Life @ EA
Mental Health Awareness Week – Tips
In celebration of Mental Health Awareness Week, we’ve gathered some useful tips from the Internet that can help alleviate stress and anxiety. We hope you find them useful.
The following are a few stress-relieving Tips
Take deep breaths
Taking deep breaths helps to slow down the mind and heart rate, which can go a long way toward alleviating stress. When students are feeling anxious about an upcoming paper or test, taking deep breaths will help them calm down so they can focus on the task at hand.
Maintain a gratitude journal
When students are stressed out about school, they may focus on these negative feelings, which can eventually lead to depression and anxiety. Keeping a gratitude journal can cut through the negativity and remind students of the good things that are going on in their lives, despite the stress.
By just taking a few minutes each day to write down what they’re grateful for, students can break through the negative chatter in their mind and pull themselves back into the present moment.
Pay attention to nature
Nature is everywhere, but often people ignore it as they rush through their busy days. When students walk to class, they’re likely thinking about their work and not appreciating things the trees, grass and sun on campus. By paying attention to these things and appreciating them, students can enjoy the moment they’re in, rather than worrying about what they need to do next.
Do one thing at a time
It’s not uncommon for students to multitask in order to get things done. However, that practice can overload the mind and increase stress. This ultimately leads students to be less efficient and effective in their work. Instead, students can be mindful of their work by prioritizing tasks and putting their full attention on one thing at a time.
Visualize
Athletes, actors and executives use visualization to see themselves being successful, which helps them overcome feelings of self-doubt and fear. Students can also incorporate this mindfulness exercise into their day by seeing themselves acing a test, getting a good grade on a paper or raising their GPA. This will help them increase their confidence.
Listen
Create a ‘Chill out’ music playlist with calm, meditative and relaxing music. Find a quiet location, close your eyes and listen to these when you need a break or are feeling stressed. Or play them in the background while you are working – ambient and instrumental music work best in these situations. Streaming services like Spotify have a Daily Wellness playlist and many other curated Meditation playlists for you to choose from.
Visit the Mental Health Foundation website for more resources.
