--Original published at Site Title

Stress is something that I deal with daily, especially this semester. Most of my stress comes when I think of all the things I need to do in a short amount of time. When this happens I like to make a checklist of all the things I need to do and then cross them off as they get completed. This helps me because it gives me a visual that shows I am actually getting stuff done. Another way I destress is by rewarding myself when I finish an assignment or study for a certain amount of time. The rewards usually consist of a few minutes on my phone or watching an episode of a show on Netflix. This really helps motivate me because I know if I just get my work done I will get something good out of it. My stress mainly comes down to a lack of time management. One way I can help myself not get too stressed in the first place could be working ahead of schedule. Working ahead of schedule and doing a few smaller assignments over the weekend rather than saving it all for the week to follow will allow me to spend more time on the big things that cause me the most stress, such as studying for an exam. Having more time to study for exams and feeling more prepared would definitely lower my stress levels. As cliche as it may sound, another stress relief technique I think I should consider is different breathing exercises and clear my mind. When I’m super stressed I get really overwhelmed and just want to break down, but I think if I just take a breather and let myself regroup I will be more relaxed and focused to get my work done.

--Original published at Manami PSY105blog

There are many causes to receive in college life. Japanese university students and American college students may have a different stress because of the different lifestyle. When I was in Japan, I got stress because of not only school work but also part-time jobs, getting some licenses to prepare for job hunting, club activities, friends’ relations and commuting. I had to wake up at 6am in the morning to go to the university which is about 2 hours away by train and come back home at 10 pm because of a part-time job. Then I did homework after that. I received stress because I was just too busy to complete so many things. My biggest cause which makes me feel stress was getting a bad grade in a class and losing the opportunity to go study abroad. I chose the part-time job which I can enjoy to work to release stress first. I reduce a stressful environment such as working with the mean boss as less as possible. Fortunately, my co-workers were so nice and the working environment was suitable and beneficial for me. Second, I talk to my friends and mom about my concern to release stress. I sometimes make fun of my concern when I talk to not be serious conversations. Speaking out my stress and giving some encouragements are the best way to relax. It would be important to be positive if I can forgive myself when I make a mistake or feel the things not go well. Beside this, I do not forget to be happy by making smile even though I am not happy. I also treat myself to something nice such as eating good food and buying something. It gives me satisfaction and hopes to let me work hard again. It is difficult to deal with stress but if people could find own way to release stress, they would get over it and move on next or continue to focus on their stuff.

#Stress

--Original published at Gracie's Blog

I watched the TED talk “Making Stress Your Friend” where Kelly McGonigal discusses how to change our relationship with stress. She is a health psychologist who told her patients to avoid stress, but after hearing stress is actually healthy, she changed her perception of stress. Studies were done to prove that stress is not always bad. If we decide to use stress as something helpful, there is no effect on our overall health. The first study tracked 30,000 adults for 8 years and there was a higher risk of them dying if they believed stress was bad for them. Another study put people in different scenarios like a speech and taking a math test, which increases stress. The contestants who thought of the stress as helpful, were less anxious and more confident. Their blood vessels stayed normal, like during moments of joy, which decreased the possibility of a heart attack at an early age.

I think that what we believe plays a large role on how our body reacts. We control what we think and do, and our brain is connected to all of our organs and organ systems. I do agree that the way we use stress can help us in the long run. The truth is, especially with college, there will be stress, so why not use stress to the best of our ability. I usually think of placebos when I hear topics like these because it is all in our minds.

In my life, I will think during a stressful situation about how I am going to conquer an obstacle and be with friends during stressful moments. Asking for help and how to go about something stressful may limit my also use stress as a good thing. From the TED talk I also learned that caring creates resilience, and I will find joy in a stressful position.

--Original published at David's Blog

For this weeks blog post I decided to chose option one. This prompt talks about how stress is something every american faces, some worse than others. But some of the most people effected by it are college students. It’s very crucial for college kids to have good stress management, this way they don’t get over worked and can stay calm through out there college career. Looking at my own stress management I feel as hough I do a decent job. Out of most people in my family I am always the most relaxed. Even if I have a lot of assignments due in a short amount of time I still stay cool under the pressure. Things I do to stay calm would be to tell myself everything will be ok. Something else I might do would be vent to my friends about somethings going on in my life. By doing this I get my problems off my mind and my friends will even help me to solve my problems. I’ve learned over the years its not good to keep whats stressing you inside. It;s sometimes better to let it out you defiantly feel better after doing so. So more things I could do to relive my stress would be to schedule my day with all my  assignments and activities. By doing this my days would have more organization and I could tell what is going on in my day. I wouldn’t be surprised by any upcoming assignments and it may even help me stay up to date on my assignments.

--Original published at HuntersCollegeBlog

Any college student can attest to this statement: college is stressful. We’ve all had our fair share of mental breakdowns, wondering when all the stress is going to subside. Establishing a routine to deal with stress is crucial, as it may give us some sort of peace and organization.

Currently, to handle my stress, I make it a point to be organized. I make a list of things I have to do, whether that’d be the list of homework I need to work on, or the chores I have to do. Making lists helps me to physically see what I need to do, and crossing things off the list once they’re completed gives me a sense of satisfaction. It also helps to decrease my stress levels, as I now have one less thing to worry about. As well as having a list, I also plan out when I’m going to do things. I self-discipline, and make it a point to get a certain amount of work done in a day. This way, at the end of the day, I know I’ve accomplished something, and I don’t have to worry as much. Studying can also take up a lot of time, and it can be stressful. That’s why I study a while before the test, that way I’m not cramming at the last minute. Along with stress management for school, it’s also important to take time out for yourself to just relax. When you give yourself the time to relax, you’re able to clear your mind, and reduce the amount of stress and anxiety weighing on you. I like to relax by taking a nap, watching TV, or hanging out with my friends. It’s so important to give yourself some time to destress and relax.

My current stress management strategies seem to work pretty well for me. I’ve definitely noticed a decrease in my stress levels since I’ve been at college, and I’m hoping that these strategies still continue to keep my stress levels down. The lists really help because I’m able to see what I’ve accomplished, and the relaxation is also a huge help in making sure I can keep my stress levels down.

Some other strategies that I could see myself incorporating into my stress management skills could be mediation, because I feel that that would not only help with my constant anxiety, but it would be a way to destress and refocus. Another thing I feel I could do would be setting specific times to do things. For example, I could give myself 4 hours to do homework, without stopping, and then give myself an hour to do whatever I want. That way I know I’ve accomplished things, but I can also give myself time to relax.

College is a stressful time, so give yourself time to relax, and always do what’s best for you!

--Original published at Isabella's Psychology Blog

I’m stressed a lot of the time, so I have some stress management skills I use. I usually get stress when I have to do more things then I have time for. My first skill is preventing stress by trying to stay ahead of my work and plan my workload for the week.
Though plans change, and I get stressed with what seems to be an impossible amount of work to do. So I make schedules and work until the source of the work is gone. To help me with my work I ask for help and put some things to the side. Though I just make sure to keep on working to eliminate the source of the stress. Then sometimes I just have to accept that I can’t get everything done on time. So I have to ask for extensions, do things late, or just not do it and accept the consequences. Eliminating the source of stress does not help me in the short run but in the long run, I have fewer sources of stress and feel better about the work I have done.
Though in the short run I am really stressed and have small stress coping methods. These methods are listening to either music or watch stand up comedy while I am studying. This makes studying less effective but makes me feel less stressed at the moment.
Another thing I do is try to schedule something fun to do each week and use that as something to work towards. When I have a test that I am stressed about I try to reward myself with squeezing in time to work out soon after the test is over. This makes me feel more motivated to work through what is making me stressed.
Other stress management techniques I could use is to make time for relaxing hobbies on a regular basis. Since I feel that they are better at relaxing then randomly scheduled relaxing activities.

--Original published at Sydney’s Side

I have some stress management strategies that I know are counter intuitive and I should not be doing, but there are some good things I do to decrease stress.  When I am extremely stressed I either avoid the problem like the plague or sometimes I face it head on.  When I feel like ignoring the problem, I like to take a nap and then I’ll figure something out when I wake up. I know this is very bad stress management because I wake up feeling more stressed than I did before.

But other times when I am stressed I will figure out exactly what it is. Most times it is one of my more difficult classes that I am falling behind in so I will make myself coffee or tea and just sit down and work on that class. When I am done I feel much better and less stressed because instead of worrying about how I’m not understanding things, I am actively working on it. If I feel overwhelmed and can’t do anything about it I like to just get in my car and drive around. I’ll usually put on the type of music that I associate with my mood at the time and jam out. This works pretty well for me when I do it because I feel refreshed afterward and I took my mind off of what was bothering me.

Some other stress management activities I could incorporate into my routine is exercise. It’s a way to get rid of all my pent up energy and do something productive, and it is easy to just walk to The Body Shop. Additionally, I could color or draw because that is another way to take my mind off of the situation and relax a little bit.

--Original published at Rachel Bickelman's PSY 105 Blog

Stress management is extremely important to everybody as stress can affect one’s health in major ways. I have found exercising, getting enough sleep, talking to friends, and taking breaks to be the best strategies to cope with stress.

Exercising is perhaps the most helpful and has been the most recommended way for me to deal with stress. I think it works really well because exercise helps to maintain your physical health but also allows you to take your mind off of stress and focus on something else. My dad always tells me to work out when I am feeling stressed, even Elle Woods from Legally Blonde knows how helpful exercise is. “Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don’t kill their husbands. They just don’t!” Getting enough sleep is important it as we just learned it repairs both your brain and body! From microglia cleaning up dead cells, to allowing the brain to function properly and also get some rest.  I definitely feel the difference when I get good quality sleep versus bad quality sleep in regards to how stressed I feel.

Talking to friends about stress is also helpful because it allows me to verbalize how i am feeling. I also get advice and help from friends about how to deal with stress. Likewise, taking breaks from school work, or other stressors, also helps me to cope. I like to take breaks by spending time with friends and talking, exercising, watching a TV show, or even just going to dinner. This methods helps me but doesn’t always solve my stress since spending time with friends takes away from academics and studying.

Another way I could help relieve stress is by finding a more productive or efficient way to manage my study time. Most of my stress is derived from school so working on my study habits would probably allow me to feel less stress. I sometimes procrastinate, by not procrastinating I could reduce stress form academics. Another way I could reduce stress is through sensory methods. I have often heard online about aromatherapy/scents and certain foods which supposedly help with stress. Though we can’t light candles in the dorm, I guess I could buy an air freshener or scented toiletries like lotion or perfume.

Finally, I could reduce my stress by partaking in other activities and interests I have. I love to paint and draw as well as play violin. Doing hobbies that make me happy could help to reduce my stress as well and would be easy to incorporate into my day.

--Original published at RachelsCollegeBlog

My current stress level is a little high as I have a lot of work I need to complete out of the classroom as well as study the material for all of my classes. My current stress management strategies are helping me however and allows me to not freak-out about my work load. Some of my strategies right now is making sure I am not procrastinating, keeping an agenda with due dates on hand at all times, and organizing my notes in a way that I am able to retain them to the best of my ability when it comes time to start studying for an exam my notes are organized and I know what I am reading. I am normally a big procrastinator, so I have started to complete my work about two days before it is due so that I am not getting behind and I am able to not have to stress because I didn’t get work done for a class that is due the next day. Getting work done early and not waiting to the last minute has been working really well for me as it is stopping the extra amount of stress that would be added to the assignment that should not have to be there. Keeping an agenda is also working really well for me, as I am able sit down and have everything that is going to be due in front of me, so I am able to prioritize things that need to get completed. This allows me to get my work done as well as complete it to the best of my ability and not just throw words onto papers because I am rushing.

I used to be play sports all through school. There was never a time that I wasn’t on a field or a court and that relieved a lot of my stress. It was a place that I was able to release built up stress and have fun. I could incorporate this into my routine by visiting the gym more, lacing up my cleats and going to kick a ball around may also help as well. I think that just by doing more physical activity I will be able to relieve more stress.