple terms: relax.
How I relax: Netflix and a magazine
3) I accept help. Admitting to being wrong or messing up is not something I love doing, however, there’s only so much I can do at once. For example, I missed a phone call with my boss yesterday because I misread an email and thought it was today. Normally I would have triple checked the email and put an alert in my calendar, but that was not the case this week. My mom reminded me to not waste my energy beating myself up for these types of things.
Everybody has rough weeks and when things fall through the cracks, it doesn’t mean you’re a mess or doomed for failure. Keep doing the best you can right now and have confidence in your abilities. Don’t worry, I see a well-deserved break in your future. It’s called summer.
Aw I’m sorry you’re stressed right now girl but I think you’re dealing with it the best you can. Your mom is right- you can’t beat yourself up. You’re doing the best you can right now and that’s all that matters. Hang in there and hopefully life will calm down soon!
Things are starting to look up already :) Focusing on “the now” is something I’m always working on.
When stress strikes, I make sure I get adequate sleep and do whatever is hardest first thing in the morning to a. get it out of the way, and b. have more strength to do it!
That’s an awesome tip, Linda! If possible I try to get the hardest thing done in the morning too.
i try to get organized and do the things once at a time. I handle stress pretty well
xo
Orly
coffeebeansandhighheels.weebly.com
Handling stress well is very admirable! I’m slowly getting better at dealing with one thing at a time.
Well you know how my life has been going so I feel you and am always here for you love! XOXO We are in this together!
Made me smile XOXO. The best is yet to come.
Whenever I’d get stressed in school and things seemed impossible to accomplish, I would try to remind myself.. You’ll pull it off! You always do, somehow.
Things will work out. Feel better! :)
Yes! Sometimes looking back and determining how I “survived” other hard things is helpful. We are capable of more than we know!