DEAR STRESS, LET'S BREAK UP!

Let’s agree to this fact okay? We students are one of the highly stressed out species on this planet. We have all been told by our parents and elders ‘to relax’ or ‘enjoy this phase of life’ or ‘you are too young to take so much stress’. Now who is going to sit and explain to them our problems? Competition, handling expenses, managing relationships and friendships, exams, submissions, deadlines and the never-ending list of different tasks and responsibilities, surely takes a toll on our physical, mental as well as emotional health. A little amount of stress and tension is good enough to keep us motivated but once it crosses the line, it is time that this stress has to be brought under control. While there are no clear-cut steps to bring the stress under control, there are few things that can help in easing out your stress gradually. First things first, always keep in mind that you are doing the best you can and things will be better soon.

Here are few tips on how you can reduce your stress and feel better:

1) ORGANIZE

Okay I will be honest, this is the only challenging part of the whole process. Keeping a diary is the best option to start your planning process. Write down a list of all the things need you need to do, daily, starting from the most important to the least, mention it all down. As you keep completing your tasks, strike them down from your ‘to-do’ list. As you plan your daily activities, keep in mind to allot some time for your studies and some alone time for yourself to relax. At the beginning you may want to allot more hours to studying, since you are still new to this whole process but gradually you will realize that you won’t have to pull all-nighters or stress out due to last minute submissions or tests.

2) EXERCISE

One of the best ways to keep your mind sane and combat stress is to exercise. Here by exercise I do not mean only the proper rigorous exercise or going to the gym. You could even work out for 10 minutes. By work out I mean, either go for a walk, play some outdoor game, dance, try yoga, anything that pleases you the most and will make you active. It is a proven fact making yourself physically active even for 15 minutes a day can elevate your mood, release all the stress and tension and keeps your mind and body healthy.

3) SLEEP

The one thing we cannot get enough as college students, is sleep. Our busy schedules, late night parties or exams and assignments clearly lead to sacrificing sleep. However, it is extremely necessary to getting close to 8 hours of sleep daily. When you plan out your day’s activities well, you will be able to reach this goal of 8 hours of sleep easily. This helps in regulating your body functions which in turn helps you to handle your stress. Getting enough sleep also helps in managing your weight. Keep giving rest to your eyes for 2-3 minutes while you are studying or working.

4) EAT RIGHT

This might sound like a task but making sure you eat good nutrients and adequate portion sizes can make a HUGE difference in the energy and mood levels. This does not mean that I am telling you to eliminate junk food from your life. Just stock up enough fresh fruits, vegetables and high protein snacks and include them in your daily normal diet in some or the other way and thus balance your meals out. Few food items that help reduce stress are dark chocolate, strawberries, kiwis, almonds and bananas.

5) TALK IT OUT

Expressing your emotions and feelings to someone close to you can help in easing out a lot of your stress. It might not reduce your tasks to do but opening up to someone right, can help you in relieving a lot of your tension and anxiety. Spend time with your parents or girlfriend/boyfriend or your friends, whoever can make you happy and ease out your mind. You might feel that you do not want to burden someone with the stress you have, but trust me, the right person or people, will always be there to listen to you and help you out.

STOP STRESSING. TAKE A DEEP BREATH. EVERYTHING WILL BE OKAY. YOU CAN DO THIS.