Whether you are going to school full-time, while working full time, and involved in organizations or just have a heavy course load, odds are you're stressing about one thing or another during the year. Its college, what did you expect? Yes, stress can creep up on you and linger in your life and is sometimes something you can't avoid, but if you have the right mind-set, you can easily control your stress.

Stress can be compared to the good, the bad, and the ugly. The good- stress makes you organized and makes sure you get your long list of chores done, without some stress in your life odds are you would find yourself constantly binge watching Netflix or having some serious FOMO (fear of missing out). The bad- you are constantly running around thinking you forgot to do something, or worse you really did forget to do one thing on that long list of yours. You start to doubt yourself and wonder if everything you have committed yourself too is really worth it. The ugly- stress if not handled the correct way can start to change your personality. Stress can make you become sick, causing headaches, lack of appetite, and an increase in anxiety. Stress can make you have a lot of mental breakdowns, a lot of contradictory thoughts, and sometimes just make you indulge on the entire gallon of ice cream.

There are many ways to cope and get your mind at ease and to just relax. You have to try many things and find what works for you and stick to it. Here are some that work for myself personally if you are at ends wits and just want some help.

Make sure your body is well rested.

I know being in college, getting the recommended full 8 hours of sleep is like finding a unicorn outside your door, very unlikely. But, getting a good amount of sleep helps your mind be at ease and relax.

Exercise, exercise, exercise.

With everything on your plate the absolute last thing you want to do is go to the gym or go on a nice run, I know. This doesn't mean get the best 3 hour workout you have ever had, it could just simply mean take a nice walk outside or sit on the balcony listening to music or just watching a short show, just to step away from life and all that you're thinking about.

Just breathe.

Stepping back from everything thats on your plate and finding some quality "you time" is one of the most important things. If you are always in the go mode and never take a break you will just keep building up that stress. Telling yourself it's okay and everything is going to be okay is sometimes just what you need to hear.

Make a list of everything that HAS to be done that week.

Sometimes we like to jump the gun and think that we have to get every homework assignment, every online quiz, and every little detail of our life done for the year in just a few days. If you list out what is due that week, what shifts you have if you work, and what responsibilities you have for your organizations it makes life ten times easier. Once you get week one responsibilities done, then its okay to move on too week two, just take on what you can handle at a given time.

As goofy as this sounds, animals calm you way down.

For me, this is the biggest help. When you have an animal it gives you time to not think about yourself, and shed light on something else that brings joy. Its something that always greats you at the door, always listens to you, there when you are sad, happy, etc. Animals feed off your emotion, so when you're stressed beyond belief, they are there to comfort you whether its four in the morning, or five at night they want to make your life more happy and upbeat.

Stress is just a fact of life. The better you are with stepping back and realizing you aren't required to be perfect at life will make things a lot less stressful. Just make sure you have a balance at life between your academic life and your social life. Stress will always happen, no matter the age, but you must handle it and be at ease with every choice you make.