I am about three and a half weeks into the second semester of my senior year. Bittersweet, I know. But that's not the word I would use to describe how I'm feeling right now.
With a column due in a few hours, a paper due in two days, and oh yeah, that whole "what am I going to do after I graduate?" question, words like "tense," "anxious", and "worried" spring to mind rather quickly.
So what to do about this stress? It's an age-old question and the remedies always seem to be common sense. They are, however, so unreasonably impractical to put to use so I decided to take a look into some causes of this underlying stress and the ways to avoid them.
According to an article on Menshealth.com, "Stress in Sheep's Clothing: 5 hidden stressors and how to take the bite out of all of them," the top five common causes of anxiety are using a computer, surviving a layoff, living with a newly pregnant wife, trying to relax, and driving.
Using your computer increases your breathing rate by 30 percent, decreases your blinking rate, and your likeliness to tighten your arms and shoulders unconsciously, said Erik Peper, Ph.D., director of the Institute for Holistic Healing at San Francisco State University, in an interview with Men's Health. What's the fix? By varying your body position about every half hour or just standing while on the computer, you can increase blood flow, thereby easing muscle strain.
One Finnish study's findings reports that people who remain employed after a corporation lays off a sizable amount of employees are twice as likely to die of heart disease elicited by stress from the job. I don't think many of us are in this situation, but this same sort of stress might occur after getting ahead of the curve on an exam and then feeling the pressure to maintain that throughout the semester.
The suggested remedy is information. Asking questions about responsibilities and how to keep up is vital to remaining in focus and taking some stress off.
Hidden stressor number four is: trying to relax. Huh? Yes, you read that right. Although, in the moment, breathing deeply and other such relaxation methods may calm you down, they do not help you to deal with the source of your stress.
Asking yourself what you are worrying about and what you can do to fix it will help to refocus your energy, Allen Elkin, Ph.D. and author of Stress Management for Dummies reported to Men's Health. He recommends making two columns: stresses that you can eliminate and those you can control, and to start with the first thing on your first column.
And for the number five underlying cause of stress ... driving.
Canadian scientists discovered that male drivers who were most irritated while commuting were more likely to be stressed out during the rest of the day. Does this say something about how female drivers are better? But I digress.
The fix, according to the article, is to get up earlier to miss part of that never-ending stop-and-go traffic. Another solution could be to try to adjust your morning schedule at work.
So have you had enough of this stress talk? I just want to mention a few other stress busters out there because let's face it, stress can come from loads of other sources besides those top five, and one method of coping might not be the best for everyone.
One way to deal is taking a "mental vacation." Imagining somewhere you feel comfortable and stress-free.
Another method could be giving yourself a neck massage … or better yet, get someone else to do it for you. And my personal favorite: playing your favorite song. It can instantly change your mood and leave you feeling ready to take on your next challenge.
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