As the semester gets into full swing, it’s important to be thinking about your mental health and the steps you can take to reduce current and potential stress. One of the best ways to do this is with coping skills. Coping skills are personalized actions and tools which can help you manage and reduce stress. There are endless possibilities for coping skills, and what works for one person may not work for another. Finding coping skills that work for you is an exercise in self-discovery, but there are many established methods to test and explore. Here are just a few.
Aromatherapy
Pleasant smells can have a calming effect, reducing anxiety and clearing the mind. You can light scented candles (though maybe not at school), use a room spray or perfume, or buy/make a sachet filled with aromatics. The scent of lavender, in particular, is known to promote relaxation.
Light
Light therapy is used to treat people with seasonal affective disorder (a disorder often influenced by the cold, low light of the winter months), but it can have a calming affect on anyone. Scented candles have a dual purpose in this way, but again, your school likely doesn’t allow them. Instead, you could use night lights, glow sticks, fiber optic lights, or just go outside or open your curtains. Even a little natural sunlight is better than nothing.
Sound
Music is one of the most calming things there is. If you can, get some noise-canceling earbuds or headphones so you can immerse yourself in the sound. Other than calming music, good things to listen to can be natural white noise, like recordings of storms, waves, or crackling fire. For more active listening, try out some podcasts.
Food
Though it can be unhealthy to over-use this coping mechanism, the comfort of comfort food is real. Make a stash of food that you really like and, when you’re feeling down or stressed, indulge yourself. Include some hot drinks, like hot chocolate or herbal teas.
Socialization
See your friends, whether for fun, company, or support. If you’re seeking your friends for support, however, make sure to set boundaries so that you don’t accidentally put undue stress on your friends. Good friends should want to help and support you, but they are not your caretakers. They need to take care of their mental health, too.
Media
Settle down with a favorite book, movie, TV show, or game and just have fun. Using entertainment as a coping skill can be calming, distracting, or cathartic depending on what you choose to read/watch/play. A wonderful site for calming games is Orisinal. The artwork, music, and concept of the games is beautiful.
Creativity
Being creative can be both calming and distracting, engaging your mind and focusing it on something enjoyable. Draw, color in a mandala, write creatively or in a journal, knit, sew, crochet, play an instrument, or sing.
Comfort objects
These are objects that carry some importance to you or are just nice which you can focus on or surround yourself with to create a sort of comforting bubble. These can be anything: fuzzy socks, stuffed animals, cozy sweaters, a piece of jewelry, a picture, a smooth stone.
Self-care
When people are stressed, they can forget to properly take care of themselves. Make sure to drink water, get exercise, eat, shower, and change your environment. It’s easy to fall in to bad habits and neglect yourself when you’re busy. Remember that your physical and mental health is always more important than grades.
Clean/organize
Cleaning and organization are such powerful and important coping skills that they get their own bullet point. Decluttering helps stress and depression on so many levels, especially considering that a messy environment can actually be a huge source of stress. In this way, cleaning your living space or workspace is practically like tidying up your mind.
Time management
Use calendars, alarms, and lists to organize your life. If you feel overwhelmed with school, write down everything you need to do and plan out when you have time to do it. Schedule breaks and set blocks of time aside to de-stress.
Finally, take your meds if you have them and collect information for anxiety and depression hotlines and mental health professionals in case things get out of hand. If you’re currently seeing a therapist/psychologist/psychiatrist, keep in touch and utilize them. That's what they're there for.
Stay happy and healthy, and have a great semester!
