How to Deal With Stress

Stress got you down? These last few weeks of school can be extra stressful for seniors with AP exams, college demands, family time, relationships, GPA’s, a social life, and much more. These things are all of equal importance but how do you manage the stress that comes with life right now? Here are a few tips to destress and keep your stress levels low.

1. Find time for exercise. Exercise is still something that is important, even when you have all these other activities going on. Do not cut out the exercise to try and make room for other activities you have to do. Exercise helps with stress. Try physical activity, breathing exercises, taking a walk, or even yoga. All of these activities are exercise and are good for your mind and body. Exercising produces endorphins, which act as a natural pain-killer and even help you sleep which you also need to relieve stress.

1. Get as much sleep as you can. Not only do you want sleep, you want good quality sleep. Sleeping helps with stress, but funny enough sometimes stress makes it hard to sleep. In order to get the best sleep possible you need to make sure you don’t have so much on your mind when you go to sleep. Take a notebook and write down everything you need to remember for the next day, and everything that’s on your mind. If everything is written down, you don’t have to stay awake trying to remember everything. This gives your mind peace and helps you get a higher quality sleep. Don’t forget that most people need about 8 hours of sleep per night.

1. If you need to talk to someone don’t be afraid to. Call someone and talk to them. Vent. It feels good to vent to friends or even close relatives. If you don’t have this option you could always seek out a counselor or teacher to talk to. The counselors are here to help you and if you need to vent about everything that is going on then you should. Many teachers will listen to you as well and give you advice on situations you may have. Just talking it out for a little while can make you feel better. Get the stress off your chest. Maybe they can even help you with some things you have to do.

1. Make time for yourself and your hobbies. If you are only doing things you HAVE to do and not things you WANT to do then you can count on everything being more stressful. Make time for yourself to read that book, paint that picture, or to go swimming. Doing activities you want to do are just as important as activities you need to do. Time for yourself is important and helps you enjoy your day more, which leads to less stress.

1. If all else fails free up some of your time. It is possible to have too much to do. I am not saying shirk your responsibilities, but if there is an area of your life that isn’t incredibly important but that takes up your time then take a step back and see if still doing that activity is worth it. If the activity is taking up too much time and isn’t too important then you could cut it out or if you can make it shorter and have some free time. In turn, you would be a little less stressed. Say no, where you can, for things that add more stress to your life.