5 Practices To Deal With Stress and Anxiety

5 Practices To Deal With Stress and Anxiety Photo Credit: philly.com 1. Give Yourself 5 Minutes to Freak Out.  Let your stress and anxiety take the drivers seat for five minutes. Exaggerate them, make them worse, add more than you initially had, etc. Think of the worst case scenario and then send it into shark-infested waters in your mind. It may help to vent to a friend about your worries rather than just talking to yourself. Then, after exactly five minutes, take a step back. Mentally put all that craziness and chaos into a small box and seal it tight. Think of it as a package you got by mistake and imagine writing in permanent marker in all caps RETURN TO SENDER before picturing yourself dropping it off at a FedEx or UPS store and walking out. You know whats in that box, you dont want whats in that box, and youre getting rid of it. You are in control and youve sent all those stresses and anxieties away. 2. Get Some Exercise.  Yoga, jogging, biking, and other exercises all  release endorphins, which trigger happier feelings in your body and help energize you and give you a mental boost. So when you need to deal with stress or anxiety, taking a break to exercise will ultimately help you be more productive and positive as the chemicals released give you a runners high. Exercising will also help get you out of your own head and let you take a break from thinking for a while so you can focus on whatever activity youre doing. Photo Credit: goodrelaxation.com 3. Take a Minute to Breathe. When youre tense and stressed, you often hold your breath. Taking a minute to breathe and just focus on your breathing is a great practice to help you calm yourself and get your mind in a clearer and better place. Think only of your breath going in and out, and bring your mind and breath together in unity. If your mind starts to wander, dont let it. For one minute, focus only on your breathing and listen to yourself breathe. You are alive, you are vital, you are human, and you can do this. 4. Make Your Problems Smaller. When you think of everything you have to do or are worried about, they seem insurmountable and impossible. Think of your tasks and worries one at a time and try to conquer them one at a time, thereby making your overall stresses and anxiety-inducers smaller. It may also help to take a step back and get some perspective think about others in the world and their problems. This practice isnt meant to dismiss yours or belittle them, but rather make you think about your issues in the grand scheme of things and help you understand that they are things you can do and accomplish and arent impossible. 5. Relax. If youre having trouble dealing with your stress and anxieties, give yourself a break and take some time to relax. Whether you find it relaxing to sit and watch TV, to cook, to work out, to look at pictures of cute puppies, or something else, let yourself have some me-time. Your troubles and worries will still be waiting once your relaxation time is over but your mind will be in a better place to process and deal with your stress and anxiety and some time not thinking about your problems may help you see them in a new way. Life can be stressful but hopefully by using some of these practices you can reduce and deal with stress and anxiety when you feel them and better enjoy your time at school.