Hello students! Stress is our natural feeling towards perceived threats and challenges. The right amount of stress can encourage us to get homework turned in on time or complete tasks at our job, but too much stress for long periods of time can be detrimental to our health. One knows when their stress is too much when the stress becomes debilitating, and they cease to want to function. So it is important that people learn about techniques that will help lower stress, so they feel productive and happy in life.
Each of these are different ways that one can redirect their efforts towards lowering stress. Some strategies are more applicable to certian situations than others , so just find a method and try it.
This is when one is focused on addressing the root cause of the stress. This may look like a student who is stressed about their grade in a class, who then attends office hours or plans to study another hour a night. In this situation, the student is assessing their situation, taking steps to improve their situation, and then overcomeing the problem that is causing them stress.
This is when one is focused on addressing their emotions from the stressor. This looks like when one engages with things that makes one happy, like painting, games, petting pets, watching a movie, and hanging out with friends. In this situation, the person is engaging in activities that improve their happiness, which will offset the negative feelings from the stressor. Although the stressor may still be there, this can help bring stress back down to a manageable level for the person.
One may find that talking to others about what is stressing them will help manage their stress. One may talk to anybody, but close friends and family should want to be there and listen. If those people are busy, you can always seek help with a crisis center who may talk with you and point you in the right direction to someone who will.
When one exercises, they release chemicals that reduce cortisol, one of the body's stress hormones. Not only that, but it can help distract us from what is stressing us, as we become focused on the exercise itself. Mayo clinic highlights that excercise improves not just stress itself, but could help improve systems of our body like immune and digestive. These systems can be impacted negatively by high levels of stress, meaning exercise works to not only help lower stress but also lessen the negative effects it can have on our body.
In class, we focused on a couple of steps to help bring relaxation to you. First, you plant your feet onto the ground, and sit upright. Second, you close your eyes in a quiet space. Third, you repeat a positive mantra, 'I am free, I am strong'. Lastly, think about pleasant things. This method helps lower stress by reframing our thinking towards positive thinking, which has been linked to lower stress.
This is when one rethinks of how they feel about a stressor. One may see a bad grade and think that they are not smart enough. Reframing that would be like this was just one bad grade on a test, I still have more tests to prove myself. I feel as if this tactic is about overcoming the overwhelming feeling that can be caused by stress by finding a light at the end of the tunnel. One is not always stuck on their path, as there may be different paths one doesn't know about
Hugs release oxytocin, which reduces stress!
Here are some resources that you could use to learn about releiving stress or they offer services that could help with mental health. Some are region specific and you may need to find a resource that offers the same services.
They offer tactics that are similar to the ones presented to the left, but they go much deeper into the science behind why.
This is a source to get help at my own university, and I beleive they only provide care to those in Wisconsin. They provide many services including mental health. Where one can talk to a professional about what is going in their life. You may find resources like this from the internet or by talking to a counselor
This is a link that leads to dane county crisis hotline. There are many for other counties, and what crisis centers provide are spaces for those to talk to professionals to help with crisis situations. Their services include but are not limited to helping those that are thinking about putting themselves or others in harm, for those that feel shame for using substances, and for those who need someone to talk to. If there is immediate danger to you or someone else, I would recommend calling 911 first over the crisis center.