Breathe In...Breathe Out: Anti-Stress after the fact

Apologies on my lack of blogging as of late.  I began grad school in July and it’s been quite the whirlwind, causing a pretty high amount of stress- so I decided to write a little ‘how-to’ guide on stress relief.  These may not work for you, but they are things that do the trick when I’m feeling frazzled. 

Okay, number one. 

Go outside. 

Not the “get some fresh air” kind of go outside, although that does help.  I mean go outside to remind yourself that there is an outside.  Other people are doing their own things and dealing with their own problems just like you are.  It is good for the soul to expand your look on life. 

2.  Make lists.  To me, nothing is more satisfying than crossing things off a list, so literally put everything on it.  Wash clothes?  On there.  Change lightbulbs?  On there.  Start five page paper?  Well, of course that’s on there too.  When you can see what’s in front of you, it’s easier for you to conquer the easy stuff first and cross that off then concentrate on big bad assignments. 

3.  Shop.  Not shop ‘til you drop, and not go on a really long shopping spree at a mall in a different city, I mean keep it simple.  Why not walk around Wal-Mart or a grocery store and buy a fruit you haven’t tried before or a new nail polish, new smelling deodorant, your favorite cereal, whatever.  Pledge to not leave the store without buying yourself a little something. 

4.  Online games.  Try Sporcle.com.  That site is a huge database of fun word guessing games that are pretty enjoyable.  You may think, ‘hey why would I want to play a word game when my brain already hurts so much?’  Well here’s why: When you are stressed, your brain is firing in all sorts of directions and you can’t concentrate on one particular thing without worrying about everything else.  Enjoyable word games keep your brain exercising, but you are focused and you are doing something fun like guessing the company logo or matching movies with their poster. 

5.  Watch a funny YouTube video or look up episodes of Saturday Night Live on Hulu.  Laughter automatically lifts stress and makes you love life a little more. 

6.  Write.  If you don’t want a written record of your thoughts, write them down then rip them up.  If you are a journaler, do that.  If you are a creative writer like me, let your pen go crazy.  I write some of my best poetry when I am stressed because that is when I step outside and am inspired by what’s going on around me.

7.  Live in the present. There are mental strategies you can use to help, like stop thinking “what if,” live in the present instead of the past, and try to think positively.  You know best which pep talk strategies you need to give yourself.  

Try to find out what works for you and hopefully I have inspired some of your own ideas!       

Low Stressingly,

Pants

Picture via Google Images