We have all been there. Those moments where everything goes completely wrong all at once. Maybe you checked your calendar and realize you have three midterms next Monday. Maybe you got your heart broken. Maybe you simultaneously spill your coffee while your umbrella flips inside out and your hat flies off into a puddle. Yes, these have all happened to me at some point. But no matter how comically tragic your life seems to be going on right now, here are a few things you can do to make everything seem a little less awful.
1. It’s okay to be sad
Don’t dismiss your emotions. You may feel stupid or pathetic to be sad about certain situations, such as your friends telling you not to be sad about that one guy, but these are your feelings. Own them and embrace them. You are entitled to how you are feeling no matter the circumstance. In fact, it’s healthy to realize that whatever you’re going through just sucks. Plain and simple. Take the time to process your emotions at your own speed and realize that everyone processes things differently. Just because you’re upset about something now doesn’t mean you have to feel bad about feeling sad. It means you’re human.
2. Have a little faith
I believe it was Serena Vanderwoodsen that once said, “have a little faith, and if that doesn’t work have a lot of mimosas.” Wise words from a very wise woman. Whether or not you choose to take the words of "Gossip Girl" with a grain of salt, there is some truth behind these words. As ridiculously awful as everything may seem to be going right now, you should know that it’s not going to be like this forever. Yes, everything sucks but it won’t be like this forever. Having an optimistic attitude will serve you better in the long-run and will allow you to work through everything in a hopefully constructive way.
3. Treat yourself
4. Go to bed at a decent hour
Seriously. You need this. I know it seems like the university doesn’t want you to sleep granted your already ridiculous schedule during the day. Sleep is for the weak, right? Wrong. This is not true and don’t trade in your glorious bed for that gruesome energy drink. Going to sleep and letting your body calm down is one of the best things you could do for yourself. By denying sleep, you’re denying your body time to rest and regroup so you can be ready to go for the next day. You also risk developing poor eating habits (looking at you, Redbull can) and eventually crashing. Your body is a temple, not that collection of garbage cans outside of Kams. Treat it that way!
5. Understand the things you can control (or can’t)
This one is probably the hardest, coming from personal experience. It’s easy to get caught up in this idea that you can fix everything or that everything that is going wrong is because of you. This type of thinking is easy to get wrapped up in and can lead you done a rabbit hole of self-pity and eminent stress eating. One thing that I have found comforting is to look at everything that is going wrong in my life and decide what are the things that I can control?
If I can’t control them, odds are they aren’t worth stressing about. You can’t control the fact that your professors all assigned midterms on Monday or learning that a loved-one is moving away. Although they are all unfortunate circumstances, you can’t change them. Instead, focus on what you can control. This will save you from loads of unnecessary stress and will make you happier when everything is said and done.
