Stress! Okay legit, I am the queen of stress! Ask my mom, my sisters, my dad, my dog, my teammates, my friends, literally everyone knows I stress all the time! And it’s frickin annoying!! I don’t know why I stress or why I stress so much, but it overwhelms me!
My biggest stressor is school, always has been, always will be! I want good grades and nothing but good grades will do! So I mainly stress about tests and what they’re going to be on and if I know the material or not. This past week I was INSANELY stressed out, like it was to a whole other level and I don’t know why or how! I was freaking out about my Econ midterm- it was my overhead stressor above everything else I needed to do, I was always worried about econ! Thankfully that week is over and so is that test!! So, I’m gonna tell you guys some of my tips and tricks on how to relieve my stress!
1) working out! I can’t stress this enough! Working out automatically takes my mind off of everything else going on in my life! I just focus on the music in my ears and the task I’m doing in the moment. Sometimes I don’t have the time to workout with all that I have to do, but lately I’ve been making time to work out so that my body will feel better overall and my mind will be at peace!
2) COFFEE!!!! Okay okay as you all may or may not know I am slightly, lowkey addicted to coffee! Whenever I’m stressed or need to go somewhere to study, I go and get coffee! It motivates me to get my work done because I don’t want to have walked to a coffee shop and purchased a coffee for nothing! I just love coffee!
3) My amazing friends!! So, this one is a little tricky because when I’m really stressed I need to be alone! However, my friends also bring my spirits up and calm me down! It’s a balance, and a hard one to figure out at first! I would have to leave my friends dorm earlier than Cailtin, or just go to dinner because I needed to get my work done, but I always made sure I still made time to see my friends!
4) Eating healthy! Okay, this one isn’t really a stress reliever but it makes me feel better about myself during stressful times! I love to snack, like LOVE to snack! And this semester, as you know, I’ve gone on a health kick! With all the work that I need to do, working out isn’t always at the top of my priority list! So instead of working out and not focusing on what I’m eating, I pay more attention to the food I’m putting into my body so I still feel good even if I don’t work out! That might be a little over the top, but it definitely helps me! I hope these tips and tricks help those who are stressing currently! Trust me, I know it sucks, I’m stressed literally all the time! But it’s so worth it in the end- you got it!!
~Elsa
As I am reading Elsa's blog post, my heart just aches for this season of life she is in with college. I remember those days all too well and it was so stressful, but she really is incorporating these habits into her life and I know it is helping tremendously. The research shows that it is imperative for that generation to really incorporate stress relievers into their lives because they are under so much more stress than we ever were at that age.
As for me, I have few different ways in which I handle stress.
1. Gratitude Journal - this has been so powerful! And you guessed it, research completely backs this up. It is such a small thing, but has a huge impact. I love this gratitude journal and I am already on my second one. I take a few moments in the morning and at night to write in it and it really helps to keep things in perspective.
2. Sleep! 😴 You need more sleep! I recently read that EVERYONE needs between 7-9 hours of sleep and then after that is in individualized - some of us need 7 and others need 9. I prioritize my sleep - this is just as important to me as eating healthy and working out. Ask my kids how I am with little sleep - it's not pretty.
3. Just say NO! This has taken me a long time to do, but I have learned how much I can ACTUALLY handle and I am OK with that! This has helped with my stress immensely.
4. I accept my negative thoughts and then I move on. OK, you know I am a podcast junky and the Happiness Lab is probably one of my all time favorites. In Episode 6: Don't Think Of The White Bear, Dr. Laurie Santos says, "Once a thought is in our heads, we can't suppress it and trying only causes us misery." Makes sense to me.
Here are a couple new things I am trying to incorporate into my routine to keep me sane.
5. CBD! Yep I am jumping on that bandwagon. I have heard too many great things about it and I have been wanting to try it. I just ordered this balance box from Equilibria and if you use code "shalicenoel" you can get 15% off - btw if you don't already follow Shalice, she's awesome!!!!
6. Meditation/Mindfulness - another thing totally backed up by research. And I am finding that it is easier than you think. But like anything you have to be consistent and build up those muscles. I have been trying to do 5 minutes in the morning and at night.
Need more convincing, check out this great article from Psychology Today.
And when all else fails, I just call Jason or a friend and puke all over them. That ALWAYS seems to relieve my stress LOL!
~Jen