As the semester ends it means finals are slowly approaching, and there's something everyone shares from this: stress, anxiety, and the feeling of being overwhelmed. Everyone should be learning to de-stress from the finals, take a step back and breathe. It's important to remember that it's completely natural to feel stress and anxiety in ourselves but those shouldn’t stop us from obtaining peace. It can all start with taking breaks from social media, taking care of your body, taking some time to unwind and relax, and connecting with friends and family.

Like you, I also become overwhelmed with stress when finals approach; it leaves me restless and unable to properly focus. I've realized now though that taking some time to destress isn’t a bad thing. Here are three techniques I do when I'm filled with anxiety.

Meditate

First and most importantly, maintaining a clear and calm mindset can get you up and going and could help you finish strong. It could start with you in your room. Set up your space to be clean and peaceful. Ordering your surroundings can help order your mind. Adding plants to your space can help decrease stress and promote a more meditative environment. Meditation is a common practice along with yoga and prayer that can help your mind and body.

Get Moving

Another approach you can attempt is exercise, staying fit and being active can let you destress, it can also apply to taking a walk, jog or quick run. Eating well and getting enough sleep helps maintain the best health. A healthy body promotes a healthy mind too.

Unplug

Unplugging from social media could be one of the best escapes to destress, even if it's for a short period of time. You can listen to music or spend time on one of your hobbies. Try something new. One thing about social media is the novelty it brings. Our brain craves that. If we give it novelty outside of social media, we can still satisfy that while experiencing new things.

These are just suggestions; you can change it to fit your liking. But remember – stress only happens when you feel you must figure everything out at once. Just take a deep breath and move forward. For more tips on how to handle anxiety and stress, visit this blog.

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