5 Ways to de-stress in College

College life is crazy- to do lists are long and sleep is little. There are so many things to be accomplished. What you want to do at war with all you have to do.
Mid semester I find myself at my breaking point. At the end of my rope. As my friends call it, "my done bucket is full" I have to be completely intentional about taking time to undo the damage and stress. There were many times I thought I was going to actually lose it. I was sure if I didn't find a way to de-stress I would be in the psychiatric ward before finals.

In honor of the beginning of the semester- I decided to share my tips for unwinding.






Have a moment
Under stress you will frequently hear me say, "I need a moment." Don't be afraid to have a moment, announced or unannounced. A moment is just how it sounds- I step away for a moment to take a breath. In the height of chaotic or busy situations I get overstimulated. I feel myself getting tense and anxious. It physically feels like there is a thousand pound weight on my shoulders and I want to crawl out of my own skin. I step away, take a breath, say a prayer, sometimes eat chocolate and step back. Meditate on the Word More times than not the more hectic life gets the less time I take for God. When I feel the pressure and responsibilities rise, I take time to refocus my heart. When my heart isn't with God, my head goes crazy. I have an arsenal of bible verses on stress and rest. I'll include this in a later post. I meditate and pray over these verses. Sometimes I just sit and copy the verses and doodle around them, praying as I write. It helps me bring the focus from my stress to God. Reevaluate your priorities Sometimes our lives get all jumbled and we don't know what is up and what is down. We have a while bunch of "I need to do that"s speeding around in our thoughts but have no clue where to start. Make a list of EVERYTHING you've got on your plate- including coffee dates, laundry, homework, EVERYTHING. Then prioritize. Put the things that NEED done at the top of your list then delineate from there. Eliminate anything that isn't necessary. (Hint- time with friends shouldn't be eliminated- that will add to the stress) Clean up When life gets busy my organization suffers- which indirectly adds to the stress. When I feel everything has become overly cluttered I take a moment and reorganize and tidy up my space. It's amazing what a made bed and neat desk can do for the soul. Give yourself Grace
I often create the most stress for myself because I refuse to let something go when I mess it up. Give yourself some grace Forgive yourself for scheduling overbooking yourself, forgetting a meeting, bombing a test. Mistake happen, especially in the business of college. Have a moment, forgive yourself and move on.

Good luck this semester! Remember to take time to unwind and undo the stress. How do you unwind?