Dealing With Stress

[The Shrub Dragon]

First thing's first, I'm going to put forth the reason I made this topic.

It is twenty-five to midnight, and I am too scared to go to bed because - as the last few weeks - I know exactly what I'm going to think about if I lie down in a dark room with nothing to distract me:  GCSEs.  Sounds pretty dumb, right?  I agree.  Even so, that's what I keep thinking about.  I've spent nights crying myself to sleep because I'm worried I'll disappoint my parents and my teachers by getting bad grades, I've had dreams where I don't get above a C on any of my GCSEs, and I've had nights where I've woken up shivery and nauseous and not been able to think of anything except my exams.  During the day, I am often completely and acutely aware of the fact that I could well be sitting in an exam room wondering why I spent so much time doing dumb stuff like rereading Harry Potter for the 479385794th time, or worrying about what will happen if I'm struck by a migraine halfway through an exam.  I'm a little sick of it, particularly as I've been told by so many people that GSCEs aren't anything to worry about and also that GCSEs don't matter.  That being the case, I'm going to hand this over to you guys:

   
• What makes you stressed?
• How do you cope with stress?
• If - like me - you don't cope with stress very well, can you think of any ways to turn that into something productive?

[Pam-the-Lamb]

 You'll do great in your GCSEs, just make sure you revise! I didn't revise at all and I did okay... nothing good but I'm hoping to go to university next year.

Literally everything can get me stressed. I remember when I had to take a step back from someone because of my depression and when they didn't come in the next couple of days it really got to me because in that mindset I just thought I was hurt them.
   I suppose it just depends on my mindset since usually I'm bulletproof but when there's even the smallest dip in my mood, I'll get stressed over almost everything. Another example was when I was waiting to get back into college and I was 90% sure I had failed everything and wouldn't be able to get in and I just felt sick every night and it kept me up even though I was exhausted.

I don't really know how I dealt with it... I've got an entire folder filled with lyrics that I write when I'm not feeling happy and they take my mind away from things. With the depression I just read about it in a psychology book and tried applying some of the therapies as best as I could and I also took up a hobby.


With stress, I just use that "no sleep" mode to write a load of notes in any given subject. Like... even if it's just rewriting an entire page and then converting that work into bullet points.


I probably sound like an ass but I suppose that's all I can say. In my mind, if I can't get into university I'll just try to become a police officer or enlist in the army and send all my friends the navy seal copypasta whenever they say something I don't like.

[Lord Raven]

What makes me stressed is having a lot of things to do.  How I cope is mapping out when I should have a certain thing done by, and most of the time I'd want it done by two days before it's due - the way this helps me is that have a wiggle room of two days in case something goes south (which it often does) but I still don't have much less to do.

As for helping deal with it and making it productive, I'd say use incentive based studying.  Like 10 pages of a Harry Potter book per practice problem or something, and listen to soft/quiet music in the background (video game music helps, think of your favorite video game OST).  I do like a problem or two, play like 20 minutes of smash or a few battles in Pokemon/RPGs for instance, then go back.

[Milsap]

I've got knots in my shoulders the size of golf balls from stress and I get daily massages to ty and get them broken up.

Not sure that's what she's for, to be honest...

[That Girl in the 'Roo Suit]

Lists are good. If you have a list of things you need to do, or what you want to do that day, you will give yourself enough stuff to occupy your mind. Also, the satisfaction of crossing stuff off of that list is amazing. It shouldn't be all academic, put a few silly things in there that are designed to distract you and make it a part of your routine.

I don't really deal with stress all that well, I'm a notorious panicker, even after I've resolved what needs to be done. Sometimes you just have to take a day off to calm down your brain; you don't need to be trying to work all of the time, it just isn't feasible. At the end of the day, your parents will be proud of you no matter how well you do, just use exams as a chance to better yourself rather than how people see you.

Like Muhed, sometimes I also give myself rewards for doing work: a trip into town for hitting my word count targets for a day, a night off once an assignment is finished. I didn't always hit them, but it gave me something to work towards (ice cream is a very good incentive, as long as you don't have the tub next to you whilst you work; I found that out the hard way). Sometimes even just taking a walk around the block can really make a difference and clear your mind.

[sylar]

anything can make me stressed tbh. late to something? stress. forgot to do something? stressed. bed is one inch further to the left than usual? stressed.

and usually i deal with it by just ignoring it which isnt helpful at all but honestly ive come to accept no matter what i do in life its always gonna stress me out so dealing with it is like using a thimble to throw water out of a boat when waves are crashing into it constantly lol

the worst part about it all is drawing used to help ease stress but nowadays if im Too Stressed i cant draw at all because im too busy thinking about all the things im stressed about

i live an exciting life

[Wrath of Zuruggu]

I have an anxiety problem so I don't really deal with stress very well. I'm very highly strung and quick to anger.

What makes me stressed is having a lot of things to do.

I'm the complete opposite, filling all my waking hours with things to do is the only way from keeping myself sane. I run myself into the floor with tasks to keep myself occupied and not worry. If I don't have anything to do I run myself into the floor at the gym instead.

It shouldn't be all academic, put a few silly things in there that are designed to distract you and make it a part of your routine.

Sometimes you just have to take a day off to calm down your brain; you don't need to be trying to work all of the time, it just isn't feasible.

Like Muhed, sometimes I also give myself rewards for doing work: a trip into town for hitting my word count targets for a day, a night off once an assignment is finished.

All of the above. Sometimes I just sit under my duvet in my pants and play video games all day long. Or I go out up the beach (especially in winter when it's quiet). I play silly games through my day like Farmville and Godus to break up the monotony of work and I feed myself Maltesers or grapes quite frequently when working as a reward system.

I also used to find meditation helped a lot, particularly when my heart rate went >90bpm. Just sitting in the quiet, controlling my breathing for an hour or so gave me a chance to calm down and think straight about planning revision or something. It is really hard to think when your body is full of adrenaline and your mind is clouded with "what if".

I also find a big hug or a good laugh with friends is essential in dealing with stress. Laughing on its own when you're feeling really down can perk your mood straight back up again :>

There's also a good song to listen to on youtube, a parody of "Let It Go" that all students listened to in their finals last year, of which I can't repeat the name of but I'm sure you can find the one I mean ;P

[Milsap]

All of the above. Sometimes I just sit under my duvet in my pants and play video games all day long. Or I go out up the beach (especially in winter when it's quiet). I play silly games through my day like Farmville and Godus to break up the monotony of work and I feed myself Maltesers or grapes quite frequently when working as a reward system.

Whenever I do a massive task at work, I'll go on Facebook or watch YouTube videos or play some Civilisation V for about 20 minutes just to allow me to get that last task out my head and prepare for the next one. Letting it all stack up is the worst. Hence the reason I got out of teaching. Too many unnecessary stresses in that job that people don't realise. It's not all 8-3.30 with holidays.