Let’s face it, college is stressful.
At some point during the semester, you might find yourself buried beneath massive amounts of reading for that British literature class your friend convinced you to take.
Maybe you’re reminding yourself that you need to call mom back, taking on extra shifts at work, cleaning up after your slob of a roommate, dodging your ex on campus, or spending way too much time procrastinating when you really should be writing that lab report.
Breathe in, breathe out. Relax. College is hard and it’s important to keep those stress levels low.
So, here are 10 ways your fellow Bulls deflect the stress.
- Erin Murphy, junior
“My favorite way to de-stress is to write. A lot of the time, this will manifest itself in the form of typing out a prayer or a blog post, but often what helps me calm down after a hard day – is journaling. There is something relaxing about writing out my thoughts with good old fashioned pen and paper.”
- Cynthia Wyre, senior
“One of my favorite things to do when I’m stressed is an activity, mainly dancing! Sometimes, you just have to take a step back from the busy world and give yourself 30 minutes of fun before you dive back in. Country line dancing is one of my favorites. I’ve been doing it for about four years now. And if I need an instant de-stressor, I dance to pop music, or if I need to take a night off, I go dancing with my friends!”
- Jacob Ferretti, senior
“What always worked for me is to take a walk by myself. It’s a good way to go out and get some fresh air and take your mind off things.”
- Jade Taylor Isaacs, junior
“I de-stress by going to the gym every weekday morning. This is the one time where I’m not thinking about my long to-do list of homework, mainly because I’m focused on how achy my body is. Working out not only gets my mind off my responsibilities, it also helps me blow off steam, whether it’s midterms, important papers, or overdue readings.”
- Jared Bolton, junior
“To release stress, I like to hang out with friends and longboard. On the weekends, to decompress and release stress, we sometimes go to parties, or we’ll just hang out at one of our houses. If everyone is busy, I longboard by the bay which is really relaxing. I usually go to the beach at Vinoy Park and just reconnect with nature.”
- Mary Keller, junior
“My favorite way to shake off stress is running, or anything active. I always used to think I hated running, but during one of the most stressful times of my life it was my body’s natural response to the stress. I still have a love/hate relationship with running, but afterward I feel so much better one hundred percent of the time.”
- Cat Kouretsos, senior
“I de-stress by going to Walt Disney World, walking around the parks, going on the rides, eating at one of the many restaurants and seeing the shows. It’s relaxing to go to the ‘happiest place on earth’ and be around positive energy; it’s very nostalgic.”
- Elizabeth Toney, sophomore
“I go running when I’m stressed, because when I’m blasting my music and pounding out miles, the only thing I can think about is that I need to keep going. For those few hours, I can forget about everything else.”
- Victor Wang, senior
“I de-stress by buying things, hanging out with my friends, talking in a British accent and putting off my work ‘til the very end! - Hunter Patrick, sophomore
“When I feel like I need to take a step back from studying and classes, I hit the gym. For me, regular weightlifting and cardio training are key to de-stressing from school. It is important for students to exercise because it helps relieve stress and promotes a healthy lifestyle.”
