We did it, Thunderbirds! We’re at the half-way point!
As we begin the second half of our semester and come off celebrating World Mental Health Day on October 10th, I figured it was only right for me to share some tips and tricks on dealing with stress. If any of you are like me, managing a full-time job and being a full-time graduate student, your stress load is overbearing, and it seems like there are not enough hours in the day, let alone the week, for all your workload to be finished. Let’s be honest, Red Bulls and double shot espressos don’t do the job anymore; we’re all immune by now.
Stress impacts our mental health. We can either choose to accept defeat or fight back against it by finding ways to relieve ourselves from the constant, fast-paced life we experience. If we choose to accept defeat, the long run toll on a person’s mental, physical, and emotional health can be huge. Lucky for you guys, I am here to be your savior for all things stress-related.
Here are some tips and tricks to conquer stress like a true warrior that you are:
I like to use a website called Trello to write down the tasks I have for the day or for the week, which lets me be in control of what I need to complete and what I have completed. By using Trello, I realized that I could sort out my workload, which lets me have a little bit of free time to do the things I love. I highly recommend using Trello as your school agenda.
So, what should you do when you have free time and feel stressed out?
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- Watch your favorite movies! In the spirit of the spooky season, I tend to watch Hocus Pocus and the Harry Potter series on repeat. Yes, I know I’m a geek, but I will proudly admit it! Who wouldn’t want to watch Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince repeatedly?
- Read your favorite books or introduce yourself to new books. My favorite book to read is The Great Gatsby. I mean, come on, everyone would love to be Jay Gatsby, old sport!
- Go take a quick adventure and explore new food spots around the Downtown Phoenix area. I made it my mission to explore new food spots around the area because I believe food is the way to anyone’s heart and makes everyone happy. I recently tried Taco Chello with a friend of mine, and we both loved the place. The fish tacos are to die for! There’s your next outing for Taco Tuesday night. You’re welcome!
- Go get those gains! If you are the type of person who loves to maintain your wonderful physique, go right ahead. I, personally, am not one of those who goes to the gym, but maybe one day I’ll start my journey and get those gains. Hey, it’s the thought that counts, right? In all seriousness, working out does help with stress, as we all know.
This is typically how I deal with stress, and I encourage you all to do whatever makes you happy because at the end of the day, you are the main priority in your life. Your happiness is key to a long, successful life. Thunderbird is only the beginning of your journey; you will pave the way to the life that you dream. I believe in all of you!