How can college students effectively manage stress. What are the best techniques for balancing academic pressures and personal well-being. Which stress-relief methods are most suitable for a busy college lifestyle. How does proper time management contribute to reduced stress levels in college.

The Importance of Rest and Sleep for College Students

Adequate sleep is crucial for college students to maintain their physical and mental well-being. The American Psychological Association emphasizes that quality sleep allows our brains to recharge, facilitates muscle repair, promotes memory consolidation, and strengthens the immune system. Interestingly, 21% of adults report experiencing higher stress levels due to insufficient sleep.

Many college students fall into the trap of pulling all-nighters to prepare for exams, but this habit can lead to sleep deprivation and insomnia. Sleep deprivation can have detrimental effects on cognitive function, academic performance, and mental health. To improve sleep quality, consider the following tips:

• Limit caffeine intake, especially in the evening
• Create a relaxing bedtime routine
• Avoid using electronic devices at least an hour before bed
• Maintain a consistent sleep schedule

Nutrition and Health: Fueling Your Body and Mind

The relationship between stress and eating habits in college is complex. Harvard Medical School research indicates that stress can have a dual effect on appetite: it can either suppress it by releasing corticotropin-releasing hormone or increase it by releasing cortisol. This, combined with the newfound freedom to choose what and when to eat, can lead to unhealthy eating patterns among college students.

To maintain a healthy balance and manage stress effectively, focus on developing good habits:

• Consume a balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins
• Stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water throughout the day
• Limit processed foods and excessive sugar intake
• Practice mindful eating by paying attention to hunger cues and avoiding distractions during meals

The Power of Physical Activity in Stress Reduction

Regular exercise is a powerful tool for managing stress and improving overall health. According to the Mayo Clinic, physical activity not only reduces stress but also decreases fatigue, enhances mental clarity, and boosts cognitive function. During exercise, the brain releases endorphins, which act as natural painkillers and mood elevators.

For college students struggling to incorporate exercise into their busy schedules, consider these strategies:

• Start with short, 15-minute workout sessions and gradually increase duration
• Invite friends to join you for group fitness activities
• Explore different types of exercise to find what you enjoy most
• Take advantage of campus fitness facilities and intramural sports programs

Developing Healthy Stress Outlets and Coping Mechanisms

Having a healthy outlet to turn to during stressful times can significantly impact a student’s ability to manage college-related pressures. Engaging in activities that provide relief and clarity can help students navigate challenging situations more effectively.

Some effective stress outlets for college students include:

• Pursuing creative hobbies like art, music, or writing
• Joining social clubs or student organizations
• Practicing relaxation techniques such as meditation or deep breathing exercises
• Engaging in volunteer work or community service

Building Strong Social Connections in College

Establishing a solid support system is crucial for managing stress in college. Personal connections provide stress-relief hormones that counteract the body’s fight-or-flight response, promoting feelings of safety and calm. The Mayo Clinic highlights that social isolation and loneliness are associated with increased risks of poor mental and cardiovascular health.

To foster meaningful connections during your college years, consider these approaches:

• Actively participate in campus events and activities
• Join study groups or academic clubs related to your field of study
• Engage in conversations with classmates before and after lectures
• Explore off-campus volunteer opportunities to connect with the local community

The Role of Self-Care in Stress Management

Prioritizing self-care is essential for managing stress and maintaining overall well-being in college. Stress can manifest physically through muscle tension, headaches, and weakened immune function. By setting aside time for self-care activities, students can alleviate these symptoms and better cope with academic pressures.

Effective self-care practices for college students include:

• Scheduling regular “me time” for relaxation and rejuvenation
• Practicing mindfulness and meditation techniques
• Indulging in stress-relieving activities like taking a warm bath or getting a massage
• Maintaining a consistent sleep schedule and prioritizing rest

Mastering Time Management for Reduced Stress

Effective time management is a critical skill for college students to reduce stress and improve academic performance. Research shows that approximately 87% of college students believe they would perform better in their classes if they had better time management skills. The transition to college life can make it tempting to prioritize social activities over academic responsibilities, leading to increased stress and anxiety.

To develop strong time management skills, consider implementing these strategies:

• Use a digital or physical planner to track assignments, exams, and deadlines
• Break large projects into smaller, manageable tasks
• Utilize time-blocking techniques to allocate specific periods for study and leisure
• Learn to prioritize tasks based on importance and urgency
• Minimize distractions during study sessions by using apps or browser extensions

The Impact of Time Management on Academic Success

Effective time management not only reduces stress but also contributes to improved academic performance. Students who master time management skills often experience:

• Better grades and overall academic achievement
• Reduced procrastination and last-minute cramming
• Improved work-life balance and reduced feelings of overwhelm
• Increased confidence in their ability to handle academic challenges

Organizational Strategies for College Success

Staying organized is crucial for managing the complex array of responsibilities that college students face. Research indicates that unorganized students typically experience less academic success compared to their organized counterparts. By implementing effective organizational strategies, students can reduce stress, improve time management, and enhance their overall college experience.

Key organizational strategies for college students include:

• Maintaining a clean and tidy living space to promote focus and reduce distractions
• Using digital tools and apps to manage assignments, deadlines, and schedules
• Implementing a consistent file organization system for digital and physical documents
• Creating a dedicated study space that is free from clutter and conducive to concentration

The Benefits of Digital Organization Tools

In today’s digital age, numerous apps and online platforms can help college students stay organized. Some popular options include:

• Trello or Asana for project management and task tracking
• Google Calendar or Apple Calendar for scheduling and time management
• Evernote or OneNote for note-taking and information organization
• Dropbox or Google Drive for cloud storage and file management

Balancing Academic and Social Life in College

Finding a balance between academic responsibilities and social activities is a common challenge for college students. While social interactions are essential for personal growth and stress relief, it’s crucial to maintain focus on academic goals. Striking the right balance can lead to a more fulfilling college experience and reduced stress levels.

Tips for balancing academic and social life include:

• Setting clear priorities and boundaries for study time and social activities
• Learning to say “no” to social invitations when academic deadlines are approaching
• Incorporating study groups or academic clubs into your social circle
• Using social activities as rewards for completing academic tasks

The Importance of Extracurricular Activities

Participating in extracurricular activities can provide numerous benefits for college students, including:

• Opportunities to develop new skills and interests
• Expanded social networks and potential career connections
• Improved time management and organizational skills
• Enhanced resume building for future job or graduate school applications

Utilizing Campus Resources for Stress Management

Many college campuses offer a wide range of resources to help students manage stress and maintain their mental health. Taking advantage of these services can significantly improve a student’s ability to cope with the challenges of college life.

Common campus resources for stress management include:

• Counseling and psychological services
• Wellness centers offering meditation and yoga classes
• Academic advisors for course planning and career guidance
• Tutoring services and writing centers for academic support
• Student health centers for physical and mental health care

The Role of Faculty and Staff in Student Support

Professors, teaching assistants, and other university staff members can be valuable sources of support for students facing stress and academic challenges. Students should consider:

• Attending office hours to discuss course material and seek guidance
• Communicating with professors about personal circumstances that may affect academic performance
• Seeking advice from academic advisors on course selection and long-term planning
• Participating in departmental events to build relationships with faculty and peers

Developing Resilience and Coping Skills for Long-Term Success

Building resilience and effective coping skills is essential for long-term success in college and beyond. Resilience allows students to bounce back from setbacks, adapt to change, and persevere through challenging times. By developing these skills, students can better manage stress and maintain their mental well-being throughout their academic journey.

Strategies for developing resilience and coping skills include:

• Practicing positive self-talk and reframing negative thoughts
• Setting realistic goals and celebrating small achievements
• Developing a growth mindset that views challenges as opportunities for learning
• Building a strong support network of friends, family, and mentors
• Engaging in regular self-reflection and personal growth activities

The Impact of Mindfulness on Stress Management

Incorporating mindfulness practices into daily routines can significantly improve stress management and overall well-being. Mindfulness techniques for college students include:

• Brief meditation sessions between classes or study sessions
• Mindful walking exercises on campus
• Practicing gratitude by keeping a daily journal
• Using mindfulness apps for guided relaxation and stress relief

Financial Stress Management for College Students

Financial concerns are a significant source of stress for many college students. Managing expenses, student loans, and part-time jobs while maintaining academic performance can be challenging. By developing strong financial management skills, students can reduce stress and focus more effectively on their studies.

Tips for managing financial stress in college include:

• Creating and sticking to a monthly budget
• Exploring scholarship and grant opportunities to reduce reliance on loans
• Seeking part-time employment that aligns with academic schedules
• Learning about personal finance through campus workshops or online resources
• Communicating openly with family members about financial concerns and expectations

The Benefits of Financial Literacy

Developing financial literacy skills can have long-lasting benefits for college students, including:

• Reduced stress related to money management
• Improved decision-making regarding student loans and credit
• Better preparation for post-graduation financial responsibilities
• Increased confidence in handling personal finances

Maintaining Physical Health for Optimal Stress Management

Physical health plays a crucial role in managing stress and maintaining overall well-being in college. By prioritizing physical health, students can improve their resilience to stress, enhance cognitive function, and boost energy levels for academic and social activities.

Key aspects of maintaining physical health for college students include:

• Establishing a consistent exercise routine that fits into a busy schedule
• Prioritizing sleep hygiene and aiming for 7-9 hours of quality sleep per night
• Maintaining a balanced diet rich in nutrients and avoiding excessive caffeine or sugar intake
• Staying hydrated by drinking plenty of water throughout the day
• Scheduling regular check-ups with healthcare providers and addressing any health concerns promptly

The Connection Between Physical and Mental Health

Research has shown a strong link between physical health and mental well-being. By focusing on physical health, college students can experience:

• Improved mood and reduced symptoms of anxiety and depression
• Enhanced cognitive function and academic performance
• Increased energy levels and motivation for daily activities
• Better stress management and emotional regulation

Fostering a Positive Mindset for Academic Success

Developing and maintaining a positive mindset is essential for managing stress and achieving academic success in college. A positive outlook can help students navigate challenges more effectively, maintain motivation, and build resilience in the face of setbacks.

Strategies for fostering a positive mindset include:

• Practicing gratitude by regularly acknowledging positive aspects of college life
• Reframing negative experiences as opportunities for growth and learning
• Surrounding yourself with supportive and optimistic peers
• Setting realistic goals and celebrating small achievements along the way
• Engaging in activities that bring joy and fulfillment outside of academic pursuits

The Impact of Positive Psychology on Academic Performance

Research in positive psychology has shown that cultivating a positive mindset can lead to numerous benefits for college students, including:

• Improved academic performance and problem-solving skills
• Enhanced creativity and innovative thinking
• Greater resilience in the face of academic challenges
• Increased overall life satisfaction and well-being

By implementing these strategies and focusing on developing a positive mindset, college students can effectively manage stress, improve their academic performance, and enjoy a more fulfilling college experience. Remember that stress management is an ongoing process, and it’s essential to continually assess and adjust your approach as you progress through your academic journey.

12 Tips to Manage Stress for College Students

1. Get proper rest and sleep

American Psychological Association notes that good sleep allows our brains to recharge, repair our muscles, promote memory consolidation, and boost the immune system. In fact, 21 percent of adults feel higher levels of stress from not getting enough sleep.

Many college students pull all-nighters, studying through the night to prepare for an exam, but this type of habit can lead to sleep deprivation and insomnia. Depriving your body of sleep can lower cognitive function, academic performance, and mental health. If you have trouble sleeping at night, try techniques such as avoiding excess caffeine, turning down the lights, or putting away technology at least one hour before bed.

2. Focus on health and nutrition

When you think of college weight gain, it’s usually associated with the “freshman 15.” However, it’s not necessarily true that you’ll gain 15 pounds in your first year of college. According to Harvard Medical School, stress can both shut down the appetite by releasing a corticotropin-releasing hormone and increase the appetite by releasing cortisol.

When you pair the freedom to choose what and when along with academic stress, college students are more likely to cope by overeating or undereating. Developing good habits like eating a balanced diet, exercising regularly, and getting enough sleep can help manage stress and prevent dramatic weight loss or weight gain.

3. Be active

The Mayo Clinic suggests that regular exercise increases overall health and can reduce stress. Exercise is also effective in reducing fatigue, improving mental clarity, and enhancing cognitive function. After physical activity, the brain produces feel-good neurotransmitters called endorphins that act as natural painkillers. Relaxation techniques such as meditation, acupuncture, massage therapy, and deep breathing can also produce endorphins.

If you’re having trouble getting motivated to be active, try inviting a friend, changing up your routine, or exercising in short-time intervals. Adding just 15 minutes of physical activity to your daily routine can help your physical and mental health.

4. Have a stress outlet

Having a healthy outlet to turn to in times of stress can help calm your mind and clarify how to move forward in a stressful situation. Things like a hobby, social club, physical exercise can all be outlets for relieving stress.

5. Find connections

There are numerous benefits of having a solid support system while in college. Personal connections provide stress-relief hormones that counteract the body’s fight or flight response. Surrounding yourself with people that you trust can also help you feel safe and calm.

The Mayo Clinic says that “social isolation and loneliness are associated with a greater risk of poor mental health and poor cardiovascular health, as well as other health problems.” College is a great time to make new friends. Joining a club or organization, talking to classmates, volunteering, or being on an intramural sports team can help create connections on and off-campus.

6. Practice self-care

Stress causes tension in the body through stiff and sore muscles, headaches, or lowered immune systems. Setting aside time in your busy schedule to prioritize self-care helps reduce tension and stress. Having a spa day, taking a bubble bath, meditating, or taking yourself on a date are just some of the ways you can practice relaxation.

7. Manage time effectively

Ineffective time management can cause significant stress for college students. Approximately 87% of college students said they would perform better in their classes if they had better time management skills. Experiencing college life for the first time can make it tempting to choose social life over schoolwork.

Developing time management strategies helps you stay organized and better prioritize your most important tasks. Writing down your upcoming assignments and exams in a planner or on your phone can help you know what’s next and prioritize your time. When you know you have to study or do an assignment, you can schedule your day accordingly. Effective time management can help improve academic performance and keep you organized, which, in turn, can lower stress and anxiety.

8. Stay organized

It may seem overwhelming to keep track of everything with a schedule crammed full of classes, assignments, extracurricular and social activities. But, not having organizational skills will only add more stress and pressure to your plate. Unorganized students typically have less academic success than organized students.

Before assignments start piling up, it’s crucial to find ways to stay organized. Calendars and planners are valuable organizational tools. Try to keep your living environment and workspace tidy and organized as well to reduce distraction and anxiety.

9. Practice positive thinking

Research has shown that there are numerous benefits to positive thinking when you’re feeling stressed out. Positive thoughts can improve physical well-being and provide a clear mind. When you feel yourself thinking negatively, counteract these thoughts by giving yourself positive encouragement. Positive reinforcement during stressful times can lessen the chance of developing chronic stress.

10. Try mindfulness exercises

College students are busy and constantly distracted, which makes it challenging to be present in the moment. Mindfulness helps to drown out the background noise and increase awareness. Meditation is a great way to practice mindfulness, but you can also incorporate it into daily activities. This will not only improve memory and focus but is also a beneficial way to relieve stress.

11. Start journaling

Journaling can be very therapeutic and lower stress levels. Write down your daily thoughts and feelings or keep a stress journal. This type of self-reflection can help you find a pattern of regular stress in your life and examine how you deal with it. This will help put things into perspective so that you can effectively manage these stressors.

12. Don’t be afraid to reach out for help

Even before you feel like the stress has become too much to handle, reach out for help. Find out what mental health resources your school offers or take the time to talk to a professional. A mental health professional can determine your stress triggers, develop a mental health plan, and strategize healthy ways to cope with stress.

How telehealth can support students who need help managing stress

Focused on improving the health and wellness of students, TimelyMD offers colleges and universities virtual mental health resources and services powered by telehealth. TimelyMD’s total health and well-being solution is an extension of on-campus health services. With 24/7/365 access to providers in all 50 states, TimelyMD helps students manage stress anytime, anywhere.

Contact us to explore TimelyMD’s telehealth programs that deliver high-quality, on-demand mental health care for students.

How to Manage Stress in College Students

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Academic pressures like trying to maintain good grades and study habits can cause a lot of stress in college students. If that’s not enough, there are social and physical pressures such as managing a healthy work/life balance or upholding a certain image to add to the mix. In fact, The American Institute of Stress found that 8 in 10 students experience daily stress.

Despite the endless amount of stress in college students, there are ways to overcome it. A few of these management techniques include incorporating time management, proper sleep, and relaxation.

What is stress?

The most important fact to note about stress is that it’s not all bad. It’s a natural hormonal reaction that intends to set you up to either fight the stressor or flee to safety. Positive stress can help you perform better during your test or help you get to safety in an unsafe situation. That said, work-related stress, mental stress, test stress, and physical stress, when experienced in excess, can wreak havoc on your health.

The Causes of Student Stress

College stress can be caused by a number of different situations independent to the individual. The number one source of anxiety in freshman college students is the adjustment to living away from home. For others, stress is caused by learning to live with roommates, the jump in workload from classes and new social obligations.

Work-related Stress

According to a study done by Citibank 4 out of every 5 college students have to work while in school. The effects of stress go up significantly when the student has to work while simultaneously attending college. Not only do they have to deal with the situations above, but workplace stress is also added to the equation.

How To Relieve Stress and Anxiety

Feeling overwhelmed by your to-do list? Follow these tips for some stress relief techniques.

1. Get organized

Stress management and time management walk hand in hand. The more mindful you are of what you have to do, and when you have time to do it, the more free time you’ll have. This free time is important to ensure that you get proper sleep, spend time with friends, and engage in hobbies that bring you happiness. Prioritize your to-do list and don’t procrastinate big assignments.

2. Find a solid support system

With all the changes that occur throughout your college years, it’s essential that you find a support circle. Many colleges offer student support through free counseling sessions. Other than that, you can get involved in clubs. This is a great way to reduce stress as it minimizes feelings of loneliness, provides a fun outlet and gives you the opportunity to talk about your feelings. Don’t forget you can always call a family member and talk it out!

3. Get enough sleep

Sleep may be one of the most effective ways to naturally reduce stress. It may seem counterproductive to hit the hay when you have a mile long list of assignments. But getting seven hours of sleep a night increases your productivity during your waking hours. It also increases your ability to handle various causes of stress throughout the day.

Beyond the obvious benefits it has on your stress level, getting enough sleep can decrease your risk for serious diseases and mental health conditions like depression and anxiety.

Take a Deep Breath

Although it may seem like you’ll never get ahold of your, stress take a deep breath, follow these tips and you just might! Stress is just as much about how we react to situations as they are from the situations themselves. If you are facing student stress, try getting organized, seeking support and getting enough “z’s”. You’ll be a less stressed, happier version of yourself in no time.

Are you a college student dealing with stress symptoms? Call our office today at (317) 288-9828 for a free consultation to see how our neurofeedback can help!

9 Tips for Managing Stress as a College Student

College is an exciting time full of new opportunities, but with these opportunities comes some stressful times as well. Whether you’re nervous about the show you’re going to perform in, the game you’re going to play in, or the test you’re going to hand in, small amounts of stress and anxiety have become a normal part of college life. According to the American Psychological Association, more than 60% of students reported difficulties handling anxiety and stress. Below are some tips to reduce stress for college students. 

1. Exercise often

Exercising throughout your day can help boost your mood and relieve stress. This is because physical activity produces feel-good chemicals known as endorphins that help reduce the physical symptoms of stress. Performing a physical activity also improves your quality of sleep, which has a big impact on your stress levels. You can invite your friends to the rec center or for a walk around campus to enjoy these benefits with you. It really doesn’t matter what activity you choose to participate in as long as you’re staying healthy. 

2. Limit your caffeine intake

Even though getting ice coffee has become part of your morning routine, it doesn’t exactly improve your college health. Caffeine and stress are linked together. Therefore, monitoring and limiting your caffeine intake is a very important step in lowering your daily stress levels. Some caffeine is okay, and it can even give your mood a lift. If you find yourself consuming coffee, tea, soft drinks, or energy drinks more than a few times a day, try swapping in a glass of water. 

3. Get adequate sleep

Feeling stressed can disrupt the way you sleep. Not sleeping well can increase your stress as a result. You can help improve the quality of your sleep by implementing the two tips above: exercising and avoiding caffeine. However, the quantity of your sleep matters as well. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that teenagers and young adults get at least 7-8 hours of sleep each night. Getting the proper amount of sleep can also improve your mood and help you become more productive throughout the day.

4. Try to eat balanced meals

What you eat can have an effect on your mood. Although the Dairy Queen or McDonalds down the road are very convenient, eating fast food doesn’t help eliminate stress as much as consuming healthy foods can. Oranges, spinach, fish, almonds, and avocados are all foods that can help tame stress. Of course, some of these foods can cost more than a candy bar or cheeseburger. To help curb some of the cost, consider making dinner at home or in your dorm’s kitchen. First, use our tips for saving money when grocery shopping.

5. Set small goals for yourself

When you have a large task, such as a mid-term paper looming over you, you may manage your time poorly. You may work on other assignments and fulfill your social life before even thinking about starting the paper. The easiest way to combat this issue is to set small goals for yourself. By breaking down the big task into bite-sized portions, it becomes much easier to accomplish the task. If your paper is due next Wednesday, you can get the title page and introduction done today. That way, you have a few days to focus on the body, conclusions, and citations. Setting small goals for yourself makes it easy to avoid procrastination and eliminates unnecessary stress. 

6

. Express Your Emotions

How you acknowledge and process your emotions directly affects your stress and anxiety levels. If you keep these feelings bottled up inside over time, it can lead to chronic stress, the feeling of constant pressure and being overwhelmed. You can help avoid these long-term side effects by utilizing a support system. Whether you call a friend to discuss your feelings or write down your thoughts in a journal, getting your emotions outside of your head gives you time to process them and takes a huge weight off your shoulders. 

7. Have a Personal Sanctuary

Whenever you’re feeling overwhelmed, you should take a little bit of time to yourself. Going to a personal sanctuary is a great way to get rid of many types of stress. A personal sanctuary is a safe place to turn to and is unique to you; it allows you to take a deep breath and relax, and it doesn’t have to be far away. Your dorm room or apartment can function as a personal sanctuary. You could light some candles or purchase some decorations for your sanctuary. Although those touches aren’t absolutely necessary, the items help with personalization and forming a connection. Allowing yourself this time and space to be alone and refocus is very beneficial to both your mental and physical health. Try and spend at least 20 minutes relaxing in your sanctuary every day; you’ll be surprised how much energy you have!

8. Ask for help

Most colleges have resources to help you through your stressful times. If you are experiencing academic stress, peers and upperclassmen who have been through the class before are usually willing to tutor you. You also shouldn’t be afraid to ask your professors questions in class or during their office hours if you have any. Chances are that if you’re unsure, another student may have the same question. If you’re experiencing mental, emotional, or any other kind of stress, most colleges have a counseling center that is available to students. Sometimes just talking to another person can relieve some of the headache that stress inflicts. 

9. Schedule some “me” time

Because college has an overabundant amount of opportunities, usually students want to try and participate in them all. Although it is great to put yourself out there and meet new students, you might not be able to physically join every club or sport that you would like to on campus. Even if it just so happened that you could make it to every single meeting, you would most likely be stretching yourself too thin. It’s important to take some time for yourself to relax and recharge in order to perform your very best in school. You will also be more effective if you are picky about the clubs and organizations that you want to be a part of because you’ll have more time and energy to dedicate to a fewer number of clubs.  

After you’ve learned these stress tips for college students, you’ll be ready to conquer your next semester. Although there will be times where you feel overwhelmed and burnt out, remembering these tips will help you recover even faster than before. When you take care of your body and your mind, you will be able to perform better in class and in life. Take advantage of all the exciting events, activities, and people you will meet during your years of higher education, but don’t forget to take some time for yourself, too.

Student Stress | Murray State College

How to Reduce, Prevent, and Cope with Stress

If you’re living with high levels of stress, you’re putting your entire well-being at risk. Stress wreaks havoc on your emotional equilibrium, as well as your physical health. It narrows your ability to think clearly, function effectively, and enjoy life.

The goal of stress management is to bring your mind and body back into balance. By adopting a positive attitude, learning healthier ways to cope, and changing the way you deal with stress, you can reduce its hold on your life.

Here are some videos to help you deal with the stress you might be under:

Tips for Stress

• Accept only your own responsibility in situations.

• Set realistic expectations for yourself.

• Focus on the process rather than the results.

• Focus on successes rather than on failures.

• Develop your own personal definition of success, instead of society’s.

• Be realistic about time expectations and perspectives.

• Remember, life does have troublesome problems. This is normal.

• Recognize that you will be criticized more than praised by parents, partners, and supervisors.

• Create variety: do old things in new ways.

• Make your work/study area more stimulating: redecorate, add music, change colors.

• Leave the office/campus for lunch and errands, if possible.

• Learn to be detached from problems.

• Do paperwork immediately. Don’t procrastinate.

• Ask others for positive feedback.

• Develop a hobby and spend time on it regularly.

• Learn and practice sound money management.

• Don’t bring work home with you.

• Decrease television time.

• Keep physically fit — good diet and adequate exercise.

• Avoid excessive use of alcohol and drugs.

• Spend time in active family activities.

How to Deal with Stress in College

Everyone deals with stress, and college students are no exception. In fact, going to college can present unique stressors that make it vitally important to recognize when your stress level is increasing, what the harmful effects of chronic stress are and techniques you can use to mitigate them. By recognizing the effects of stress and having coping mechanisms at the ready, it is possible to avoid college burnout.

Stress in College Students

In 2018, the American College Health Association’s National College Health Assessment report found that more than 45% of college students surveyed reported feeling more stress than average, and nearly 13% felt “tremendous stress.” (ACHA PDF source).

A study by Brigham and Women’s Hospital researcher Dr. Cindy Liu found high stress rates among more than 67,000 students at more than 100 colleges and universities. Mental health diagnoses and risk of suicidal thoughts were reported by all students, especially those in racial, ethnic and gender minorities, according to the study published in the journal “Depression & Anxiety.”

“Some stressful events cannot be prevented and, in some cases, are completely normal. But for others, a plan should be in place for family, friends and colleges to provide support,” Liu said in a release from Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “Our study highlights an urgent need to help students reduce their experience of overwhelming levels of stress during college.”

Dr. Darleen Dempster, a licensed professional counselor and a faculty member of Southern New Hampshire University’s clinical mental health counseling program, said college students could face unique stressors ranging from difficulties managing their time and balancing relationships to determining a career path.

“College students are just like any other people, except that they have the added concerns of balancing academics on top of regular life,” Dempster said. She said as a college counselor, she would see students who were stressed over academic struggles, but also many high achieving students sacrificing sleep or social connections to succeed in the classroom.

What Can College Stress Lead To?

You feel stress because it is your body’s natural reaction to a threat – or perceived threat. According to the Mayo Clinic, a threat can cause your body to produce a surge of two hormones – cortisol and adrenaline, which increase your heart rate and blood pressure, among other effects. When the threat is over, those hormones return to normal levels. But what if you are always feeling those stressors? 

“The long-term activation of the stress-response system and the overexposure to cortisol and other stress hormones that follows can disrupt almost all your body’s processes,” according to the Mayo Clinic.

If the stress you are feeling is from worry about failing to achieve academically, for instance, your body’s hormonal response to a perceived threat is ineffective. “The problem in most situations for college students is that what they are perceiving as dangerous … is not actually a threat to them,” Dempster said. “It has been shown that operating with the body and mind on high alert over a long period of time is draining.”

There are dozens of ways stress can negatively impact your mental and physical health, as well as your behavior. Some of those symptoms include:

• Physical symptoms including headache, muscle pain, fatigue, and stomach and sleep problems.
• Mood symptoms including anxiety, irritability or anger, depression, lack of motivation and feeling overwhelmed.
• Behavioral symptoms including over- or under-eating, drug or alcohol abuse, social isolation and angry outbursts.

A complicating factor is the negative coping mechanisms some people turn to when stressed, Dempster said, including substance abuse, eating disorders and other addictive behaviors that further impact health.

How to Deal with College Stress

Experiencing the beginnings of college burnout doesn’t mean that you won’t be successful in your studies. The key to managing college stress as a student is similar to anyone else. There are specific steps you can take to be less stressed and feel better.

The National Institute of Mental Health recommends 5 initial strategies:

• Listen to Your Body – Be aware when you are showing signs of being stressed, such as difficulty sleeping, increased agitation or feeling depressed.
• Get Moving – Exercise can improve your mood and overall health and serve as an outlet for the stress you are feeling.
• Slow Down – Find a relaxing activity you enjoy, whether it’s meditation, mindful breathing exercises or a work-sponsored wellness program.
• Prioritize – If you’re feeling overwhelmed, determine what you must accomplish now and what has to wait. At the end of the day, try to emphasize tasks you have checked off your to-do list rather than what is left to do.
• Lean on Your Friends – Staying socially connected, especially with friends and family who are your support system, can help reduce stress. Getting involved in extracurricular activities can help you meet people and learn new things about what might be an unfamiliar environment. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.

Juggling all of the things that life throws at you, in addition to your coursework, means that time management strategies become critical in college. Dempster said it’s important to maintain a balance.

Going to college doesn’t mean all the things you used to do to be a healthy, balanced person become any less important. “A healthy balance throughout school requires adequate sleep, rest, exercise and nutrition,” she said. “Social connection is also important, both to provide support and also for healthy emotional development and a sense of fun. Life is not all work, after all.”

More Resources

Even armed with all of the ways you can try to control your stress, there may be times that it is overwhelming. Thankfully there are many people and organizations you can reach out to for help.

A first step for students, Dempster said, is to reach out to family or friends about troublesome issues. You can also turn to a faculty member or any support services your school offers. “As a college counselor, I would often tell students to take advantage of those services that their tuition dollars are paying for,” Dempster said.

It’s possible that talking to a doctor or counselor will be able to help you develop coping techniques that reduce the stress you are under. The National Institute of Mental Health also has a comprehensive set of resources from emergency chat and text hotlines to advice on finding a healthcare provider.

Positivity, Dempster said, can be essential.

“One thing that I would often share with students who were working hard to manage stress or other mental health concerns is to look at the treatment of these issues as a step-by-step process,” she said. “Even if the only change that a person can make is small and incremental, that person is moving in the right direction. With this, over time, many small changes add up. This could eventually lead to a happier, healthier and more well-balanced life.”

Joe Cote is a staff writer at Southern New Hampshire University. Follow him on Twitter @JoeCo2323.

3 Steps to Manage Stress

When I meet with students for academic coaching, they often tell me about areas of life where they are attempting to achieve in new environments. Students experience stress because they’re doing lots of things they’ve never done before. Each semester they’re in new classes with new professors. They’re meeting new peers all the time, even beyond the first semester. For some students, it can also feel like the stakes get higher throughout the college experience—academically, interpersonally, or vocationally. The same contexts can feel new as students encounter new challenges.

Students experience stress when they perceive a situation as high-stakes in nature and when they focus on not knowing the outcome more than how they will proceed.

Students’ stress can be prompted by positive or negative events. Positive-event stress, like performance anxiety, occurs as a result of exciting opportunities, like getting to travel for a team tournament, being selected for a peer leadership role, or getting a spot in a selective academic program. Negative-event stress, like missing a deadline or a misstep in a social interaction, is inevitable. The college experience is a microcosm of life, and mistakes will happen even when students are mindfully engaged.

The good news is: students are better equipped to achieve under pressure and to reduce the likelihood of missteps and mistakes when they know how to manage stress. When students mindfully manage the high-stakes situations they encounter as they advance and the positive- and negative-event stressors that naturally arise in the college years, they’re more likely to thrive and make the most of the college experience.

Here is a three-step approach you can keep in mind when your student encounters stress.

1. Deconstruct the stress.

When I talk with students in coaching meetings, we start by deconstructing their stress. What are the root causes of the overwhelm? When did the overwhelm begin? What precisely is most triggering and why? Ask why five times to confirm the micro-problems that can be addressed, like getting clarity on an assignment or rethinking a narrow view of success for the semester.

When students can identify precisely what is most stressful, they’re ready to use their agency and do something about it. Even taking a small action can build self-efficacy and create momentum.

2. Be creative.

When their stress is deconstructed, students are better able to be creative. Creativity is necessary for solving the micro-problems they identified above.

Students solve micro-problems every day: Do I use this free hour to study for my midterm or to work on the paper due the same day? Do I prioritize friends tonight or choose to sleep because I have work in the morning? Should I join this student organization or the other, or both? There are a million choices students make each day that shape their lives and success in college. They may or may not feel like they’re solving problems and being creative. Yet when they approach any of these scenarios with energy and curiosity, they are doing precisely that. They are using the elements at hand to create a way forward.

In deconstructing the stress and tapping into creativity, students allow their brains to settle, rather than panic, and are thus better positioned to learn, contribute, and perform.

3. Cultivate mindfulness.

In her recent book, Real Change, Sharon Salzberg describes her use of “mindfulness” and “lovingkindness” to manage the typical responses to stress: fight, flight, or freeze. Salzberg writes:

“We practice [mindfulness and loving kindness] in order to cultivate a sense of agency, to understand that a range of responses is open to us. We practice to remember to breathe, to have the space in the midst of adversity to recall our values, what we really care about—and to find support in our inner strength, and in one another” (p. 10).

As students move through a stressful situation, they can cultivate mindfulness through reflection or meditation which leaves them better equipped to encounter future challenges. When they engage in this continual development, they are not only better equipped to succeed in college, but also in their lives beyond.

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5 Tips for Managing Stress in College

Regardless of how many credit hours you’re taking in a semester, managing stress in college is never easy. Not only is there stress that comes with handling your course workload, but there’s social stress, emotional stress, and other forms of personal stress that can weigh you down over time.

While it may be impossible to completely eliminate the things that are stressing you out, there are effective ways to help you better manage and overcome feelings of stress while in college. Much of these practices are rooted to cultivating resilience. It’s a defining characteristic of many of the world’s most successful people. But becoming a resilient individual is not an overnight transformation. It takes discipline and practice. However, in applying some of these tips to your day-to-day routine, you’ll notice profound changes in your ability to manage college stress, and rather immediately.  

1. Hone Your Planning & Organizational Skills

A common characteristic across most successful college students is the ability to effectively stay organized with assignments, projects, and exams. Diligent planning and organizing will pay dividends in managing stress while avoiding feelings of being overwhelmed. Procrastinating to study until the last minute, or failing to submit an assignment on time, can create stress that could otherwise be avoided. This kind of stress can have residual effect, as later in the semester these mistakes can leave students scrambling to make up lost ground.

One the most traditional tools for planning and organization is to use an actual planner or calendar system. This can be a tangible planner book that you pencil in all of your assignments and due dates. A digital alternative is use the suite of Google apps online, specifically Calendar. The nice thing about Google Calendar is that you can set reminders and notifications to let you know when is something is due. For instance if you know you have a big test in few weeks, you set a notification to email you when you’re 5  days out from test day.

2. Optimize Your Sleep & Nutrition

If you’re not getting adequate hours of quality sleep, then your performance will suffer in all aspects of your life. Likewise, if you’re diet is poor or your nutrition is off, both your mental and physical performance suffers.

College students in particular need to be mindful of their diet. It’s all too convenient to opt for something quick and easy at the expense of nutrition. Overtime, a poor diet can lead to diminished cognitive functioning, weight gain, and poor dietary habits. Additionally, vitamin and nutrient deficiencies can wreak-havoc on the body, causing a lot of physical and mental stress. Conversely, students who are conscious about eating healthy are likely to perform better in many aspects of their lives. They’re often sharper mentally, physically more active, and better organized with their lives as a whole.  

Next to diet and nutrition is sleep. Sleep is one of the most important variables that influences a number of systems impacting how we operate. However the relationship between stress and sleep is that the former (stress) has a massive impact on how well we sleep. According to research distilled by the American Psychological Association, “More than one-third of teens (35 percent) report that stress caused them to lie awake at night in the past month. ” This information, which can be found here, highlights a number of compelling points about the relationship between stress and sleep, thereby reinforcing the need for college students to minimize and manage stress.

3. Routinely Exercise & Embrace Physical Activity

Physical activity has been considered vital for maintaining optimal mental health, and as result, its been shown to reduce stress. Studies show that exercise is very effective at improving alertness and concentration, reducing fatigue, and enhancing overall cognitive function. Conventional wisdom holds that exercising at a low to moderate intensity makes you feel energized and healthy. Whether it’s riding a bike or going for an easy jog, this can be especially helpful when stress has depleted your energy or ability to concentrate.

According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) “Scientists have found that regular participation in aerobic exercise has been shown to decrease overall levels of tension, elevate and stabilize mood, improve sleep, and improve self-esteem. Even five minutes of aerobic exercise can stimulate anti-anxiety effects.”

When stress begins to affect the brain, with its numerous nerve connections, the body itself can feel the impact. In turn, it stands to reason that if your body feels optimal, so does your mind. Exercise produces endorphins (which are feel good hormones in the brain that act as natural painkillers) which reduce stress and can also improve one’s ability to sleep.

Interestingly parallel to some of the previous tips, meditation, acupuncture, massage therapy, and even deep breathing can enable your body to produce endorphins. So there’s strong overlapping evidence that supports exercise (as well as mindfulness and cold exposure) as effective means to mitigate stress. For college students, these tools can be strong weapons in your arsenal to becoming a more resilient and stress-free individual.

4. Practice Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a natural quality that we all possess. While it may seem like some heightened-state of awareness that requires hours of meditation to achieve, mindfulness is available to us in every moment, if we take the time to appreciate it. Best defined by Mindful.org, “(Mindfulness is) becoming more aware of where you are and what you’re doing, without becoming overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around you.”

When we practice mindfulness, we’re practicing the art of creating space for ourselves—space to think, space to breathe, space between ourselves and our reactions. In turn, we can better manage how stress affects us throughout the day. Big projects, unexpected assignments, social drama—things that typically induce feelings of being overwhelming are embraced with less reaction.

So how does one practice mindfulness? There are a number of overlapping techniques, but most practices center on returning your attention again and again to the present moment, which is rooted to your breath. Our minds are wired to get carried away in thought. Mindfulness is the practice of returning, again and again, to the breath. Yes, meditation or sitting quietly and drawing your attention to your breath is one common way to practice mindfulness. But our breath-focused attention can also be practiced while running, exercising, doing Yoga, or other forms of movement. Ultimately, it comes down to being more conscious of your breath throughout the day, especially when faced with stressful moments that might feel overwhelming.

5. Take a Cold Shower

This last tip might seem like crazy and painful, but if you’re feeling stressed out, taking a cold shower one the quickest ways to enhance your state of being. The primitive challenge of exposing oneself to cold has been shown to provide a number of incredible benefits, beyond stress-relief. From aiding in fat loss and sleep quality to strengthening the nervous system and immunity, there has been a wealth of scientific research supporting the many benefits of cold exposure. In turn, it’s become a more mainstream and widely known practice, as some of the world’s top performing athletes and entrepreneurs swear by cold exposure.

In terms of stress, exposing yourself to a brisk cold shower is a form of stress in itself. But it’s a natural form of stress that instantly shocks the system into a conscious state of deep breathing and mindfulness. According to Joseph Cohen, who has compiled a number of research studies supporting the benefits of cold exposure, “Nobody wants to get in a cold shower. Getting under freezing cold water every morning trains your brain to do things it doesn’t want to do if the rewards are big enough. This attitude then translates to other areas of your life.”

Not only is taking a cold shower one of the most effective means to cultivate resilience and conquer stress, but it’s also one of the most effective (and natural) antidepressants. According to an abstract on PubMed.gov supporting the hypothesis of using cold exposure for depression “Exposure to cold is known to activate the sympathetic nervous system and increase the blood level of beta-endorphin and noradrenaline and to increase synaptic release of noradrenaline in the brain.”  

Norepinephrine is an adrenal hormone that enables individuals to feel more “up” naturally, and the increased production of beta-endorphins (or “feel good” molecules) can give a sense of well-being. Overall, taking a cold shower, even for just a few seconds, is worth trying.

At the end of the day, effectively managing stress is all about how well you prepare and react to things in life. There’s no avoiding the stress that comes with a big exam. But we can control how we react to it and plan for it. These five tips will enable you win the long-game in managing college stress, all while giving you a few effective techniques to help win the day.

About NSHSS

Since 2002, NSHSS has supported young academics on their journey to college and beyond as they prepare to become the leaders of tomorrow. The mission behind NSHSS is to recognize academic excellence and honor high-achieving students, providing them with the resources and network to excel in college, career and community. In doing so, NSHSS connects members with global events, scholarships, college fairs, internships, career and leadership programs, partner discounts, and more. Discover what makes NSHSS worth it to student members and how you can get involved. 

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KGB POU “Ussuri agro-industrial college”

Defending a thesis is a critical step towards completing college and becoming a professional. This is a very crucial moment. Such moments in life are always associated with excitement, experience and stress. And the closer the day of the defense of the thesis, the more difficult it becomes to control oneself.

I offer a number of recommendations that will help you in this crucial period

First of all, it is worth understanding: experiencing stress is normal . Stress is an evolutionary reaction of the human body to changes in the external environment. This is one of the survival mechanisms. In light of this, our task is not to get rid of stress, but the ability to manage it . It is important to understand that the manifestations of stress are individual. Therefore, everyone deals with it in their own way. There is no magic cure for academic stress, but there are ways to help you get through it more easily.

You already have a life experience of experiencing various stresses.This means that you have proven ways to manage it. Check them out. Which of these can help you? Think back to times when you were able to cope with stressful situations. How did you feel about it? Relive them here and now. This will give you confidence. Use the successes of the past to support yourself in the present.

Knowledge of another important pattern of the psyche, which determines our success or failure in activities, will help to cope with stress. And this pattern is an attitude. In psychology, an attitude is understood as the unconscious readiness of a person to think, feel, and act in a certain way. Therefore, you do not need to program yourself with thoughts like: “What a horror it will be if I don’t give up”, “Parents will be very disappointed”, “I am so badly prepared that it will definitely not work out”. Instead of these phrases, start to set yourself goals for success . You need to say to yourself more often: “I am making every effort to achieve a result (specify which one), everything will definitely work out!”And remember: you need to praise yourself even for small successes on the way to achieving your goal.

Attitude also manifests itself in how you generally perceive the situation of defending your thesis. If this situation in your mind reads as horror, nightmare, disaster, torture, then what result will you get? Indeed, in this case, your psyche works to protect yourself, and not your thesis))). Therefore, it is important to perceive this situation constructively , in a positive way .For example, as a reason for self-development: the development of their educational skills, volitional qualities, skills of self-presentation, self-regulation, communication skills. Emphasize what you get, not lose, in this situation.

Emotions are also an important regulator of human condition and behavior. And now they overwhelm you. Don’t hold back your emotions, learn to express them ! People tend to worry, so you shouldn’t be isolated and think that no one will understand you.They will definitely understand and support. Do not hesitate to seem emotional, tell your loved ones why you are worried, what exactly scares you in the situation of defending your thesis. Pronouncing your emotions leads to their awareness and acceptance, which means an increase in control over them.

In order not to create a swirl of negative emotions in yourself, do not listen to the scary student stories that “three years ago,“ two graduates of honor were “falling asleep on defense”. Don’t listen to alarmists, don’t talk too much about your fears, don’t feed on unnecessary excitement.Better than , voice and discuss the positive expectations of from the defense of the thesis, focus on the strengths of the written work and your report. Form a positive image of the situation and yourself in it.

Confidence in defending your thesis will be added to you by preparation for this moment. At least a week before the defense, start several times a day to visualize your successful performance .Replay everything in your mind, down to the smallest detail – your posture, gestures, confident tone, the committee’s benevolent glances. The more detailed your ideas about protection, the less panic there will be on that crucial day. The most important moment – in the process of “virtual speech” physically feel how you are calming down with every minute, with every word of public speech. As you read the contents of your talk aloud, correct any phrases and sentences that may cause confusion, slow down the pace, or lead to a slip of the tongue.It is better to remove them right away than to constantly keep in mind the reminder that “here we must not forget, correctly say …”. An important point: pay attention not only to the content of the speech, but also to the intonation, it should be calm and confident, contain all the necessary pauses.

On the day of the defense of your thesis, try to refrain from the convulsive repetition of the content of your speech. Make time for morning rituals and a restful breakfast. To restore the resource state and cope with stress (on the eve or in the morning on the day of protection), you can do the exercise “Safe place”.To complete it, you will need a sheet of paper, colored pencils, or paints. Choose a quiet place and immerse yourself in the exercise.

Instructions for the exercise:

1. Think of different places, real and imaginary, in which you could feel comfortable and safe. If you can’t remember any of these places, don’t worry. Try to imagine it in your imagination now, come up with it. This should be a place where you are drawn like a magnet)
2. Pick one of these locations and imagine it as vividly as possible.It can be both real and imaginary, and also combine the signs of both. You can fill this place with whatever details you want to make it as attractive as possible to yourself.
3. Try to vividly imagine those objects and sensory characteristics that are especially important for creating a sense of safety and comfort. These can be colors, music, bodily sensations, smells, sounds, personal items, etc.
4. Draw the safe place that you presented. You can do this in different ways, for example, depict the view of this place from above, from the side, in the form of a diagram or a more detailed realistic drawing, etc.
5. You can pay extra attention to those details that make you feel safe and in control of the situation, for example: is the front door closed, what kind of view opens outside the window, what and who surrounds you, etc. d.
6. Imagine that you are transported to the pictured location, and try to see what is to the left and right, in front and behind you, above you and below you. In this case, you can, if you wish, create several additional sketches.
7. Feel this place. Feel how it supports you. Feel the anxiety, fear, tension evaporate. Breathe in deeply. Energize, feel comfortable and safe.Enjoy this state. Remember this state.

If you imagined a safe place, then after thanking it, open your eyes and return to reality. Don’t rush yourself. Live this special state of lightness. Having recharged with energy, we return to real life.

If necessary, you can always return to this place (in your thoughts or through its image) and feel calm, safe and happy.

Note : You can exercise by visualizing the location in detail with your eyes closed and absorbing the sense of calmness you feel there. If you’ve drawn a drawing, you can hang it on the wall or even frame it and place it on the table so that you can contemplate it whenever you want.

Before the start of the performance, restore your breathing: take a few deep breaths and exhalations (your brain needs to be saturated with oxygen), rub your palms intensively or massage them to raise the general energy.When speaking, focus not on your feelings, but on the content of the speech. And do not be afraid of the members of the commission. They, like you, are interested in making sure that everything works out for you .

So, stress is natural and occurs so that we can adapt to the situation. It is important not to allow its maximum development.
The main goal is to ensure that the situation does not control you,
and you controlled the situation .

Good luck on the defense of your thesis! Believe in yourself!

Teacher – college psychologist
Bazaley Irina Sergeevna

How to cope with stress after the first months of university studies? – Ucheba.

ru

Our experts:

Alexander Matyash

consultant psychologist, psychotherapist

Lyudmila Zakhirina

consultant psychologist, clinical psychologist, supervisor

Learn to write off

Remember the cartoon about a kitten named Woof? In a thunderstorm, the kitten suggested to the puppy: “Let’s be afraid together!” The same confused freshmen are around you.Why not team up with them to discuss the new environment, search together for the right study and library? Something you managed to write down at the lecture, some – no. So ask your neighbor for a notebook, take a look – perhaps there is something that you missed. Join forces, preparing for seminars, share information – together it is easier to enter a new rhythm of study. Working with computer information is all the same working with information. Its number will increase, but the principles of its work will remain the same – it will need to be selected and analyzed. As for portals for additional class and extracurricular activities, such sites already exist. In the near future it will be possible to use them in the educational process.

Alexander Matyash: The sooner students learn to cooperate, they see in their neighbors students not competitors and rivals, but friends, the easier the adaptation will be. The same applies to teachers – you should not look at them as the gods sitting on the high Olympus. The teacher is also a person, and more often than not he is not in the mood for hostilities against newly minted students.

Don’t learn everything

There is no need to try to grasp everything at once – this is impossible. Find in the library all the books that the teachers advised, urgently enroll in a sports club, ask for KVN and a student newspaper – all this is a matter of priorities. And the more correctly you initially define your goals, the easier it will be for you to focus on the important.

Lyudmila Zakhirina: It is very good when a person understands why he entered the university, what is important for him in learning, what he wants to come to, what kind of environment surrounds him, what kind of relationship system.That is, so that his participation in this process is conscious. This will allow him to more easily navigate in the “coordinate system” and figure out what’s what in this new situation. Then the stressfulness of the situation will decrease.

You won’t be able to learn tomorrow

“From session to session, students live happily” – you will still have time to put this saying into practice, if you want. But not now. Now it is very important for you to gradually master the material, otherwise you risk not mastering the entire volume.

Alexander Matyash: The habit that a task is given in the volume of one school lesson is not beneficial at the university, since the amount of information increases many times over, and the volume of tasks for seminars and lectures increases accordingly. Consistent preparation and consistency of effort can make life amazingly easier and keep you from crashing in your first semester. Do not postpone all tasks until the last moment – do a little, but every day.

Extreme as the norm

You are now not in a temporary extreme situation, as is the case with exams.Now you are gradually moving to a new rhythm of life. Move yourself into this new world carefully, like a child across the road. And don’t forget to give yourself time for rest, relaxation, entertainment. Freshman stress is natural. It occurs in most new students. You will get comfortable in a new environment, make new friends, get used to assimilating large amounts of information, and this state will pass.

Alexander Matyash: Stress in the first months of school is also associated with the feeling that everything that was developed at school disappeared without a trace.New items that you know nothing about and you start to feel like a fool and a failure. But it is worth realizing that this is an objectively difficult period.

Lyudmila Zakhirina: All these are recommendations to reduce the stressfulness of the situation, but it is hardly possible to completely avoid it – these are new conditions to which one must adapt psychologically and, perhaps, to some extent physiologically, and this is always stress, even if small , and tension. Therefore, first of all, do not be afraid of this tension and panic – this can cause new stress.The creation of some orderliness and structure in life, the presence of “islands” of rest and support of loved ones will allow you to survive the adaptation period with less losses.

90,000 How a student can cope with stress | Study | DW

Stress is a familiar condition to every student. According to a recent study by the German Society for the Promotion of University Students (Deutsches Studentenwerk), today’s student is under great strain.

Bologna process made students nervous

Students complain about lack of time with the transition to the new system

Due to the transition to the “bachelor-master” system, students in German universities increasingly seek psychological help. In 2008, there was an increase in such cases by 20 per cent compared to the previous period.

As representatives of the student organization note, the most common problems young people come with include disruption of the work rhythm, disruption in the educational process, problems with academic performance and self-organization, lack of time, depression, fear of exams … The list could be proceed. With a strong workload and the first symptoms of stress, you can resort to Pareto’s law.

You give 20, you get 80

How to avoid stress? One way is to manage your time correctly. This is where the Pareto law, better known as “80/20”, comes to the rescue of the student. According to this combination, by managing your time rationally, only 20 percent of the effort spent gives 80 percent of the desired result. But the remaining 80 percent of the energy will then go to “polishing”. This law was developed in 1897 by the Italian economist and sociologist Vilfredo Pareto.

The main thing is to prioritize

Priorities are needed

Many people make the same mistake – they start their working day with minor matters, exchanging little things. Experts advise, first of all, to pay attention to those tasks that are of paramount importance for the final result. The basic rule is: “You need to correctly prioritize.” The word “priority” itself contains the Latin prefix “prio” , which means “before.”Every day you decide what you need to do first in order to achieve your goal. If a session is approaching, and the mood spoils from fear of exams, then it’s time to ask yourself what tasks you should devote more time to, what needs to be completed today, and what things can wait until tomorrow.

The key to success is the ability to refuse

Combining study with work, many students have to experience additional stress in the office. According to Pareto’s law, not every task requires one hundred percent return. If a colleague at work and a classmate still strive to give you a couple of more tasks, you need to learn how to refuse. Experts see another way out of this situation in the delegation of powers. Some people manage to delegate part of the work to colleagues.

In short, to avoid stress and not feel cornered, you need to plan your time correctly. And Pareto’s Law will help you focus on the essentials and save energy.

Author: Anna Kutyavina
Editor: Marina Borisova

How to deal with stress – NOVOSIBIRSK RIVER COLLEGE

Stress is a stressful state of the body, i.e.that is, the non-specific response of the organism to the demand presented to it (stressful situation). Under the influence of stress, the human body experiences stressful tension.

Learn to look at life in a new way . Dealing with stress begins with internalizing the idea that you alone are responsible for your emotional and physical well-being. You no longer have to let other people determine whether you are happy or not. It is not in your power to influence someone’s behavior other than your own, and your emotional well-being is too precious to you to trust outsiders.

Be optimistic. This is absolutely essential for successful stress management. Remember that the source of stress is not the events themselves, but our perception of those events. The following simple technique is very useful for this: as soon as you catch yourself on a gloomy thought, switch to something good. Eventually, you will automatically begin to see life in lighter colors.

Exercise regularly. This is an excellent way to relieve stress.Exercise has a positive effect not only on the physical condition, but also on the psyche. Even three 20-minute aerobics sessions per week can greatly reduce stress. Daily stretching exercises provide relaxation, increase flexibility, and improve posture. Try to stay active and in good physical shape.

Strive for intelligent organization. Disorder, sloppiness, clutter and procrastination may seem very relaxing, but they are actually stressful.Set yourself near, intermediate, and long-term goals. Each morning, make a list of things you want or need to do on that day. Classify them according to their importance into groups (A, B, C …). Take care of the most urgent matters first. Be realistic: don’t expect too much of yourself. Maybe you don’t need to do any of the things that have been planned.

Learn to say NO. Some people take on too much in life. This threatens not only with severe stress, but also with the fact that you will either do some important things badly or not do them at all.Understand your limits and be firm. If you don’t have time for something, or you just don’t want to do it, don’t do it. Learn to say no firmly. For example, try this option: “I am flattered that you ask me to do this, but, unfortunately, I am too busy. ”

Learn to enjoy life. We are constantly striving to achieve some goals. It seems that only after achieving something, we will be happy. Meanwhile, you can enjoy every day of your life.Some go to college just to get a degree, but studying is also a pleasure. Someone goes to the service only because of the salary, but after all, it is so interesting to work! Happiness is rarely achieved when viewed as a goal. Usually the feeling of happiness is a by-product of our activity. Concentrate your attention and feelings on what you are doing, enjoy the work itself, how well you do it, and not because of what it will give you in the future.

Don’t be a maximalist. People who set impossible goals for themselves are never happy. Learn to be tolerant and indulgent towards yourself and others. Intolerance of one’s own shortcomings inevitably leads to stress. Intolerance towards others makes you irritable, worsens relationships with others, and therefore also causes stress.

Don’t concentrate on yourself . There are many things to do and people worthy of your attention and care. Learn to see yourself through the eyes of others.Help someone who needs your help. This will lift you up in your own eyes, and your problems will not seem so insoluble.

Don’t dig into your past. Each of us can remember actions that should not have been done. But it is unwise to regret what we have done and what we have not done. Our past is our experience, and we need to use it in order not to repeat the same mistakes. Immersion in the past deprives a person of joy in the present.

Eat right .Our food and the way we consume it greatly affect our emotions and our ability to cope with the pressures of life. Try to eat rationally for two weeks and assess how you are feeling.

What about the widely advertised vitamin anti-stress pills? If your physiology is normal and you watch your diet, you don’t need them. After all, there is no direct evidence in favor of the fact that very large doses of vitamins really help fight stress, and their toxicity has been proven.

Get enough sleep . Sleep plays a very important role in coping with stress and maintaining health. People have different needs for sleep, but for most of us, it is enough when it lasts seven to eight hours a day. Some people do not get enough sleep simply because of their disorganization, but it happens that sleep is disturbed as a result of stress. It is very easy to find yourself in a vicious circle where stress provokes insomnia and insomnia further increases stress.

Physical exercise. We recommend walking, jogging, cycling, dancing, swimming or playing tennis.

Deep breathing . Concentration on the breathing process makes you forget for a while about the source of stress, which makes it possible to look at the unpleasant situation from the outside.

Get into a comfortable position. Close your eyes. If you are sitting, keep your back straight so that you can breathe freely. Inhale slowly and deeply through your nose.Breathe in with your chest and diaphragm at the same time (your stomach should protrude, not retract). Exhale slowly and completely through your mouth. While breathing: Count slowly to 6 or 8 during inhalation and to 8 or 12 during exhalation (exhalation lasts longer).

Relaxation.

a) sit comfortably or lie down, close your eyes. Concentrate on relaxing every part of your body, from the tips of your toes to the crown of your head. When you are completely relaxed, continue lying or sitting still and enjoy the sensation;

b) alternate muscle tension with relaxation (5-7 seconds – tension, 20-30 seconds relaxation).This treatment effectively relieves stress and promotes sound sleep;

c) in order to use the images for relaxation, you need to sit down or lie down comfortably, close your eyes and with each inhale say slowly “I” to yourself, and with each exhale: “Relax,” or inhale slowly and deeply, saying to yourself: “1, 2, 3, 4, 5,” then exhale slowly, saying to yourself, “Relaxed 1, 2, 3, 4, 5). Repeat the exercise 8 times or as many times as is convenient;

Separation from everyday life .While connection with reality is an essential characteristic of mental health, coping with stress often requires a short break from everyday life.

a) a trip on vacation or on weekends. A day or two away from home will provide the necessary break to recuperate, provide an opportunity to look at your problems from the outside, and significantly reduce stress.

b) theater, cinema, television, books. A good movie, an interesting TV show, or a book can help you break away from everyday life.Even a short story or magazine article can ease stress;

Imagination. Imagination can also be very effective in dealing with stress. For example, if you imagine how firmly and convincingly you object to whoever is causing your stress, in the event of a real opposition, you will feel more confident.

Next, you can imagine a pleasant, peaceful picture. It can be a lake, meadow, beach, forest, river, desert, or any other place that you really like.Imagine that you are there. Concentrate on all the details of the scene, feel everything – colors, sounds and smells. Save the image for a few minutes. 6. Meditation. There are many types of meditation – relaxation of consciousness by focusing thoughts. Regular use of meditation provides a sense of well-being and peace. We will describe some simple, effective meditation techniques that many have found to be very relaxing.

Massage. Massage is one of the most effective ways to relax and reduce stress. This procedure is useful when it is performed by relatives or specialists, and when you do it yourself. Self-massage of the head, neck, shoulders and feet brings instant relief.

Decrease in the pace of life . One of the easiest ways to reduce stress is to simply slow down the pace of your life.

Revision of attitudes . Many people try to do more than they can.Attempts to achieve unrealistic goals cause severe stress in such people, and the failures that inevitably follow them only exacerbate this condition. It is much wiser to do less, but better, than a lot, but bad. If you have to constantly catch up with someone, but at the same time lag behind more and more, it’s time to stop and think. It may not be worth wasting time and energy to achieve a goal that is actually not that important to you.

Constructive ways to deal with stress

Stress (from the English.stress – load, pressure, stress) – nonspecific (general) reaction of the body to impact (physical or psychological),

disturbing its homeostasis, as well as the corresponding state of the nervous system of the organism or the organism as a whole.

Stress is one of the most common causes of ill-being, suffering and failure of any person, because the modern lifestyle is a constant rush, nerves, emotions. Hans Selye emphasized that there is no need to be afraid of this: stress is an indispensable component of human life.It can both reduce and increase the body’s resistance. Stress manifests itself both in love and in creativity, of course, bringing pleasure and protecting from the blows of life.

Stress can be prevented by providing members of society with favorable conditions for development, freedom in choosing life attitudes and positions.

The first stage of stress manifests itself at the first appearance of the stressor and is called the stage of anxiety. This stage is characterized by a decrease in the level of resistance of the organism, violation of some somatic and vegetative functions.Then the body mobilizes reserves and turns on the mechanisms of self-regulation of protective processes. If the defenses are effective, the anxiety subsides and the body returns to normal activity. Most stress is resolved at this stage. Such short-term stresses can be termed acute stress reactions.

The second stage, stage of resistance (resistance), occurs with prolonged exposure to a stressor, when it becomes necessary to maintain the body’s defense reactions.There is a balanced expenditure of adaptive reserves against the background of the voltage of functional systems adequate to external conditions.

The third stage is the stage of exhaustion. Occurs when the mechanisms of regulation of protective and adaptive mechanisms are disturbed during the period of the body’s struggle with excessively intense and prolonged exposure to stressors. Adaptation reserves are significantly reduced. The body’s resistance decreases, which can result in not only functional disorders, but also morphological changes in the body.

Every day people are faced with various situations and events that negatively affect them.

The incoming information flow is so great that the brain begins to work actively, trying to “sort it out”. This differentiation manifests itself in the stress of the brain’s processing of information.

Information stress awakens in us negative emotions such as fear, anxiety, irritability.

Very common today among people of all countries and continents is motor stress . Normally, a person should walk 10 thousand steps every day. Modern technologies, sitting for many hours at computers do not give people such an opportunity. But when walking, the active points of the foot are stimulated, blood flow throughout the body increases, and the brain is kept in good shape from the working muscles.

These reasons are not the only sources of stress; there are many more to list. But it is more important to understand that all these influences do not pass without leaving a trace for people.Stress tends to accumulate, as it is a response to the changes taking place in our life. Our body and psyche react physically, emotionally to any changes in the existing state of affairs. Moreover, changes do not have to be negative; positive changes can also be quite stressful. At times, the thought of an impending change can be stressful. Therefore, it is very important to learn how to remain calm and self-possessed. The first person who needs to be provided with anti-stress help is ourselves.

How to recognize impending distress

If unpleasant events occur in your life that can lead to distress, and you are alarmed by your condition, then try to listen to yourself and determine the presence of symptoms of impending distress:

Ø Overeating or loss of appetite,

Ø Insomnia, apathy,

Ø Increased irritability and anxiety,

Ø Lack of sense of humor.

Ø Forgetfulness, difficulty in doing the usual work,

Ø Lack of the need to communicate with girlfriends, friends,

Ø Unreasonable jealousy and suspicion.

Against the background of distress, may worsen well-being :

Ø Headache

Ø Unexplained fatigue

Ø Pain in the region of the heart

Ø Decreased performance

Ø Increase in blood pressure

Ø Shivering and chills

Ø Excessive sweating

Ø Lack of air

Ø Nausea

Ø Muscle pain

If these signs take place, then it is obvious that negative phenomena occur in your life, and you cannot quickly and correctly respond to them. It can be a long-term conflict or a forced separation from a loved one. To rectify the situation, you need to take urgent measures, and you should start with the most affordable means.

Student stress environment

Students, assessing the signs of stress caused by strenuous studies, the most pronounced manifestations of stress called decreased performance and increased fatigue. Also, sleep disturbances and rush caused by a constant lack of time were also attributed to the negative consequences of learning stress.Students noted problems in communication, violations of social contacts.

These and many other reasons are both objective and subjective. Researchers attribute an overly serious attitude to school, shyness and shyness, and problems in personal life to subjective reasons. Objective factors include a heavy teaching load, strict teachers, life away from parents.

If we consider the factors for relieving stress among students, then destructive factors include alcohol consumption, an increase in daily smoking rates, and excessive food intake.

During stress, intellectual activity usually suffers. Almost all characteristics of attention are violated: stability, concentration, volume, distribution, switching, increased distraction is noted. The memory function suffers to a somewhat lesser extent. The constant congestion of consciousness with educational material reduces the capacity of the operative memory, the process of reproducing the necessary information is disrupted.

As noted by the researchers, one of the first places is occupied by exam stress , which causes mental stress among students.Often the exam becomes a strong traumatic factor. Examination stress is usually understood as the state of the person taking the exam. In reality, examination stress begins from the moment when the student realizes that in the near future he will inevitably have to take one or another exam.

A student may experience an anxious expectation of the exam for several weeks, which peaks in the classroom where the exam takes place. Therefore, certain changes in the body of students occur both during the exam and before it.During the exam, the pulse quickens, breathing quickens, and blood pressure rises. By the end of the session, the parasympathetic system is activated, which is accompanied by a drop in heart rate and blood pressure. If a student gets a grade lower than expected, then the upcoming exam becomes even more stressful.

Adaptation to stressful conditions is better in students with high motivation to achieve success and low motivation to avoid failure. Active, ambitious, impatient, restless, success-oriented people are more stressed than people with low levels of ambition and no high position in society.

According to most researchers, exam stress is a serious health threat to students. It should be noted that exam stress is not always harmful. In certain situations, psychological stress can have a stimulating value, helping the student to mobilize all his knowledge and personal reserves to solve the educational tasks assigned to him.

Correction of the level of examination stress can be achieved by different means

• with the help of pharmacological preparations,

• methods of mental self-regulation,

• optimization of work and rest regime,

• using a biofeedback system, etc.d.

In the first year, the student is faced with a situation of uncertainty, which requires the mobilization of many of the body’s resources. At a certain stage, the student successfully cope with various influences. At the same time, the level of functioning of the body is accompanied by an intensive waste of vital reserves. If the body for a certain time fails to adapt to an extreme factor, and its resources are depleted, then exhaustion may occur (a disease occurs).

In order that the stressful situation does not turn into distress, it is necessary to analyze it and decide what can be done in order to gain peace of mind.

1. Get your diet in order. Small servings of carbohydrate-rich foods promote the production of the happiness hormone serotonin.

2. Try to calm down . Go to a park, sit on a bench, or walk along an alley. In the evening, take a warm bath, massage, listen to pleasant soothing music.

4. Be realistic. Remember that failures will be replaced by happy days. Or maybe what happened is the best way out of this situation?

5. Try to let things go by themselves sometimes , it is impossible to constantly control everything.

6. Talk about your problems with a loved one . This will help you understand their essence, get advice from those who love you and feel that you are not alone.

These examples will give you the opportunity to get respite, relax, calm down and reduce the negative effects of distress on your health.

How to deal with prolonged stress

Relax training

The mental state of a person depends on many factors, in particular on the ability to withstand prolonged stress. These methods will help to cope with depression, bad mood, irritability. Modern medicine pays great attention to the psychological methods of human health improvement. Psychologists and psychotherapists will professionally help you choose individual methods of neuromuscular and psychological relaxation, depending on your condition and character, behavior stereotypes. Autogenic training has a significant effect. It is based on the use of a self-hypnosis formula to achieve a state of relaxation.

Relax-training is not only an effective means for normalizing the general condition of a person. It can rightfully be called an anti-stress program, a kind of teaching aid for achieving the most complex art of management, self-control in the most critical situations.

Choose the best discharge method for your work environment and lifestyle.

Exercise 1

1. Begin counting from 10 to 1, inhaling and exhaling slowly on each count.The exhalation should be noticeably longer than the inhalation.

2. Close your eyes. Count again from 10 to 1, holding your breath for each count. Exhale slowly, imagining that with each exhalation, tension decreases and finally disappears.

3. Without opening your eyes, count from 10 to 1. This time imagine that the exhaled air is colored in warm, pastel colors. With each exhalation, the colored fog thickens, turns into a cloud. Sail on gentle clouds until your eyes open themselves.

4. To find the right counting rhythm, breathe slowly and calmly, without thinking about all kinds of excitement with the help of your imagination. This method is very good at relieving stress. After a week, start counting from 20 to 1, after another week from 30 to 1.

Correct breathing

When stressed, we take quick, deep breaths, we often go astray – we sigh and gasp. What to do and how to breathe correctly in a stressful situation? In contrast to the type of breathing described above, there is the so-called “abdominal” breathing – breathing with the participation of our main respiratory muscle – the diaphragm.It is also called “belly breathing”. Such breathing is always even, deep, and relaxation happens by itself.

Try this:

1. Place your right hand on your stomach and your left hand on your chest.

2. Calmly, freely exhale, as if releasing all tension from the body with this exhalation, and you will see and feel that your stomach is as if drawn in at the moment of exhalation.

3. Now inhale through your nose and feel that your belly is as if swelling, while your chest is practically motionless.It was inhalation through the diaphragm, not the chest muscles.

4. Continue to breathe, repeating steps 2-3-2-3-2-3 … and you will feel a relaxing wave going through your body. Don’t breathe too deeply, breathe in the most comfortable rhythm for you. After breathing in this way for a few minutes, you prepare your body for a relaxation session.

Relaxing body and mind

Stress brings the muscles into a state of readiness for stress, increases their tone (tension at rest), and when they relax, a signal is sent to the brain that the situation is discharged and, thus, stress is relieved.For a relaxation session, you need a warm, familiar room, where no one will disturb you for about 20 minutes. During the relaxation session, you can sit in an armchair, or it is better to lie on the bed or on the floor, be sure to put a pillow or roller under your head.

1. Lying on your back, hands along the body, close your eyes and begin to breathe in your stomach. Feel the tension leave your body with each exhalation. Imagine the heat of the sun entering your body, relaxing and heavy. Your breathing will naturally become deep and calm.

2. Make your right fist and contract the muscles of your right arm. Keep your hand tense for a while and then relax it. Do the same with the left hand.

3. Tighten the muscles of the right leg so that the knee is slightly raised. Do not overdo it, otherwise your leg may come together. Concentrate on your right leg, feel the tension tightening in your muscles, and then relax as you exhale. Feel the leg become heavier, the tension subsides, and then do the same operations with the left leg.

4. Say “relax” as you exhale and think about the tension leaving the body.

5. Raise your shoulders, try to literally pull them up to your ears. Stay in this position, feel the discomfort in your shoulders, chest and head. Then, as you exhale, gradually release the tension in the muscles and then let them completely relax.

6. Tighten your neck muscles, pressing the back of your head into the pillow, linger and gradually relax again.

7. Tighten your shoulders, as if pressing them into the bed (if you are lying), arch (if you are sitting).Feel the tension in your back and neck, then relax as you exhale.

8. Pull in your stomach as much as possible, tighten the abdominal muscles. Your breath has moved to the chest, you breathe through the chest, and this is a slightly different breathing. Feel the tension and relax to the end.

9. Tighten the muscles of your face, purse your lips, your face turns into a grimace. Feel how uncomfortable and unnatural it is, and then gradually release the tension, feel that your face becomes smooth and calm again, and imagine that the sun is shining in your face, not blinding, but as if warming you.

10. Let your body completely relax under your weight, feel that it has become as if softer and as if spreading over the bed. Breathe in your stomach, feel the breath and movements of the abdominal wall – up and down, up and down. Now peace has come and you imagine that you are in a garden with a well in the middle. You enter the garden and smell the flowers, the light wind touches your skin, the birds are singing and you hear them singing, a stream is babbling nearby – this is your garden, nothing will disturb you, and you can come here whenever you like, you just need to relax …

11. Now you need to return to the room in which you were before. Just think about the room, and your thoughts will bring you back to it. Slowly open your eyes and stretch properly, as if turning on. You can get up.

Having learned these simple techniques, you can now apply some of them. When you have not yet fully learned how to relax, you can use audiocassettes with relaxing music, you can even record a description of your actions on a dictaphone, so it will be easier to remember their sequence.In addition, it is your own voice, and you will perceive it more calmly.

Carrying out such relaxation sessions 1 – 2 times a day, you can achieve the fact that you will be able to feel in advance the excessive tension in the muscles and relax them so as not to allow accumulation. Perhaps even without realizing it.

Sleep

An important place belongs to good sleep, the correct mode of work and rest. Sleep is the most effective form of relaxation. If you can sleep “like a dead man”, then this is just happiness for you.Many people, when stressed, can switch off for short periods of time at best, which is not refreshing at all and even exhausting. If you suffer from stress sleep disorders, here are some tips you may find helpful.

Sleep requires silence. Try to eliminate the source of the noise, or, if this is not possible (for example, you are unlikely to be able to move a branch of the railway or the airport near your home), go to the dacha, to your parents – wherever they can provide you with a quiet place to just sleep.

K The bed should be comfortable. If, with a growth of under 2 meters, your bed is so long that your legs hang down, and the blanket barely covers you by half, then there is nothing to be surprised at your insomnia. Just get yourself a normal bed.

Skip the evening tea or coffee. This dose of caffeine may be keeping you awake.

A little physical activity, even a little fatigue (2-3 hours before bedtime) will help you fall asleep.

Do not overeat at night! Your stomach will keep you awake.The last meal should be 3 hours before bedtime.

Try to go to bed at a specific time, this can also help. Take a warm shower before bed.

Do not tell yourself: “You need to sleep for 8 hours.” Maybe 6 is enough for you in your position. Napoleon slept for 4-5 hours. It’s another matter if you want to sleep and cannot sleep. But remember that putting yourself into sleep forcibly is not worth it.

Overexcitement from joyful events or mental stress can also keep you awake.Avoid watching TV shows or movies savoring horror, shooting, and murder before bed. Reading a good book, listening to your favorite music, relaxing – this should help.

If the cause of insomnia is a violation of the natural rhythm, then these methods will help you. In extreme cases, you can use sleeping pills, but first consult a doctor.

Specific advice

In a critical situation, each person has to decide what to do – to engage in a fight, to defend himself, or simply to leave, to escape from danger “without taking a fight.”

What to do then? In any situation, in any situation, no matter how dangerous they are, it is necessary to look for a way out of the seeming impasse.

Try to resolve the conflict situation and misunderstanding as soon as possible.

While exercising restraint in the most fundamental conflict, it is important to get rid of irritation in order to save your heart. This will give you the opportunity to maintain control over yourself and not bring the conflict to a new level.

Treat others like yourself.

Set realistic goals and achieve them. Learn to plan your business, prioritize.

Weigh the expediency of actions and deeds.

Laugh and smile more often. When you laugh, facial muscles relax, emotional tension falls, and a positive sense of perspective appears. Learning to see the funny or the amusing in your own difficulties is the best way to change your attitude towards the problem.

Hope for the best. If you expect trouble, then more often than not, it happens.You kind of predict your failure, your behavior changes, the people around you react accordingly – and the trouble happens.

Avoid being alone with the problem. Tell your loved ones about this. Don’t deprive yourself of friendly support. People who have many friends find themselves in a more advantageous position, it is easier for them to withstand difficult life situations.

Get some exercise. Being in good physical shape increases your resistance to stress.

Maintain habits that increase the feeling of stability and self-confidence: Start the day as usual, with morning exercises, the usual shower and a sandwich with coffee.By doing this, you let yourself know that you “got up on the right foot” and everything is going according to plan.

Prolonged stress leads to increased consumption of vitamins and minerals. During this period, it is very important to establish proper nutrition. It is necessary to include garlic, onions, dairy products in the diet. It is recommended to eat 100-200 grams of carrots every day, as well as eat 1 banana. Bananas contain the alkaloid harman, which is based on the so-called “happiness drug” – mescaline.In this state, it is important to know that vitamins A, B, C, E, calcium, glucose soothe, relieve stress. Causes a burst of energy, vivacity: magnesium, manganese, essential amino acids (methionine, phenylalanine, tryptophan). Pamper yourself with a bunch of grapes, a handful of raisins or 2-3 peaches, apricots – such a treat, due to its high potassium content, strengthens the nervous system and adds positive emotions. Eating foods containing iodine (feihua, irgi fruits, cauliflower), you strengthen mental immunity.

If you are in a state of psychological stress, then try to help your body: choose foods that are pleasant and useful to you. Instead of sweets and sugar, take sweet fruits, and replace buns and cakes with bran bread and spread it with quality margarine enriched with vitamins.

Wiping with cold water with the addition of table salt (1 teaspoon for 0.5 liters of water) in the morning and in the evening will help you to relieve the state of nervous overstrain. Baths and baths with medicinal herbs are also useful.

Be sure to use aromatherapy. Inhalation of essential oil (fir, lavender, basil, bergamot oils) stimulates mental activity, relieves stress conditions. Modern aromatherapy suggests using essential oils in massage, bathrooms and saunas.

The pioneer of the method called “animatherapy” is the New York physician B. Levinson, who discovered the method of treatment using animals. He took a cat as his assistant, and then placed an aquarium with bright tropical fish in the reception area.It has been proven that the bioenergy of some animals can have a positive effect on diseased human organs. A four-legged friend can save you from physical inactivity, and sessions of nightingale trills are used in the treatment of heart disease.

Compiled by the teacher of psychology – Kusheleva M.V.

Professional Qualifications Center (courses, driving school)

Created in 2013 pursuant to clause 3 of the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of May 7, 2012 No. 599 “On measures to implement state policy in the field of education and science” and in accordance with the Federal Law of December 29, 2012 No.No. 273-FZ “On Education in the Russian Federation”. The Center for Professional Qualifications (CPC) “Service Sector” is a structural unit of the College of Hospitality and Management Industry No. 23, carrying out activities for the implementation of practice-oriented educational programs developed on the basis of professional standards and / or agreed with employers and ensuring the development of qualifications in demand in the regional labor market …

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More detailed information about educational programs and conditions of study on our official website of the Center:

www.cpk.kigm.ru

Driving School of the State Budgetary Professional Educational Institution of the City of Moscow “College of Hospitality and Management Industry No. 23” trains drivers of vehicles of categories: “A”, “B”, “C”, “D”, “BE”, “CE”, “DE”.

All our sites are located within walking distance from the nearest metro stations: Semyonovskaya or Novogireevo, at the educational buildings of one of the best professional educational organizations in Moscow, a multiple winner of the Moscow Mayor’s Grant in the field of education. In each of them there are driving school training centers, training complexes, representatives of the administration.

Since its foundation in 2006, our driving school has accumulated vast experience in training high-level drivers, both theoretical knowledge and driving skills.We will not only teach you how to drive, we will fully familiarize you with such a complex device as a car, teach you how to cope with the stress that often arises in people who have just sat behind the wheel, and we will accompany you “inside and out” in such a complex process how to get rights.

The work of a student and driving school instructors is, first of all, cooperation aimed at ensuring that you do not just pass the exam in the traffic police and get a license, but learn to confidently drive a car, understand all the nuances of the road situation, think correctly on the road, which ultimately will be a guarantee of your safety while driving.

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90,000 Doctors told how to deal with stress during lockdown

Aromatherapy, exercise and good sleep

To reduce stress during a period of severe restrictions, the psychologist of the Doctor Nearby service Marina Reshetnikova advises to devote 30-45 minutes to yourself every day.

“You can read a book, put together a puzzle or draw. You can even just lie on the bed and do nothing, immersed in your thoughts – this is also an absolutely normal rest, “she explained to Gazeta.Ru.

It is important to pay attention to the little things “Soft blanket, fluffy sweater, knitted socks, a cup of tea or coffee. All these are details that give coziness and a feeling of home warmth, ”she clarified.

In the fight against stress, according to the psychologist, a hot bath with aromatic salt or aromatherapy with a humidifier and essential oils can help.

“Express your emotions through dance. Listen to your favorite piece of music and try to invent your own dance, ”added Reshetnikova.

During isolation, you can improve your sleep patterns, the psychologist noted. Sleeping less than 7-9 hours will result in higher levels of irritability and stress.

“Try to get up and go to bed at the same time and do not use your phone 30 minutes before bedtime. Exercise can also help you relax. The same five-minute exercise in the morning will energize you, ”the specialist recommended.

Reshetnikova also advised to get into the habit of enjoying little things: talking with a friend, an interesting article on the Internet, or learning a new word in a foreign language. But sleep all day or abuse alcohol is not worth it, said the psychologist.

With an excess of sleep, irritability may appear and the ability to focus on a particular activity may decrease. Alcohol, “in addition to objective harm to internal organs, increases anxiety and depressive disorder.”

A morning shower will help cheer up, says Irina Semina, senior product manager at Solgar pharmaceutical company, a pharmaceutical specialist.

“But since the shower today is intended to be not just a familiar daily procedure, but a wellness event for the mood, it is worth a little diversification of the usual course of events. Firstly, it would be nice to organize a musical background for yourself by putting on your favorite and preferably cheerful composition. Feel free to open your new shower gel and savor its scent, ”she said.

It’s better to start the day with a good breakfast – it would be ideal to include chocolate, nuts, oranges and strawberries, Semina said.After that, you can start cleaning.

“Putting things in order, systematizing the little things that litter the home, have a positive effect on our mood and even well-being,” Semina explained.

Schedule and Information Hygiene

“When you are at home, first of all, physical activity decreases, a vicious circle is formed: the less a person moves, the less strength he has to continue moving. Physical inactivity can lead to the development and deterioration of the immune, cardiovascular, respiratory and musculoskeletal systems, ”warned immunologist Maria Polner.

In this regard, during non-working days, it is extremely important to do exercises: only 20-40 minutes a day will be enough to keep yourself in good shape.

“The next mistake is not following the diet. At home, there is a great temptation to arrange for yourself constant snacks from flour and sweet, many of them are more frequent in the use of alcoholic beverages. All this negatively affects health, leading to gastroenterological and endocrine diseases. People who are prone to skin diseases, such as acne, may experience an exacerbation of the process, ”she explained.

According to her, another important problem during the lockdown period is stress, which is formed from the restriction of communication with relatives, friends and colleagues, as well as from the negative information load. Against this background, many chronic processes, including cardiovascular, and skin diseases such as psoriasis or atopic dermatitis are exacerbated.

“It is important to observe information hygiene. There is a great temptation to sit on the phone all day or turn on the TV in the background, but the uncontrolled flow of disturbing news negatively affects the psychological state.All this needs to be limited, ”Polner emphasized.

She advises to make a schedule of daily activities and, if possible, not deviate from it. If you were transferred to remote work, then the working day should have a beginning and an end, and not become around the clock: it takes time to recover.

“It is necessary to competently equip the house in order to make your stay in it comfortable. For example, if you feel dry skin, dermatitis that does not heal for a long time, an increase in the need for cream, then you should pay attention to the moisture and think about purchasing a moisturizer.Allergy sufferers need daily wet cleaning, adherence to a hypoallergenic life, an air purifier will not be superfluous, ”added the immunologist.

To strengthen the immune system, you can resort to vitamins and eat food with useful microelements, said Irina Semina. “In order to increase the body’s defenses, prevent the development of certain diseases, it is important to increase the consumption of foods rich in vitamins and minerals,” she said.

You can get the Omega-3 complex from sardines, salmon, herring, tuna, chia seeds, walnuts and flaxseed oil.Zinc, essential for the immune and reproductive systems, is found in beef, chicken, turkey, liver, pumpkin seeds, peanuts, and almonds. Vitamin C can be obtained from oranges, tangerines, pineapples, lemons, mangoes, kiwi, broccoli, tomatoes, cabbage and potatoes.

Sources of probiotics: plain yogurt, fermented milk products such as kefir or fermented baked milk. They improve digestion and absorption of nutrients.

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