Stress plagues everyone. It is inescapable and can seem to be stalking you, as if it is behind every corner. Stress varies by person to person, but I am sure we can all agree that it is absolutely terrible! Here’s a helpful list on ways to counteract even the worst amount of stress!

1. Time Management

I could write an entire article dedicated to my planner, so you should definitely get yourself one. Planners are a fantastic helping hand for everyday life and events, since it really does help to write down your duties from time to time. For me, just having a list of tasks I need to achieve written down is extremely helpful. It helps to calm me down, while giving me a sense of organization and helping me feel more intact with my life.

I love a good party, but then again who doesn’t? However, it’s important to know that you cannot choose going out over your work and miscellaneous tasks. As a college student, going out on the weekends can be a humongous stress reliever. What they don’t tell you is that going out can cause even more stress. Imagine you have papers to do and tests to study for, but it’s Friday. Of course you choose to go out, but you don’t get anything done. This leads you to becoming more stressed and overwhelmed. You don’t want that, do you? If you know you work is adding up, than maybe, just maybe you should take a night in.

Although going out can stress you out, it can also be a great method of stress relief. In order to go out and remain stress free, use your planner and schedule out study sessions in order to get your work done. When you make this schedule, it’s important that you stick to it. Now, when you’re finished with all of your work you can plan your night out on the town! I’m not advising you to get black out drunk in order to handle the stress, because you don’t even need to have alcohol to have fun. Being surrounded by good company and having fun is a great reliever.

2. Venting

Venting is not the easiest thing to do. There have been situations where I have been rather embarrassed about my problems and was left feeling very exposed. But in most cases, venting does help. Sit down with someone you are close to and indulge in a deep conversation. Tell them about your life, stress, and what has been bothering you. Allow them to give you a different point of view. When your head is occupied with your impeding tasks, it’s difficult to see a different side of things. By letting someone else try to help you and look into your life, they might be able to see things that you cannot. Let them offer you advice you may have not yet thought of. In the midst of doing this, it is also very beneficial to open up to someone. Letting all your stress become unleashed into thin air can help you breathe a little bit better. It’s the act of getting everything out into the open.

3. Schedule a Bed Time

With good time management skills, it will become easier to figure out when it’s best for you to go to sleep. I am in no way insinuating that you must go to bed at this time every night, but on most nights it will be extremely beneficial to your physical and mental health. For me, it is much more stressful to stay up late studying than have to get up and go to class. In the morning, I am still groggy and this stresses me out even more, because I can hardly focus and become even more tired throughout the day. I adore naps as much as the next person, but taking a nap means not getting all of my work done.

When you’re tired, you continuously decrease you energy flow. This leads you into not giving your fill undivided attention in class, at work, or when doing assignments. Because of this you’ll hardly get anything done, thus adding more stress than what is necessary. Getting a full nights rest is healthy and is something everyone should do.

4. Talk to your Professor

Sometimes it seems as if school just keeps adding and adding up. With a mountain of schoolwork on the horizon getting it all done seems impossible. It’s a good idea to go out of you way and speak to your professor. They're humans who get stressed out and they were once in your shoes. Talk to them about your assignments and see if maybe you could get an extension on the deadline to make things a bit easier for yourself. As it is important to get high marks, homework is a huge part of your final grade. When you have so much work to do it can become difficult to put 100% effort into all of it. This is why it’s a good idea to voice to your professor about your difficulties. Asking for an extension would give you more time to work on your work and put maximum effort in to it.

5. Aromatherapy

A scent of something you love can do wonders for you. Bake cookies, light a candle, spray perfume/ cologne, or even spray an air freshener. The list of things you could do in order to enhance a specific smell is endless. The smell of something you like is a sure fire way to calm you down and help you relax. Smells can even bring back memories for people. If you are able to smell something you like than you’ll find yourself at ease and in a better mind set to focus.

6. Color Therapy

Have you seen those coloring books that have very abstract designs in them, or those adds about apps that allow you to color in a picture on you device? This is all part of color therapy. Taking time to color something can trigger creativity, which can help get some of that work done. It also add a sense of control and organization. Also, color is unique because like certain scents color can bring back memories that are able to relax you. For example, if the color yellow reminds you of happy times under sunshine then you should wear yellow, paint your nails yellow, or just carry around a yellow piece of fabric. When you feel yourself start stressing you can look at it and alter your mind.

7. Exercise

Not only is exercise great for your body, but it’s also great for you mind. Exercise can mean various activities like going to the gym, dance, yoga, or athletics. The list is continuous. To exercise is not only improving your health, but it can work to refresh your mind. Channel your stress into your physical activity and your stress will decrease.

8. Healing Stones

If your intrigued by different energies, but only want positive energies surrounding you, than this is for you! It’s called Crystal Healing Therapy and is use as alternative medicine. Each healing stone is used for a different purpose and there’s many to choose from. For example, Amazonite is a stone used to clean up negative energy from your mind. It restores you sprit to a blissful state of mind and eliminates toxic thoughts. To use healing stones you place them on your body. The stones extract the negative energy and leave you with cleansed energy.

9. Herbal Remedies and Good Food

Make yourself some herbal teas, like peppermint or passionflower. There are many types of teas and they don’t contain caffeine. are designed to fight against stress.

Considering we’re talking about assumption, some foods can also take away stress in a similar fashion. Foods like oatmeal, whole-wheat bread, milk, and etc. can combat stress and put you in an all around better mood.

10. Animal Friends

Spend time with animals by petting, cuddling, walking, or playing with them. Not only are you making the animal happy, but you’re making yourself happy. Animals are known great stress relievers. Spending time with them can get your mind off your problems and open doors for creativity.

11. Massage Your Pressure Points

Similar to how reflexology works with your feet and hands, just rubbing your pressure points, or getting your pressure points rubbed is a great cure for stress. Rubbing pressure point is not just something that feels good. It relieves tension in your body and leaves you feeling relaxed and renewed.

12. Be Kind to not only yourself, but to Others

Doing a random act of kindness for a stranger can brighten their day and yours. It’ll put a light mood in the air and release all the tension that is circling you. Doing something nice for somebody can even create a friendship, a good conversation, or simply laughter, which are all good for the soul.

Being stressed out is a terrible, negative feeling, but even at its worst it is still fixable. Try some of these remedies and even find come of your own the next time you feel stressed!