There are times where you will find yourself overworked and stressed. You might want to curl up in a ball in the closet while clutching your Tuxedo Mask plushy or just stop and scream as loud as you can into a pillow. While stress doesn’t always make you feel that way, it can make you irritable or anxious. You might have trouble focusing on the task at hand or become forgetful. In any event, today I’m here to talk about identifying stress and how to alleviate it. Shall we begin?

Part of getting rid of stress is knowing what it is and the symptoms that come with it. Stress is defined as an adverse reaction to too much or too little pressure. There are psychological, emotional, physical, and emotional signs of stress—typically you would experience a combination of these:

• Psychological—lack of concentration, anxiety, depression, easily distracted…
• Emotional—irritability, tearful, mood swings, anger, lack of motivation…
• Physical—weight loss or gain, physical tiredness, aches and pains, frequent colds…
• Behavioral—recklessness, insomnia, change in appearance, social withdrawal…

While there are more symptoms than what I’ve listed, people experience stress differently. I, for example, tend to eat less, lose concentration, sleepless, and get irritable when I’m stressed.

Once you know you are stressed, work on managing or alleviating it. It’s not enough to just be able to tell when you are stressed; figure out what the stressor is. Is it work related like turning in a big project that could make or break your career? Is it school related like a 20-page research paper worth half your grade? Or is it a personal stressor like having a bill due? In any case, identify what it is that’s stressing you out. Once that’s done, find a method that works best for you to manage your stress.

One thing you could do is meditate. Find a nice, quiet and comfortable spot to sit in. Then sit down and close your eyes. Empty your mind of everything and breathe. Inhale slowly through your nose and exhale slowly through the mouth. Repeat until you feel better.

Or you could go for a walk. Just sit whatever is working your nerve down, put on your good tennis shoes, and get outside. Take in your surroundings and empty your mind on what is stressing you out.

Or exercise. Do yoga, go for a run, or just get active. Exercising will make you feel healthier and better.

Find something that works for you. There are more than a dozen different and unique ways to relieve stress and it varies from person to person. While I like to meditate or cook depending on the type of stress I’m under, someone else might like to exercise or do crafts.

With school having just started, you are bound to find yourself under either an anthill of stress, or a mountain. Don’t forget to take the time to relax. When you start to feel stressed, just stop for a moment and take a breath. It’ll all work out in the end.