Tag Archives: finals week tips

Five Ways To Cope With Stress

As exciting and as fun as college can be, it’s also a very stressful time. Students often feel overwhelmed with the amount of work they have and the late nights of studying for upcoming exams. Here are five quick tips for dealing with your stress. 

Make A Plan

Get organized and make a plan. Be sure to include all the tasks you need to accomplish. Whether you need to take it day-by-day or plan out each week, try to stick to it. 

Eat Well 

When you eat well, you feel well. Eat foods with high levels of vitamin C, like oranges and other citrus food. Consume complex carbohydrates, such as vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. Drinking different types of tea, like mint or chamomile, can also help reduce your stress. 

Exercise

Get those feel-good endorphins running through your body to reduce your stress and have your body feel good. Take some time to go running, take a bike ride, do some yoga, or just take a simple stroll around the neighborhood. However, you choose to exercise, making time will help you feel better. 

Take Breaks

Don’t forget to take breaks. You might think you have way too much to do and there’s not enough time for breaks, but … make time! It doesn’t matter how busy you are, you need a break after all the studying and work you’ve been doing. Whatever outlets you have for taking breaks, do them. Play basketball, go for a walk, watch an episode of a show, take a SHORT nap— whatever you like to do that gives your mind a break. 

Breath

When you start feeling stressed or overwhelmed, take a step back and breath. Consider trying The 478 breathing technique. Breath in for four seconds, holding the breath for seven seconds and exhaling for eight seconds. This breathing pattern aims to reduce anxiety or and can even help people get to sleep.

Remember, it’s normal to feel stressed in college and there are always people around who are willing to help. If things start to feel overwhelming, reach out to your dean, RA, or check in with our Counseling Center.

 

Dealing With Finals Week Stress

By Andrea James

Finals week is a dark time that happens regularly in a college student’s life, and sometimes you just need a little help coping. Well, the internet and I are here to help! Below are just a few ideas to get you through it.

  1. Take care of yourself. Mental health and physical health affect each other. Staying up all night, eating junk food, and skipping meals only hinders your ability to learn and recall information, makes stress and/or anxiety worse, and generally make you feel awful. The same goes for worrying about grades or overtaxing your brain to the point your physical health is negatively impacted and you get sick. You’ve heard a thousand times, but I’ll say it again anyway: get enough sleep, eat regular healthy meals, drink plenty of water, and make time for some exercise. It really does make a huge difference.
  1. Look at cute/funny things. According to Upworthy.com, looking at baby animals has actually been shown to improve focus, concentration, and productivity. Humor has even been shown to help with retention of material, according to an article on Edutopia.org.
  1. Do something nice for someone else—it makes you feel good, and improves someone else’s life as well.
  1. Read about nice things other people have done/experienced.
  1. Take a deep breath and find a way to relax, even if only for a little bit.
  • Do Nothing for 2 Minutes (take a two minute break to do nothing but listen to ocean waves and stare at a sunset)
  • Calm (free mindfulness meditation app with realistic scenes complete with appropriate sounds, like waves crashing on a beach at sunrise or a crackling wood fireplace)
  1. Talk to someone—God, a friend, family member, counselor, etc. Whoever you are most comfortable with. Or if you want something more anonymous, there are many hotlines/helplines and online resources available.

The Career & Counseling Center at PUC also offers free counseling sessions to current PUC students. Call (707) 965-7080 or email counseling@puc.edu to make an appointment.

Good luck with your finals. Take care of yourself. Have faith in yourself and that God will provide!