Healthy tips to cope with stress

Stress is a state of worry or mental tension which results from difficult or challenging situations.

During my undergraduate degree, especially in my third year, I experienced stress which made me find it difficult to rise to the challenges of completing a dissertation alongside my other module’s assessments.

Stress is a natural response and we all experience it differently and to varying degrees, in this article, I will share some tips on how I overcame stress to complete all my assignments and graduate from university!

Take care of yourself and your body

By joining a local gym I was able to distract myself and put all of my negative energy and stress into something positive and productive such as exercise.

Eating healthily and ensuring I got plenty of sleep were also ways to destress as this made sure I was well-rested and had the energy to efficiently face my assignments.

Some people enjoy meditation and mindfulness by taking deep breaths and stretching also, I enjoy, as a way of mindfulness, doing pottery painting as I find this relaxing and a way of distracting myself from stress due to the peaceful environment the ‘Little Pottery Studio’ provides.

Make time to unwind

I would also allow time for other activities I enjoyed as it was so easy to be overwhelmed and only focus on my stress and the assignment season.

For me, this was prioritising the simple activities I usually enjoy, such as watching Netflix, relaxing with a facemask or going to the pub with friends!

This time to relax is essential in order to me to be able to rewind at the end of the day or stressful week. It also meant that I could start afresh the next time I wanted to work on my assignments as I was in a less stressful mindset.

Sharing concerns

When I am trying to manage stress, I enjoy talking to others who are also experiencing stress or someone I trust to listen to my concerns.

Sharing my problems makes me feel validated and more confident in rising to the current challenge I am facing.

How could you help others cope with stress?

Taking care of yourself can better equip you to take care of others.

Helping others cope with stress through phone calls or video chats can help you and your friends feel less lonely or isolated.