Whether you’re a seasoned freshman beginning your second semester, or a veteran upperclassman who can talk the talk, everyone can become overwhelmed once the spring semester begins.

Spring semester is a whole new ball game — different classes, teachers and stresses.

After the four-week winter break, the sudden bombardment of classes, jobs and parties can become a little overwhelming. It can be tempting to throw in the towel, watch Netflix and eat nothing but doughnuts for the rest of your days.

However, before you succumb to the darkness, consider these simple ways you can obtain a better outlook on life and become a little less anxious.

Patience and Positivity

Believe it or not, everything on this list stems from having a positive attitude. If you’re always a negative Nelly, you’re already setting yourself up for failure. You know how people always say that catchy but obnoxious phrase, “You can wake up every morning and decide to be happy.” Even though part of me wants to say, “You can’t tell me what to do,” I honestly believe that if you control your attitude, you can control how you let things affect you.

Remember in high school when the petty popular girl would bully you and your mom would say, “If you let them make you feel bad, you’re giving them the power they want; you’re letting them win.” As weird of an analogy as this is, it’s exactly the same when it comes to your attitude. If you let the annoyances of the day affect you and mess up your mood, you’re letting the negative attitude win. It can be very simple to not let things get you down so much; in other words, don’t sweat the small stuff.

If the barista at Starbucks spells your name wrong for the 203rd time, and the girl in-line behind you spills her mocha frappe on your new shoes, you will most likely want to lie down on the ground and cry (either that or hit something). But, if you decide since the barista is not a potential love interest, it doesn’t matter if he can spell your name and that Pinterest can show you an easy way to remove that stain, then you can instantly become less stressed. You’ve made the decision to not let it bother you, to be more patient and to not let the stress monster win. 

Let the day end

It’s important to leave the trials and tribulations with the day. This means when the day is done, let what happened that day go. Don’t bring the annoyances of one day into the next because that stuff is over and done with; it has no place in your mind anymore. This will help unclutter your mind and free you from potential anxiety.

The importance of separation

Something that is key in managing your stress levels is being able to separate your personal life from your academic and professional life.

If your significant other is stressing you out beyond belief, don’t let that affect what grade you get on your economics test. It becomes essential to not let the stress of the outside world influence your schooling. School is already stressful enough and your personal life is equally demanding, there’s no need to combine these two and turn them into one major stress ball.

Yes, this is easier said than done, but if you make a conscious effort to think this way, you have a better shot of being able to handle the pressure of being a college student.

Be kind to Father Time

We are all guilty of placing our focus on the time we don’t have instead of the time we do have. We think, “I only have two hours until this homework is due” instead of, “I have two hours to work on this; I can do this.”

When we have this mindset, we create unnecessary stress. Putting time limits on tasks and counting down the minutes until you must complete them only produces two things: a boatload of anxiety and a rushed, thrown together homework assignment/task.

If you can calmly tell yourself you have this much time to complete the task, set a timer on your phone and put the phone across the room where you can seldom check it, you are more likely to produce quality, stress-free work.

Plan for parties

When the phrase, “plan for parties” is used, it doesn’t necessarily mean to pencil time into your schedule to binge drink every weekend. It simply means to make time for you. Classes are hard and there is a lot of work to be done each week, but if you plan no time for relaxation, you may actually go crazy.

It’s vital to set aside a time — just for you or for friends — where you can relax, let loose and not focus on the burden that is your school load.

Breathe in, breathe out

BREATHE. This is something that, once the school year gets into full swing, we’re all guilty of forgetting to do.

Find something that relaxes you, whether it’s yoga, lifting weights or simply picking up a book and doing some light reading. Whatever your fancy, make an effort to find your form of meditation and work this into your schedule as well. A rested mind is a working mind.

We all let anxiety get the best of us sometimes, but if we can learn to make the conscious effort to not let it, we can win this daily battle with stress.

Caitlin Grove

Via alestlelive.com