How to Conquer Stress

Being bogged down by thoughts and emotions takes a toll on your mental health. It seems easier to pretend it isn’t there or to tell people that you’re okay when you’re really not. But in doing this, your mind is left to wander and chances are you will end up making yourself feel worse and often more stressed than before!

One of the many outlets for stress is to let your artistic side flow. You don’t have to be someone with previous experience with an art form, because the point is to do what makes you personally feel better, not create the next portrait to hang in the Louvre.

Find something that sticks out to you, ignore your inner critic, and go for it.

It can be anything from working with your hands (cooking, drawing, sewing) to music (playing a new instrument or even just relaxing and listening) to taking a drive out of the city and taking pictures of your new surroundings.

Whatever it is, be present within yourself, take a breath, and allow yourself to become absorbed into a new hobby.

By: Alex Edmunds

Meditation and Relaxation

With finals week approaching and the stress inevitably coming, try some meditation exercises to relax, think clearer, and reduce anxiety.

This can take as little as 5 minutes or up to 30 minutes if you choose, whatever you feel you need to become relaxed.  

Ways to Prepare:

Find a quiet, calm, and relaxing place. Preferably find a place where electronics are either not there or if they are they are not distracting. Meditation is something you can do anywhere such as school, work, or home.

What can Meditation do for you?

Meditation can reduce stress, fears, and anxiety. Meditation can also deepen sleep, stimulate clearer thinking, and enhance our creativity.

What are the types of Meditation?

There are over 30 different types of meditation that you can do. Some of the most common, easy, and stimulating meditations are; deep breathing, guided relaxation, mindfulness meditation, and yoga. Meditation is able to take us out of the world and our stress for a few minutes and let us just breathe, relax, and be calm.

Where can you find these exercises?

The easiest and cheapest way to find guided relaxation and mindfulness meditation is to search on Youtube for them. Deep breathing can also be googled or you can do the 4 second inhale, 4 second hold, and 4 second exhale. Yoga is either done by also a Youtube video or you can sign up for a class at school or a gym.

By: Lexi Koplin

School and Social Stressors!

Are you finding yourself stressing out about that presentation that you should do for your final? Do you have anxiety about group projects? Is it even worth it to make friends, and should you make time for them? Is being social too much work?

If you have been the one asking these questions, I might have some answers that will hopefully aid you to the point of relaxation, as well as being able to understand the importance of having a social life.

Q: Why do teachers make me do presentations? How can I present in an interesting manner?

A: One reason being is because once you start teaching the material yourself, you come to understand the material better. Another may be because since you are a college student and you think like a college student, teaching to your peers because the though process is the same, perhaps you may be able to answer questions that others may have but are too afraid to ask.

A couple tips to presenting…..

1. Don’t read word for word what you have on a PowerPoint slide. Everyone can read for themselves. Put a couple of key points on each slide, or perhaps a picture related to the topic instead.

2. Use a bigger font. Small words/small font=people will fall asleep. If it too hard to read at first glance, nobody will try hard to read it. Use big font and not too bright or dark of letters.

3. Use more animation in your voice because we have all been in lectures where the professor had the same voice the whole time.. It is hard to pay attention. Move around the room & face the crowd. Movement cause the students to follow where you go, which in turn creates some sort of focus.

Try it!

Being social can relieve stress!

After having your designated study time, take a moment to talk to a family member, go out to dinner, call someone on the phone or facetime. Taking a moment to talk to someone, allows your brain to take a break and engage in something else that it less taxing.

The key is to talk to people who are not stressful people or that cause you anxiety. The saying “surround yourself with people that reflect who you want to be and how you want to feel, because energies are contagious,” could not be more important. A challenge to you would be, figure out who those people are to you.

By: Brittany Parry