One of the best ways to de-stress is to treat yourself. This means a lot of things, so there's a pretty broad range of options - on any campus - for you to utilize when you're feeling overwhelmed and need a breather.
The first thing that I personally love to treat myself to is food; specifically comfort food. Anything that has carbs and cheese will automatically make your stomach happy (unless, of course, you're lactose intolerant). So my recommendations for when you're feeling down (and my personal go-to's) are foods like pizza, grilled cheese, nachos, or mac and cheese (obviously).
On campus here they have a ton of great options. I love basically all pizza, but when I really want to treat myself, I'll get a personalized pizza from Blaze with five different types of cheese as my toppings (no judgements please). As for the rest, most of the foods can be found at various dining halls pretty easily, or at the Student Union. My more recent go-to has been the Union's nachos. If I'm being honest, I could probably take a spoon to their queso and have a field day. It's that therapeutic. I should also just mention that the campus dairy bar is a gold mine too. I've only treated myself to their ice cream a handful of times, but it was much-needed, and proved to be more than worthy. This is good and all, but when I'm really stressed, I take these extra steps to bring the anxiety down.
First, a hot shower - or a bubble bath (if you have one at your disposal) - is a great way to not only alter your mood, but relax your muscles as well.
Second, I recommend allowing yourself to wear loose, comfy clothes, especially as it gets colder out. There's nothing better than changing into warm sweats after a long day.
Thirdly, whenever I'm feeling completely overwhelmed, I'll give myself a couple breaks here and there, just to help me unwind a little. During that time, I'll take a nap, or indulge in some Netflix-bingeing.
When you're really stressed though - and you know that you need to sort of just push through it - I would recommend going to the library, or an on-campus coffee shop. The setup is warm and comforting, the mood is relaxed, and it's typically a quieter space for you to get work done. When I know that I just have to buckle down and swallow my stress, I'll order a cup of coffee or a hot tea. This will help to keep you focused and also (hopefully) relieve you a little. As finals creep closer and your stress builds up, be sure to keep these tips in mind.
A healthy soul is a healthy mind.
