Tag Archives: Stress

College Stress

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By Aaron Harder

We all get stressed out sometimes. In college the cause of this stress is generally having a lot of schoolwork due at the same time. It might seem like your professors coordinate and plan this. After four years in college, I’m convinced …

Complaining about these conspiracies is not that productive when there are tests and paper deadlines approaching. So here are a few steps to help you deal with stress:

  1. Sleep: Stress and lack of sleep makes people grumpy so not sleeping while feeling stressed out means you’ll become super grumpy, making a stressful week even worse. Be sure to get plenty of sleep. It will be worth it.
  2. Eat on a regular basis: Stress and hunger can be a bad combination, but when stressed, it is easy to cut things out your life. Some things will need to be cut out when busy; however, food is not one of them. Try to keep a schedule and eat as healthy as you can during a stressful week.
  3. Reward yourself for accomplishing certain tasks or steps: Give yourself goals to reach. For example, if you study for a test for an hour you can take a break and talk with friends for a little while. Or when writing a paper, bribe yourself with your favorite cup of coffee. Give yourself something to look forward to!

Stress is an inevitable part of life and being able to handle stressful times may take work and practice. I hope these tips help you relax and develop the skills necessary when feeling stressed out.

What To Do When You’re Stressed

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By Aaron Harder

Sometimes when stressed I feel like this dog.

Sometimes when stressed I feel like this dog.

We all get stressed, whether we want to or not. It happens. While we can’t always avoid stress, we can control how we handle it. So here are some helpful tips on what to do when you are stressed.

Perspective

Use stressful times to grow. Although growth can come with some pain, it can be a great teacher. When working out, it is the stressing and tearing of muscles that makes a person stronger. So as hard, and maybe even annoying, as it is, try and learn from the stress.

Be Proactive

For type-A people, this tip might be really obvious, but for those who are not type-A, try making a to-do list or schedule. Writing out all the things that are causing stress helps get them out of your brain and allows you to get organized. Plus, you can cross off items on the to-do list after completing each project, which lets you feel accomplished.

Be Real

Do not be prideful about how stressed out you are. I am guilty of being stressed and then bragging to all my friends about how stressed I am. At times, it seems like everyone is just trying to “one-up” each other with how much we have to do or how little sleep we get. Don’t brag and complain at the same time about things that are not healthy. It’s like bragging about who is the sickest; it just doesn’t make sense.

Pic 4

Eating food like this during a stressful week is probably not the best idea.

Sleeping

While this seems like the first thing you sacrifice when stressed, it might be the most helpful to keep. Getting stressed out is easier when you’re tired, so making time to sleep can be really beneficial. Eating right, drinking water and exercising also help reduce stress.

Find Humor in Life

When stressed, do something fun or find something to laugh about. Laughing is a great stress reliever and serves as a reminder that being stressed is not the end of the world.

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A Healthy College Life is a Happy College Life

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By Emily Martin

Being sick is never any fun, but being sick in college is even worse. In general, college students have extremely hectic schedules. On top of being a full-time student, I am also involved in Waco Young Life (which includes two weekly Bible studies, intramural sports once a week and a College Life club on Sundays), I work at Baylor’s Visitors Center, I write for the Baylor Admissions Blog, I manage a small business called Calligraphy By Emily, which is currently helping me raise money for a mission trip I am going on in January, and I volunteer in the Pre-School Ministry at Highland Baptist Church. Life is pretty crazy for me, and I know that many other students have even crazier lives. When life is this busy, you are bound to wear yourself out, which eventually causes you to get sick. That’s exactly what happened to me last week. I overworked myself and ended up with migraines, a sore throat and an awful cold.

I promised myself that I wouldn’t let myself get to this point ever again, so I made a list of things I am going to do to prevent stress and sickness. Here are my five tips on how to stay healthy in college:

#1 – Find time to work out!

I am usually a pretty active person. I love running, yoga, hiking and pretty much anything that gets me moving and active. However, with a schedule that is this busy, my workouts are typically the first thing I cut. In an attempt to better my health, I have tried to schedule specific days and times of the week to work out in some way. Whether this means going to a Bearobics class at the SLC (Student Life Center) or running the Bear Trail, I am going to make sure that I work out at least five days a week. You can do the same! Find something you love to do that keeps you active! It will help you to stay healthy, AND it will relieve stress!

#2 – Maintain a balanced diet!

This is a great way to ensure that you are staying healthy in college. It is so easy to pick up some Chick-fil-A on campus (something I am frequently guilty of doing…) or to grab five of Ms. Mei’s cookies at Memorial Dining Hall (Also guilty…). If you start thinking more about eating healthier foods, then you will be less likely to become sick. You can do this by incorporating more fruits and veggies into your diet. The next time you make a trip to the grocery store, try to substitute some of your junk food purchases with apples or carrots. Something that I have tried this year is buying miniature bags of carrots. These are so convenient because you can grab one and walk right out the door. It’s not messy, and it’s healthy! You can also try to drink more water and less caffeinated drinks, such as sodas and coffee. I drink two to three cups of coffee a day, so I could definitely replace one of those with a glass of water. Decreasing your caffeine intake will also help you to sleep better at night!

#3 – Sleep sleep sleep!

I am pretty good about doing this one, but I figured I would keep it on my list so that I remember to keep doing it. Everyone makes fun of me, but I usually go to bed around 9:30 or 10 p.m. every night. Sometimes I have a lot of studying to do so I stay up later, but normally I try to get at least eight hours of sleep every night. Everyone’s body needs different amounts of sleep, so try to listen to your body and give it the rest it needs for you to stay healthy. Sleeping enough at night also helps you to remember all of the information you learned that day, so when you have a big test make sure to get enough sleep the night before!

#4 – Find time to de-stress!

Yoga is something I have found helps me tremendously when I am stressed about school or life, so I am trying to go at least two times a week. I can be stressing about a million things, but if I go to a yoga class, I am completely calmed and ready to take on the world afterward. I know that this might not be the answer to everyone’s problems, so find your own “happy place” to go to when you feel the weight of being a college student bearing down on your shoulders. You could also try taking a short nap, going for a run or going to a Zumba class at the SLC – anything that will get your mind off of your problems and will allow you to refresh and calm down. Staying healthy usually starts with living a stress-free life!

#5 – Give it all to God!

I start off every single day by spending 45 minutes to an hour with God. During this time I read my Bible and then reflect on what I read. Then, I talk with God about all that I have to do that day and ask Him to guide me through all of it and help me to stay focused on Him. It comforts me to know that in reality, all of our “big problems” are usually really small in the long run. Anything is possible through the Lord, and we just have to be willing to give all of our problems to Him. By doing this, you will be less stressed, healthier and happier!

I know that these tips won’t always prevent you from getting sick, but hopefully by making a few adjustments in your daily routines and habits, you will be able to live a healthier life!

 

Learning to Trust

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By Parmida Schahhosseini 

Early Morning

It was a breezy Friday morning when I began to wait for the bus after coming out of my apartment uncharacteristically late. Instead of being frustrated, I felt peaceful and relieved that the toughest week of my collegiate career was technically over (mind you, I’m a senior, so I’ve had plenty of challenging moments throughout my years). Looking up at the blue sky filled with pink and violet tints, I couldn’t help but stand in awe of God’s creation. I was reminded of the fact that He has complete control over my life and is preparing me for greatness.

I didn’t really know what I was getting into when I decided to take 18 hours and work 31 hours a week between two jobs. Many people ask me how I do it and sometimes I ask myself that same question. During this week, I found myself asking that question even more. It all started on Tuesday when I noticed I accidentally deleted a folder on my flash drive containing four stories for a video project for one of my classes. It was devastating to see all my work gone and that it needed to be retyped.

Janita

Needing energy to type up several thousand-word essays, I went to Starbucks and got coffee. My name is a pretty unusual, so I understand people getting the spelling wrong. However, I was at a loss for words when my coffee was delivered. How you get Janita from Parmida after I spelled it out, I will never understand.

Honestly, it was humorous enough to get me through the morning. I like to think of it as a personal joke between God and I (and the rest of the people who ended up seeing my name through my social media accounts).

I skipped my class to work and hoped to finish everything, but it was too late. The damage had already been done. Having to tell my professor and teammates that I’d let them down was sometime I wanted to avoid at all costs. As I tried to hold back tears for something as trivial as not having my stories, I began to let it affect me. Fortunately, both my professor and teammate were encouraging and said me not to worry about it. Only at Baylor can you find professors that care that much. I ended up having three of my four stories done, but fortunately, my professor is making everyone rewrite their stories, which gave me more time.

Along with school, work added stress to my already busy week. On Thursday, the Baylor Lariat (one of my two jobs) was releasing the first of its Homecoming special issues. These papers are always longer, so you need more content to fill the pages. I know the Bible states that tomorrow will worry about itself, but that message just wasn’t getting through. I continued to worry because I didn’t want to let my co-workers down. Normally, I’m not able to get to the newsroom until 5:30 p.m. because of my other job and classes. I wasn’t sure if I would finish my stories on time.

Fortunately, there wasn’t enough space on Thursday’s paper to fit in my articles, so my editor saved my feature story to run on Friday. This meant I needed two more stories to go along with it. On Wednesday, I was halfway done with the first, so Thursday wasn’t near as bad as I thought it would be.

It’s amazing how God plans everything and makes it all to work out in the end. Even during my most stressful situations, I am able to come out of it victorious. From the little moments at Starbucks to the encouragement from my professors and peers, God was able to keep me sane in this difficult moment.

Patience … (by P.J. Martinez)

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Who would have thought my last semester as a Baylor undergrad would have been such a whirlwind? It seriously feels there is not enough time in the day. Each day, I catch myself thinking “What do I need to do next?” “When is there a little break to take a nap?” “Oh yeah, forgot about that.” I’ve realized that being a second semester senior really isn’t as easy as it sounds. However, what you are involved in really can make a difference in your stress level.

This semester has definitely been a time of patience for me. First, in my other posts I have mentioned that I am a SING chair for the fraternity I am involved in. Let’s just say, being a SING chair is such a rewarding experience, but also a demanding/stressful one. I have prayed constantly that God grant me patience as I work with members who don’t want to practice, as I count down the days to February 14th (opening night), and as everything in regards to the act fits together. Being a SING chair has definitely given me the opportunity to foster relationships with the other chairs, and also given me the determination to not give up. It has made me realize how much I truly do love SING.

Second, this semester has been a time of waiting to hear back from graduate schools. Last semester I was in the process of applying and sending in applications. This semester has just been WAITING. Every email I get, I quickly open in preparation that the word “ACCEPTED” is bolded in the subject line. I have had an interview offer from one university, and still I wait for the others to reply. The waiting seriously has me biting my nails. Once again, my patience is tested.

This semester/year truly is beginning to fly. It’s scary to think that in May I will graduate. I have truly tried to live each day happy and stress free. Having patience has allowed me to do just so.

 

Bring on the Application Stress! (by P.J. Martinez)

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This past month has been crazy for me. Besides going to school on a day-to-day basis, the idea of what I want to do after graduation keeps coming up in my mind. What college is going to accept me for graduate school? I have been super busy with the college application process. I feel as if I am once again a senior in high school, getting prepared for Baylor once again. It’s kind of sad to say I will not be here next year. 🙁

Anyways, like I said, my mind is solely based on applications. It’s crazy to realize how many requirements schools have for admission. I have been typing an autiobiographical sketch, an application letter, and asking for letter of recommendations. One piece of advice I’d have to say is, once you get into my position, it would be smart to start forming relationships with professors and supervisors because they definitely will come in handy when it comes to applying to graduate school or jobs. Did I also mention that each application requires a fee? Yeah, that’s burning a hole in my wallet. It’s also been stressful thinking about all the deadlines that each application requires. I have come to the realization that although I may be stressed and maybe a little nervous, God seriously is in full control. Through this process I have learned to solely rely on him.

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future!” Jeremiah 29:11