Hey, you!
Yes, you, the reader of this article; you know that day, or maybe that week when you are just stressed the hell out? When everything needs to be done and nothing is going the way you need it to? You have been there, I have been there, your mother and her sister have been there. Everyone has a day or two where all you want to do when you look at your to-do list is cry or scream or punch something. Well, that was my week this week... I can only blame myself for not getting things done over break, but I mean come on...
Thanks, Ross. But yeah, while I know many students on campus are in tech week aka another version of Hell Week, I had my own going for me. I had a tooth pulled on Monday so on and off I've been in pain, plus midterm grades came out and then there was all the work that I put off doing. So based on all that stress I figured why not share some of the tips and tricks I use to help relax and calm down once I have a moment.
The first thing that I do most of the time is, call my mom and rant to her. I feel like keeping all those emotions bottled up inside isn't really good for you, so you should just let it out. Make sure, of course, that they know you need to rant. Most of the time this will make me feel a lot better, not all the way better but quite a bit more. It takes a weight off my shoulders and I can cheer up from there.
What I do next depends on what is happening to make me stressed. If it is something that has made me angry or really upset and highly emotional I will go to the gym or on a run. Getting my heart pumping and my body working gets my mind off whatever is bugging me.
If I am a little calmer or if I have worked out and I still feel stressed out I will make myself a cup of tea or coffee, and grab a book and read, or I'll my notebook and jot some things down if I have had a little inspiration. Again this takes me away from the thing that is on my mind and makes me focus somewhere else.
Sometimes I don't have enough focus for a book or writing so I will pull up YouTube. It might be a bit weird but escaping into someone else's life through a vlog or listening to my favorite YouTubers "talk to me" really helps me. It's like I'm at the person's house and they are talking to me like a normal person who won't pressure me about what is going on in the rest of my life.
Just remember to take a deep breath and take a step back. Life isn't kind to us sometimes and we just need to take it in stride. I'm sending you a virtual hug if you are having a bad day. Don't worry, you can do it.
