College is an amazing experience that marks a huge transition in your life. As you start off your life in college, you will find exciting new opportunities that you didn’t have in high school. With freedom and new responsibilities, however, there can also be a lot of stress. Here a few ways to unwind and bring down your stress level a few notches.
This one’s a bit of an obvious one and you probably hear it all the time, but don’t be quick to dismiss it. After being indoors and pouring over hours of homework that you don’t understand, it’s important to receive some vitamin D and get some fresh oxygen. Walk around campus for a bit and make a trip to your nearest on-campus coffee shop to clear your mind a bit. Getting a break from the computer screen and replacing pages of text with a green scenery is bound to alleviate the stress a little. Make sure you take in beauty of your campus and enjoy the weather while you can!
You’re probably stressing already about the infamous Freshman 15, I mean it’s like the one thing that everybody warns you about when you’re going to college. Kill two birds with one stone and manage your stress while keeping in shape! It may be daunting to go to the gym when all of the body builders seem to be hitting the weight room but fear not! They’re tons of other students just like you who are jogging on that treadmill while catching up with “Grey’s Anatomy”. Many college campuses offer complimentary classes or will give you student priced deals. You can convince your roommate to try out one of the defense classes or take up spinning. You can also just stroll around the green areas on your campus or decide to walk to places instead of Ubering. Endorphins will keep you happy and peppy!
You know you have to. If there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s that your mom is going to want to hear from you and if you don’t call her you better believe she’ll be the one blowing up your phone. She’s one of the few people who genuinely wants to hear about your day and she’ll never fail to comfort you! If you’re feeling a bit down because of your workload or maybe your grades aren’t as good as you want them to be, give your mom a ring. She’s sure to lift your spirits up! We all know that our mothers are literally our biggest fans. Also, it’s always nice to check up on her and make her feel supported every now and then. Spread love and get love.
By this I don’t mean gossip. I mean literally just chat about anything. Knock on your neighbor’s dorm room and ask her what she’s doing, then before you know it you’re talking about conspiracy theories from “13 Reasons Why”. FaceTime your friends that are back home or perhaps at a university across the country. They’re probably dealing with a lot over there too and could use your moral support! There are also a lot of people that you can find in your dorm lounge who will most likely be bombarded with work as well, and could probably use a break just like you. Oh, and for some reason food always seems to magically appear in the common rooms, a snack never hurt anyone so treat yourself!
You can watch funny shows that will get your mind off homework – the best one I can recommend is “The Office”! The episodes are shorter than your average show so you won’t feel too guilty, and you’re bound to laugh hysterically each time the camera zooms in on Jim Halpert’s face. Also re-watching “Friends” for the eighth time never fails to help me relax as I mouth the lines along with the characters. Taking short breaks to watch the shows you love and maybe even grew up with can be very comforting and will put you at ease.
Have you ever just been stressed because you have a lot to do and you’re just scrolling through memes and procrastinating while still in serious panic mode because you can’t get anything done? Wake up each day and write down the tasks you have to do for that day. Allow yourself time to relax, so that you can watch funny vine compilations on Youtube without your guilt eating at you. If you prioritize your tasks by importance then you can devise a plan on which one to tackle on first. But most importantly allow yourself those little windows for chilling, so that you don’t find yourself fooling around when you’re supposed to be working. It’s all about balance.
As much as you want to avoid the Freshman 15 it doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy comfort foods in moderation! It’s important to treat yourself to comforting foods every now and then, especially when you may feel a bit down from all the homework on your plate. Make it a social activity and bring a buddy along with you for a frozen yogurt afternoon. Add as many toppings as you want and watch your stress melt away. UberEats is also definitely a thing and extremely convenient for long study sessions that may exceed your average bed time.
If you’re feeling very overwhelmed make sure you reach out to your friends, your RA or your parents. Remember that college is supposed to be the best four years of your life, so don’t get too caught up in the stress and try to focus on all the positives!
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