As a junior in college, I find myself consistently stressed out about school, graduating, soccer, life after school, money, friends, sorority life, and several other activities that I am involved in. I feel that I have to be in a million places at once, and that I never get a chance to sit down and breathe. Every morning I write out a strict itinerary of how my day is supposed to go and at what exact times I need to move from one activity to the next. Coffee keeps me awake and focused in class and the energy inertia from practice keeps me motivated to finish my homework into the late hours of the night. But as I sit here writing this, I can't seem to think of the last time I took a refreshing nap or just spent time alone, not worrying about everything I need to get done. I find that the majority of my friends are in the same situation that I am: constantly running from one activity to the next, checking activities and requirements off our list, and never truly stopping for a moment and just enjoy being alive. I tell myself every week that I am going to find a time for myself to just relax and read my Bible, get my nails done, go see a movie by myself, nap, or go for a leisurely run; but that time never comes, and I find myself the next week making the same empty promise. We all live in a society where rest is seen as laziness, and we are expected to be involved in everything and anything to eventually create a successful life for ourselves. We are also in a society where mental health is not taken seriously, and that is wrong. We have always heard, "don't stress yourself out, it's not good for you," but what does that truly mean? People joke about never sleeping or pulling all nighters, but those things are not comical, they are worisome.
Stress and your mental health is not something to take lightly, there is value in being at peace with your job, your relationships, and life in general. Having poor mental health can increase the risk of physical health issues such as skin rashes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, headaches, cancer, and more. Stress is not something that you can avoid; it is something that will be present in your life constantly. But, how you deal with that stress in your life is how you can keep it from becoming an issue of more than just stress. I struggle with stress and how to manage it daily, so these tips are for you as much as they are for me.
Managing your stress is completely individualized to you and your current stressors. Here are a few tips to get you (and me) started on managing stress in a healthy and productive way:
Plan out your homework, schedule, activities, and requirements for the day/week/month.
For some, making a list of what you need to do and crossing those things off when you complete them can give you a sense of accomplishment. For me, the list just always continues and stresses me out more because I see everything else that still needs to be done. What I have begun to do is make small goals; for example, today I picked two things that absolutely had to be completed and focused my energy on those goals, without thinking about the rest of the things I needed to get done later in the week. This way you can feel accomplished on the things you get completed, and feel a sense of relief that you now have less to do!
Take care of yourself!!!
This is huge and underrated; your health matters so don't push it to the back burner. Eat healthy, exercise regularly, sleep 8 hours a night, take naps, go to a yoga class, read a good book, or just do something that makes you happy! Take control of the things that you can in life, which is how you treat yourself!
Talk to your friends, parents, teachers, coaches, and, most importantly, make time to talk to God.
These people are here for you, and have had stressful days as well. Go talk to your professors about that huge term paper you have due. Call your mom and just vent about anything and everything. We are not meant to do this all on our own, we have people that love and care about us that are there to listen and help. Nothing makes me feel better than taking the time to sit down with God's word and having a long prayer about my trials in life. God is there to pick you up and keep you going.
Get off social media.
In my Bible study this past week, we discussed how stressful it is to see other people always happy when you are going through a hard time. Stop looking at social media, people are just posting their high moments. Everyone has trials, but not everyone talks about them openly on public forums. So in your own life you experience hardships, but then you see everyone posting their high moments and it is easy to go to the place of, "Why is she/he always happy when I am having the worst weeks of my life?" Instead, turn towards God's word. Read about trials and tribulations and how God brought his people through them. Jesus is a positive messages, not what is circulating on Facebook.
Change your thinking.
This one seems common sense, but it is not ever easy to do. Instead of thinking about how you are having a fight with your boyfriend, you failed a test, and you are far away from home, think about how lucky you are to be alive. Think about the fact you have clean water, shelter, people that love you, that you get the chance to go to college, that you are walking, and that God put you on this Earth for a purpose. These things are easily forgotten, but we are so blessed even when times are hard.
There is no magical fix for stress (trust me I wish there was), but these few steps help me get through the day with a little more ease. So stop what you are doing, take a breath, and realize that it is all going to be okay. God, your family, friends, professors, coaches, sorority sisters, teammates, and anyone else important in your life has your back. You are not walking through this alone, so take care of yourself and lean on the people around you!
