Ways to Cope With Stress

Elizabeth Chen

As the school year is starting to get into full swing, not only does the work increase, the stress does too. This can lead to some very negative effects on your body, such as lack of sleep, muscle pain, headaches, and more. There are also some mental effects, including anxiety, depression, and anger. We can’t help that we feel stressed, and there isn’t a way to get rid of it, but what we can do is try to manage it better, and possibly decrease the amount that we feel. Here are 5 ways we can cope with stress:

Go on a walk or spend time in nature. You’ve probably been told this many times and had no idea how it helps. It’s scientifically proven that being in nature puts you in a relaxed state of mind.

2. To prevent more stress in the future, don’t save work until the last minute. If you’re sitting around doing nothing productive, try to get some homework that’s due next week off your plate. Think to yourself, “Future me would really appreciate that I get this done.”

3. Try laughter therapy. There are many studies on laughter, showing that it reduces stress and anxiety in a person. It’s basically fake laughing until you actually start to laugh. Here is a link with some of the methods.

4. Listening to music is shown to decrease stress hormones. It will help you focus on something else for a period of time, so you aren’t always thinking about a test or big project.

5. Don’t have too much caffeine. Yes, it keeps us awake when we stay up late, but having too much increases the amount of stress and anxiety we feel. At least keep under 400mg (4-5 cups) of caffeine each day. Make sure to also consider individual tolerance.