Different people handle stress in different ways. When I was first learning how to deal with being stressed, I tended to compartmentalize all of the anxiety I was feeling, smiling and calmly going about my work—until I got home. Once I was within the safety of my own four walls, I would unleash a huge, fiery blaze of tear-filled breakdowns and stomping, while stress-eating an entire package of cookies.
Needless to say, this was counterproductive to actually dealing with any of the things that were stressing me out. It turns out that the number one combatant of stress is proactivity, and there are a few simple steps that you can take to avoid the eventual head explosions that accompany prolonged and unattended high stress levels.
Know your triggers
There are certain things—different for every person—that will be, as the old saying goes, “the straw that breaks the camel’s back.” You could be the biggest rock star on the planet, juggling a packed social life, a Dean’s List average, a great reputation with your boss, and a healthy relationship with your bank account. Then, along will come some small, seemingly insignificant thing, and it will all come crumbling down. For me, the back-breaking straw is when my apartment isn’t clean. Somehow, the sight of too much dust on the floor or unattended coffee stains on the counter is enough to send me into an hour-long cleaning and crying frenzy (followed by the stress eating of cookies). If you know what your triggers are, you can take care of them before they cause you any great deal of stress. If you’re a cleaner, set aside a half hour or so once a week to make sure your place is swept, scrubbed, and tidied. It seems simple, but being proactive about what makes you “tick” is one of the best ways to manage stress before it even manifests.
Use that organizer
The university hands out free planners outside of the UC for a week or so at the beginning of the Fall semester. Take them up on this offer. If you prefer, use an electronic calendar on your phone or your computer, or spend a bit of money and get the planner of your dreams. No matter the form, make sure you use some kind of organizer. Most of us have five classes worth of assignments, tests, readings, and notes, and your course calendars are only going to get you so far. Knowing when things are due—and how many double or triple assignment days you’ll have to look forward to—can help you to plan out your semester way in advance, so you can avoid those stress-inducing, “oh-crap, this-paper’s-due-in-an-hour” moments where you scramble to purchase printing credits at the library on the busiest day of the week.
Know what you can skip
Sometimes, this means missing out on lunch with a friend, a club meeting, or the hair appointment you keep making and cancelling. Other times, this means not buying a particularly expensive textbook, not completing half (or all) of a reading, or not going to an inconveniently scheduled class for one week. There are going to be things that are, for lack of a better term, “skippable.” Know your own limits in terms of what you can and can’t do in a given month, week, or day, and then figure out how to manage your time—and the time of other—accordingly.
Treat yo’ damn self
You’re busy, of course, and you tell yourself that you don’t have time right now to drink a beer or go shopping or take that nap you’ve been daydreaming about. The reality, however, is that if you don’t take time for yourself amidst school, work, and friend commitments, you’re going to burn out—quickly. Recognize when your body and mind are telling you that you’ve had enough. Just like knowing and anticipating your stress triggers, learning your body’s way of telling you that enough is enough is one of the best ways to cut stress before a Britney-Spears-circa-2007-style meltdown. At the end of the day, it’s all about you; don’t be afraid to take a minute and treat yo’ self to that extra hour of sleep, to that third donut, or to the Batman suit of your dreams.