Stress & Anxiety

 

Hello,

You’ve returned, thanks!

This blog post is to discuss student mental health and my tips on how to alleviate stress and anxiety. Therefore, it is potentially not my most exciting or humorous one yet, but arguably the most important and definitely the most personal. Just a quick disclaimer, I am obviously not a professional, however, these are matters I have extensive and personal experience with and figured my perspective and tips may hopefully be able to help some of you.

Stress and anxiety are very common and impact most people at some point in their lives (to varying degrees), and this is particularly profound in the student population. Last blog post, I touched on the importance of the physical environment when studying, although, the most vital atmosphere to look after, is your headspace. 

In times of academic pressure, it is easy to find yourself in a negative mental environment and these are some recommendations to combat this.

1. Talk – Much easier said than done. Although, trust me, it helps. I can almost guarantee you that people in your life will be going through - or have gone through - something similar, so speak about it, take comfort in the fact that you’re not alone and work through it together. If you don’t feel comfortable discussing it with family/friends, your academic institution will likely have experts who are there specifically for this purpose (I’ve used them and they were so helpful). There is also a list of incredible resources at the bottom of this blog, please check them out if you feel you may benefit from them.
2. Accept the things you can’t change – Many of your worries are out of your control. Accept that and channel your energy into things which you can impact upon. If there are things consuming your mind, write them down (get them on the paper and out of your head). Now take a step back and try to view them objectively. This offers an outside perspective and sometimes even solutions. I like to view my headspace as a projector, many things take up the screen, not all are good, but the same projector remains underneath and will be clear once again. Essentially, you are far bigger and more resilient than your thoughts, problems or anxieties.
3. Breathe – You might want to after that last one. But yeah, that’s all, breathe.
4. Stress Outlets – These are crucial for developing a healthy work/life balance. Invest time and energy into activities which are kind to your mind. Personally, anything from a cup of tea, an episode of Great British Bake Off, a bath or even a walk calm me down. Whatever it is for you, find it and treat yourself to it as much as is necessary. On this note, it’s important to mention that a good sleeping schedule and regular exercise are conducive to reduced stress and anxiety and should be prioritised.
5. Music – This is not for everyone, but music is hands down my number one stress/anxiety reliever. Be careful with the type of music you choose, anything chill/lo-fi/relaxing would be my go-to. This Spotify playlist is perfect for me as I can’t study with music that has lyrics in it and this playlist has minimal/no words and every song is subtle, vibey and mellow (Feel free to share your recommendations in the comments section on this post to help each other out).

 

Affirmation: You’re a unique individual on a unique journey. Do not compare yourself to others.

Thanks for reading!

Look after yourself,

Matthew x

(Resource - @georgiasvoiceuk)