Hello! This is my second post in my IB series of blog posts in which I share IB tips and other things as part of my IB CAS Peace Project, Peace of Mind. (IB = International Baccalaureate).
So if you missed my last post, it was an overall sum up and pros and cons of IB, you can click here to see that.
Today I’m going to be discussing tips to stay relaxed and de-stress during times when everything can be too much.
1. Reading. Obviously as a book blogger I love to read and reading is my oasis from the real world. Whenever I just want to de-stress I read a book.
2. Youtube/movies. I always find when I’m not in the mood to read, watching something can help either calm me down or distract me.
3. Music. I love listening to music and it’s always calming and relaxing to either play my favorite songs, or loud angry rock songs to vent through terrible dancing and singing along.
4. Exercising. If I’m angry or stressed I find that going for a run or kicking a punching bag is always a way to get out frustration and anger.
5. Meditating/yoga. Doing some relaxing poses and focusing on your mind is a way for many people to reduce stress.
6. Writing it down. Sometimes I find that if I write down what’s stressing me out, I find that I can assess how I can take control of a situation.
7. Venting. If I’m stressed or upset I usually vent about it to someone to let off steam and just have someone listen to my problems.
8. Taking deep breaths. Focusing on something like your breathing can help calm you down and give you something to do while your body relaxes.
9. Ask for help. If something is giving you stress that it in your grasp to find help on, go for it. An important test coming up? Ask a friend to study with you or go to your teacher for extra help.
10. Don’t worry about the things you have no control over. In my theory of knowledge class my teacher posed an interesting tip. Make a list of everything that’s stressing you out, then cross out the things you can’t control, surprisingly, there are many things you can control. The things you cross out however, shouldn’t be your immediate stress, push those to the back. The things that are left on the list, the things you have control over, find a week to gain control over that thing that’s stressing you out.
For example the things that are stressing me out right now:
1. My mother
2. SAT/ACT
3. College
4. Life guarding job over the summer
5. My regents
6. My IOC for English tomorrow
I can’t really control my mother, college, or my life guarding job right now, so I have to push those to the back and wait until I can have control over them. I definitely can control my regents and the SAT/ACT by studying, so that’s what I have to do to make myself less stressed about them.
As for my IOC, (oral commentary on a passage from a book) that’s part luck tomorrow on which passage from which book I get out of Hamlet, the Crucible, and the Great Gatsby, as well how well I review the major themes and motifs from each book tonight or tomorrow before I do my commentary.
What are your tips for relaxing and de-stressing? I’d love to hear them, especially since my oral commentary for English is tomorrow! Yikes!
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