The De-Stress Manifesto

The Easter holidays have been lovely, and as much as monumental amounts of hot cross buns and chocolate was super exciting, the prospect of the looming exam period is not. This can be a real time of stress for some (most) people and pressure can be a good incentive! But stress is not, and it’s sometimes hard to take a step back and making sure we’re looking after ourselves, rather than supergluing the chemistry AS text book to our hands.

Here’s a list of a few things you can do to curb your worry and make sure you stay healthy, relaxed, and take a break!

1. Go for a walk. Fresh air is what your mum would recommend, and we do too!
2. Treat yo’ self. Boohoo, ASOS and Missguided are your friend, even if Business Studies is not… You can reward yourself for achieving particular targets, even if it’s just with a cute new pair of socks!
3. Stay hydrated. Water is good for your brain and your skin, dream!
4. Colour co-ordinate. Having pretty pens, sticky notes, calendars and to do lists makes actual revision a little bit less horrendous, but don’t let yourself think that rearranging your desk isn’t procrastination, it is!
5. Cup of tea. The British solution to every crisis.
6. Socialise. Don’t cut yourself off from people too much, your French GCSE is never going to love you back, your mates will!
7. Have a bath. Hit up Lush, get something that smells like heaven and just chill out for 20 minutes.
8. Colour. Those adult colouring books are super therapeutic.
9. Listen to music. Just pop your headphones in, put on an acoustic playlist of some kind and forget about AQA for a while…
10. De-clutter. Tidy room, tidy mind.
11. Stretch. Do some yoga, there are loads of videos on YouTube. When your brain gets in that fuzzy place you won’t be able to concentrate, giving your body a moment to release some tension should help.
12. Eat Something. Students are perpetually eating very poorly, and a McDonalds in one hand and a coffee in the other isn’t going to help much, and skipping out on food altogether is an even worse idea. Make sure you’re getting lots of fruit and veg, and the occasional slice of cake!
13. Read something else. If you’re sick of Of Mice and Men, find something you actually enjoy reading and lose yourself in a good book, or check out some more of our amazing Girl Got Faith posts for a while.
14. Routine. A well planned revision schedule with room for breaks is more productive than random or constant revision.
15. Light a candle. Sometimes all you need is some vanilla smell, and if stress is stopping you sleep, burn a lavender candle just before bed. The scent will make you start to drift off in to dreamland in no time!
16. Cook/Bake. Pound your frustration with the quadratic equation into a lemon drizzle (and then comfort yourself with a big slice of lemon drizzle)
17. Change location. If your desk is stifling you, head to the local library, or a coffee shop, or a friend’s house. A change of scenery might help you be more productive.
18. Switch off. If it’s too much and the pressure is getting to you, leave it. Taking an hour or two, or even a whole day, just to stop the stress getting to you is fine. Stick on a film, grab some popcorn, get in bed and just relax.
19. Tick something else off. Be productive in another way, you’re still getting stuff done and you’ll feel refreshed when you get back to it.
20. Pray. God has so much comfort and strength to give you. Ultimately, your identity lies in him, not in academics, and praying for sustenance and perspective will help you unendingly.