How to be #StressedButBlessed in College

Credit: Flickr

The first week of each semester at college, everything seems so fine and calm, lulling you into a false sense of security. You don’t have homework or deadlines, you can hand everything on time and you don’t feel overburden with too much work. But suddenly work starts to pile up, and then before you know it, finals are coming up and you definitely haven’t prepared. Everything happens so quickly, and you can’t slow down time enough to get stuff done. You feel hopeless, and then the next thing you know, you start running out of air, your chest closing in-- you just don’t even have time to breathe.

Sound familiar?

The last several weeks, I’ve felt like I’m chasing Father Time constantly, so I can try and finish all my work, write articles for at least three organizations and study for finals. I commute every day from home to school and back, which drains my energy so much I looked like a zombie. I didn’t get enough sleep because I stay up doing homework all night and wandered around all day in a sleep deprived state. I felt basically brain dead— I would forget minor things like these my keys, my notebook or my wallet at home as I rushed out the door. Sometimes on my way to school, I realize on the train that I forgot my glasses at home. And I need those to see.

Then, I realized recently I couldn’t keep feeling like this all the time, because it wasn’t healthy for me. I knew I couldn’t keep this up. Even my family had started to notice how stressed I felt— my mom told me I always looked upset about something, going through weird mood swings that changed my personality. I started to understand that what I was doing to myself hurt my body and needed to end, even if it came at the expense of time I needed to work.

What I needed to do, I realized, was to take care of myself.

First, I scheduled myself 7-8 non-negotiable hours of sleep. To get 7-8 hours of sleep, I would come home and do things like showering and eating dinner as soon as I could. Then, I would get started on my homework. But first I put my phone away before I even started, so I wouldn’t get distracted from the social media notifications popping up on my phone. I tucked it in my desk, so I wouldn’t even see it to get distracted. I would try to finish everything by midnight, after which I would set my alarm and go to bed, so the next day I feel energized and more awake.

On the days when I felt like I hadn’t slept forever. I scheduled myself powernaps. I set my phone timer to 30 mins and use it to sleep or at least clear my mind. That way, when I woke up I could get my homework done faster because I felt less sleepy and more focused than I did before.

I also stopped drinking coffee-- caffeine doesn’t always help to keep you up, especially for long periods of time. Instead, I put my sleep time into my coffee time. Naps work better for your brain and helps students retain more information than coffee does— which can only help when you’re studying for exams.

Though it sounds counterintuitive, having a social life and sleep both factor significantly into reducing stress. Hanging out with my friends again, especially off-campus, helped me destress— we would go to restaurants with delicious food, explore the city and even catch a movie. Not having to think about school, classes and deadlines really helped me relax.

However, when I hang out with my friends, I schedule the time for when I don’t have too many things to do. If I go out when I’m busy, not only will I fall behind on work, I won’t have fun because I’m more worried about the assignments I have to finish, and neither will they. If I plan, we can all have fun and I can have a relaxing day where I don’t feel worried about school— everybody wins.

While it sounds strange, breathing makes up a key part of reducing stress. I learned how to breathe again-- when you get stressed out and have to deal with anxiety, it gets harder to breathe properly. You feel like you’re having a panic attack, or you stop breathing for a second and don’t realize it. When that happens, remind yourself to breathe in and out. Deep-breathing exercises can help melt away the tension stress causes. Breathing deeply helped me focus on my work and cleared my mind, so I didn’t have to rush and everything got done with no mistakes.

Insane stress happens to everyone at some point in college. But you have to remember to take care of yourself. If you don’t, you risk your health and your future at the same time. Learning how to manage your stress will help you concentrate on your work and get things done much faster.

Once I figured out how to handle the stress and anxiety plaguing my life, I started to feel less stressed out. I’m doing well in my classes, and more importantly, I’m taking care of myself. Remembering to sleep, socialize and breathe will help you deal with your stress and feel happier— not only will you have a better college experience, but a better life, too.