Debuting her first article on the Odyssey is my BFF Kierra Maynard! This article is her final project for her writing class and its AH-mazing! I sadly can't take any credit, but enjoy my girl's work!

While walking around campus at West Chester, you might look at the people near you and think “I have nothing in common with these people.” Well, if there is one thing that every student can relate to, it is the fact that they are stressed. Everyone feels it, and at this point, it is just a fact of life for college students. Even though stress is something that we all go through, not everyone knows what it truly is or how it can be resolved.

Stress is actually a surge of hormones in your body as a response to stimuli in the outside environment. It acts as the body’s front line of defense and prepares the body to face any imposing danger. The hormones that the body produces are adrenaline, cortisol, and noradrenaline (what a mouth full!). This flush of hormones triggers reactions like an increased heart rate, heightened muscle preparedness, sweating, and alertness. In addition, stress slows some of the normal bodily functions like the immune system and the digestive system. Dr. Rachel Daltry, who works at the Counseling Center at West Chester, summarizes this definition pretty nicely. She says, “Stress is mental and/or physical tension and strain. Stress can be both negative and positive, helpful and unhelpful.”

Although stress usually has a negative connotation, everyone needs a certain amount of stress to get through everyday life. The only time that stress becomes a problem is when your stress level is too high or low. Having a lack of stress sounds like a good deal, but it actually means that your body is under-stimulated. On the other hand, if you have too much, your body will release hormones over a long period of time, which could lead to a range of many different physical and psychological problems. Although this may sound really bad, there are ways that it can be avoided and they're actually fun!

There are many different methods used to manage stress, and it is definitely not a one size fits all type of deal. You have to find what works best for you, and whatever situation you are in. As Dr. Daltry says, “ I like to say it’s important for people to develop a toolbox.” So here are some tools that are available for you to fill your very own stress management toolbox.

1. DOGS!

This one has to be my favorite because dogs are my favorite animal (as you will see throughout the article). It is now scientifically proven that dogs help college students reduce stress. Researchers actually found that students had an increase in happiness, reduction of stress, and a surge of energy after visiting the therapy dogs at their campus. Good thing we have that at West Chester! If you want to get updates on the therapy dogs on campus, you can just follow @WCUDogTherapy on Instagram, plus your feed will be filled with the furry friends.

2. Exercise

Exercise is a great way to de-stress. Not only does it take your mind off of the stressor that you are facing, but it also releases endorphins into the body that improves your mood. I know I'm not the biggest fan of the gym, but no one can deny the fact that you feel amazing after a great workout.

3. Meditation/ Breathing Exercises

Relaxing and sitting quietly for a little bit each day can really help lower your stress levels. It helps to ease a racing mind and put everything into perspective. Breathing exercises are especially good for managing stress because it sends more oxygen into the bloodstream, which in turn, puts you in a more relaxed state.

4. Sleep

If you have a stretch of free time during your day, I recommend that you take a quick little nap. Even if you have a hard time falling asleep during the day, just resting without work or technology can help calm your mind.

5. Chew Gum

Now this one might be a little hard to believe, but studies have shown that people who chew gum have lower stress levels, and feel better all around. This could be because it promotes blood flow towards the brain. It also has seen that people who chew gum have similar brain waves as people who are in a relaxed state.

6. Give Someone a Hug

Any positive physical contact with someone else helps to relieve stress because it releases oxytocin and lowers cortisol, the stress hormone. This helps in lowering two symptoms of stress; your heart rate and blood pressure. Also, it's just nice to know that you have support from your friends in stressful situations.

7. Listen to Music

Good music could honestly brighten anyone’s mood at any time. Taking a break and listening to music can calm you down, and puts you in a better frame of mind to accomplish whatever tasks you have for the day.

8. Laugh

I don't know if you've caught on yet, but bringing more oxygen into the body really helps with relieving stress, and laughter does just that. It also alleviates all the tension that's in the body from being stressed for too long. Long story short, laughter really is the best medicine.

All in all, I really think that you should give some of these methods a try sometime in the future. They're all fairly easy to accomplish, and some are so easy that you can try them at the library when you're studying and need a quick break. Remember that stress is a natural bodily function that is mostly used for protection. It only becomes an issue if there is too much stress in the body, which causes the different physical and psychological problems. Also, if you haven't already noticed, I made a majority of the pictures dog related to helping relieve some of your stress just by reading this article, I hope it helped! So, next time you find yourself stressing out listen to some music, read a joke, and hug a dog.