Hello everyone,

I want to talk to you about something everyone encounters and goes through in many ways that greatly impact our lives, yet it might not be talked about as much. I want to talk about stress. Stress is a feeling that can overwhelm and overpower us, bleeding into aspects of our health and affecting our well-being. Stress can be divided into eustress (good, motivational) and distress (bad, deteriorating). We can choose how to channel the stress we feel, impacting us positively or negatively. I have taken classes that discuss stress, its impacts, and management for a healthy life; one of the classes I took discussed the dimensions of well-being, and the concept of elements to well-being fostering health stuck with me. I want to share the standard five dimensions of well-being that go along with talking about stress.

It is vital to manage stress; doing so benefits our health in many ways, translating to overall well-being. Stress can physically manifest itself into developing a condition; Stress can mentally manifest itself to interfere with one’s thoughts; Stress can emotionally manifest itself to interfere with one’s feelings; Stress can socially manifest itself to interfere with one’s interactions, and Stress can manifest to interfere with a person’s feeling of meaning and purpose, harming spiritual health. Stress can manifest physically, mentally, emotionally, socially, and spiritually, influencing behavior.

I want to share some tips I picked up to help me whenever I feel overwhelmed by stress and not let it overpower me; hopefully, my tricks can help you all too.

• Stretching my body- stretching my body releases pent-up energy and ‘knots in my body,’ leaving me feeling better.
• Taking an afternoon walk- taking a walk is a calming outdoor activity surrounded by nature.
• Do some mindful breathing- to slow down and refocus
• Doing something that makes you laugh- laughing is a great way to relieve stress.
• Breaking my tasks into chunks and take breaks within those chunks to watch shows/videos, tidy up, make a snack, make some tea, or do the other activities listed to distract myself and rest
• Listening to music- helps with mood
• Drink plenty of water- helps to keep your attention
• Join or create a GroupMe for classes- reducing stress about a class by joining an online study group while connecting with classmates and making friends.
• Write down everything you accomplished that day, even if it is something small- it is a confidence booster looking back at everything you did
• Talk to someone, whether it is a family member, friend, or therapist
• Attend mindfulness and stress management workshops at USG

USG’s  Center for Counseling & Well-being offers counseling sessions in various settings and formats

Recreation & Well-Being Services at Shady Grove offers mindfulness workshops and other events where you can destress and socialize.

Stress affects us all; we can choose how to respond to it. We can manage stress to protect our well-being for a healthy life.