Breathe like you mean it.

A captivating feature of your body is that it has breathing on a bit of an autopilot. Your respiratory system sits at the helm, oh so casually keeping you alive while you hardly register it at all. But the equally captivating thing is that you also have a built-in manual override option. Without missing a beat, you can take the wheel and take control, focusing your mind clearly on inhaling and exhaling, perhaps to lend yourself a moment of peace. That’s a pretty epic physical feature.

So take that control for a moment. As the ever-teetering “Jenga” game of life continues to stack more activities on top of you, take a second to just revel in the overwhelmingly incredible person that you are, down to the simplest of physical functions that keep you alive.

Think positively about yourself.

It’s true that your situation may be nothing short of dire, and positivity about it might be rather difficult to come by. But keeping a positive mindset about you is so very, very important. If you start a habit of doubting yourself before you’ve given yourself the chance to try, the stress of even common daily activities will become unbearable. You will tell yourself you can’t, which will lead to you putting forth only half an effort because your brain insists, “What’s the point?”

The point is this. You are so much more capable of handling these stressful situations than you could possibly know. Don’t let anything, not the opinions of others, past failures, personal standings, etc. stop you from fighting to achieve with all the energy you have every single time. Give yourself a chance, and you will be pleasantly surprised with what you can do. And then stress won’t be able to stop you.

Don’t think less of your situation when comparisons arise.

Everyone has different problems, different situations, difference background information. Everyone has a different set of struggles to go through. It’s definitely important to not make more of a situation than it is, for there are people who go through so much and say so little while others say so much about absolutely nothing. However, when thinking about your situation and the stress it causes you, don’t make less of it simply because you may not have as much on your plate as others.

Don’t criticize yourself for the stress you feel or be afraid to discuss the difficulties of your stress with others because you think you’ll be looked down on for struggling.

The things that are hard on you are important, and the people you care about will not judge you at all for what is bothering you. To know that your situation is just as important as someone else’s is to value not just your problems but yourself as a human being. Regardless of its cause, stress is not easy. Your struggles are just as meaningful, just as difficult, just as important.

Evaluate the cause of your stress.

If you reach a combustive breaking point, take a step back. Take a step back from anything and everything going on around you. Remind yourself why you are doing what you are doing. If the source of your stress is something of great importance to you and your life, you know it will be worth it. Have faith. Everything you are doing right now is only leading you closer to your desires.

If the source of stress is not of any import and is simply something that contributes to the broad categories of academics, social life, etc., take a longer step back. Because something that will only cause stress for some type of “standing” should not be able to have that much hold over you. Take care of yourself. Trust yourself. Know that what you are doing is worth it.

Know that you are worth it, and stress can’t do a single thing about it.