Stress. It is certainly not a human’s favourite condition to be in. We all can get stressed out on big things or even on the simplest of things. But how do we cope with that unsettling feeling? How do we destress? Here are a few tips that I do and that I find helpful when I start to feel overwhelmed.

First, when I’m stressed out I tend to also feel a little down. So to cheer myself up, I have a playlist that I made filled with a bunch of songs that just make me happy! Listening to the playlist while doing home work or after a long day of stress, boosts my mood and just makes me cheerful all over again! Another helpful tip might be to just go ahead and dance while listening to your playlist. When you’re in a good mood, your brain releases endorphins, oxytocin, dopamine and serotonin which are basically what I call hormones of joy. In that moment, I am not worrying about whatever I was worried about, and I’m just enjoying my music and my dance moves!

Another tip I recommend strongly, is to confide in someone you trust.Whether it’s your parent, your friend or even your dog, talking about how you feel could help release your stress. I find that confiding in a close family member or a dear friend never hurts anyone. They often give amazing advices on how to cope with your situation. It is always best to talk about how you feel rather than to bottle it all up, because keeping everything in, might eat you up alive.

Stressing out is not fun at all. But another way to endure it, is to seriously take a break. Take a break from whatever you were working on or thinking of. Take a break to breathe in and breathe out and then proceed to take care of yourself for the next thirty minutes to an hour. Once you go into that calming zone, your stress will decrease and you’ll find yourself refreshed by the end of your break. This tip has helped me a long way. Writing a 12 page essay for your French class can get quite overwhelming. But when I took a break to just forget about it and do something less intense than the essay, I can 100% assure you that it worked. I not only felt more creative once I came back to it, but I completed it with satisfaction and went on with my daily life. May I add that I had an amazing grade on it after? If only my teacher knew…

Overall, stress can get pretty dense. For some people, it’s hard to cope with it, while for others it can get easier to deal it. Nevertheless, another advice is to never let it get to yourself fully. It could ruin you mentally and physically. Remember to take things slow and know that everything will fall into place soon.

 

Madgi Thaim – Medical Administration & Patient Care Coordinator