How to Practice Self-Care (Stressed and Beyond)

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Junior year was full of many expectations about the wonderful life I would be living as a senior. While my life is wonderful, it certainly has not gotten any easier, which was a major part of the dream. I spent my fall semester working my butt off, managing Zoom classes, balancing work and work study, and wrapping up my final officer positions with a neatly tied bow. I even earned straight As 一 defying the expectation that it would be the worst semester of my academic career 一 and made the Dean’s List! Still, taking care of my physical and mental health took a backseat. 

I spent all of winter break recovering from the fall and looked forward to finally relaxing in the spring. It’s now spring 2021, and in a few months I will graduate from Coe. Midterms have past, and I’ve taken some time to reflect on my accomplishments as of today. One of which is finally, after all these years, practicing self-care. I want to pass on some knowledge that I’ve gained about the importance of self-care and some tips on how to take better care of yourself. Trust me, you do not want to wait until you’re 22.

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Understanding Stress

I don’t mean to brag, but I am unapologetically proud of myself and am grateful for the time, effort, and stress I experienced to get to where I am today. I also realize that despite the changes to my schedule and workload I am still physically, mentally, and emotionally overwhelmed. With the temperature below zero for weeks at a time, and traveling to and from work by foot, I was drained of my naturally high energy. The accumulated stress from the past four years plus the new stress of a new job and lifestyle changes quickly took their toll as well. 

For those of you who are not aware, stress can be both good and bad. Chronic stress, or prolonged stress, is the bad type of stress and doesn’t allow enough time for you to recover. For example, if you’re not financially secure or you are food insecure you are facing constant stressors that take a lot of time and resources to work through. Without time to rest, individuals with chronic stress tend to become ill more easily and more often, and suffer from burnout and exhaustion. Acute stress, or short periods of stress, is considered to be the good type of stress, because it allows time for you to recover. Having an extracurricular (sport, club, service) that you participate in can be stressful, but it takes you away from your usual, not so fun routine, and allows you to stay engaged throughout the day.  

Fun events can still be stressful, and with negative events that also create stress the two add up and can eventually lead to burnout. Wow, that’s a lot of stress! I know, but once you notice just how stressed you really are, you can take steps to remedy. Here are some to get you started:

1.Let in the Light

It doesn’t matter whether you have one large window or one smaller than a trash can, let in the light. Natural light boosts your mood, helps you wake up (and stay awake), and makes your space feel more open. When I’m feeling ill, I keep the blinds closed to reduce migraines; however, a majority of the time letting in the light makes me happier. You can see more clearly, and the strain of computer light is lessened. Natural light can help keep you focused on your work and motivated to reach your daily goals. 

2.Sweet Scents

Another way to practice self-care is by making your environment more welcoming. We spend a lot of time indoors, so changing that space to make us comfortable will do wonders for your mental health. I prefer to use an essential oil diffuser, to spread sweet tangerine and lemongrass throughout my apartment. You could also open a window to let in fresh air, or use an air freshener. If you don’t like too many smells (allergies) you could focus on cleaning your space to keep everything fresh-smelling, for example, wiping surfaces to clear away dust. 

3.Keep It Clean

Proper, good hygiene is often a game changer for many and most don’t even realize it. Take a shower (or a bubble bath), brush your hair, massage your skin, and/or wash your face. When we’re stressed we often push our physical health to the side, when we should really prioritize it; especially once you feel better. Do your laundry, clear away trash, and/or catch up on your usual cleaning routine. This can help you feel productive and set other self-care activities in motion.

4.Take in the Sights

The weather has improved substantially. Yes, it keeps snowing, but it’ll be 50 degrees again soon. Take a stroll during the day, or walk slower on your way to and from classes. The Alumni Garden is open every day now, a little bit of nature does wonders for your health. Watching hummingbirds fly by, or hopping from stone to stone can help you feel more engaged with your body. This is most beneficial for people who struggle to feel grounded in the present moment. 

5.Sit Down and Write

Once a day where you can afford to take it easy, sit down in a comfortable spot and write. Write about your hopes and dreams, your plans for the week, or even your monthly budget. Writing can help you remain present instead of worrying about everything else you have to worry about. I enjoy writing and find that when I make time to write I feel much more relaxed and prepared to complete other tasks. If writing isn’t your style, you can always sing your favorite songs, crochet, or anything else that allows you to effortlessly focus on one moment. 

Fun fact, on Tuesday, March 23 we have our second “academic break day” of the term. This could be the day you start your new self-care journey! Below are some helpful sources and COVID resources as you should keep COVID guidelines in mind when planning your activities.

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Helpful Sources
Understanding Good Stress vs Bad Stress: https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2012/12/good-stress-bad-stress.html 
Prevent Burnout:
https://www.helpguide.org/articles/stress/burnout-prevention-and-recovery.htm#:~:text=Burnout%20is%20a%20state%20of,unable%20to%20meet%20constant%20demands.
Natural Light Increases Productivity:
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/study-natural-light-is-the-best-medicine-for-the-office-300590905.html 

Covid Resources
Things to Know about COVID-19: 
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/need-to-know.html
CDC Tips on How to Care for Yourself During the Pandemic:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/stress-coping/care-for-yourself.html
State of Iowa Agency Guidance:
https://coronavirus.iowa.gov/pages/guidance
City of Cedar Rapids, IA COVID-19 Information:
https://www.cedar-rapids.org/alert_detail/coronavirus_(covid-19).php

Making Self-Care a Priority

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Can you believe that we only started classes last Monday? It feels like it’s only been a week, while also a month at the same time. I spent the first week of classes trying to balance the pressures to get myself adjusted to the term with the physical and mental strains of leaving my old job for a new one. My commute for the past year has been rather short, but this new job has me walking over sheets of ice and gray slush sometimes four times a day for about 20 minutes at a time. I didn’t realize just how stress-inducing this semester was until my body made me notice, as it reached complete exhaustion.

On Sunday, my mother made me promise to practice self-care starting tomorrow (Saturday), however, my body pushed those plans up as all the work I’ve put in since the pandemic hit finally hit me. I have a problem, and it’s called being a hustler. I struggle to shake the feeling that I never do enough or that I always need to push myself beyond my limits in everything I do. This habit of mine has helped me so much my entire life, however it’s simply not sustainable, and I have no choice but to accept this truth. 

At this moment, I’m listening to “epiphany” from folklore (Taylor Swift), glancing out the window at the bright mounds of snow piled along the sides of one of Coe’s parking lots. I haven’t felt this motivated in quite some time. This is the feeling of true inspiration, the feeling of accepting my feelings as they are now and taking action accordingly, instead of forcing myself to pretend that I am okay when I am not. 

No longer will I neglect my need for essential oils; my diffuser has created an atmosphere of lemongrass and tea tree which has greatly helped my breathing. I picked up my new yellow Switch Lite (the color of happiness, sunflowers, and pichus) and placed it in between my puppy-eyed German Shepherd phone holder and white kitty sticky-notes holder. I have a tall cup of ice water that hydrates me and my cardigan warms me in these below freezing temperatures. 

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I’m sure that so many of us Kohawks are in the struggle - trying to stay focused during Zoom classes, keeping up with work when we’re ill, or even dealing with an annoying ex. Whatever you’re going through, your health should be one of your priorities. Trust me. You do not want to end up 22 years old, struggling to sit and rise up because your thighs are dying; unless you’re into that (I’m talking about you, “Leg Day” people). 

My posts for this final semester of mine will be devoted to spreading the news of self-care and self-love, and trying to give what advice I can give before I graduate. 

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If you’d like some background, make sure to check out these self-love posts, and other posts on our blog about self-care. 

https://coecollegelearningcommons.blogspot.com/2020/03/what-not-to-do-and-what-to-do-when.html

https://coecollegelearningcommons.blogspot.com/2020/02/intro-to-self-love-glossary-of-posts.html

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How having and training your resilience can help build you up for a great semester

What is resilience? 

Resilience is the ability to bounce back from difficult situations. Didn’t do so well on an exam? Then your resilience can be shown by how hard you study for the next exam or how you might take better notes. Perhaps the role you were hoping to get was filled by someone else in your club, perhaps you take a few steps to congratulate and help the new officer with their role by telling them about the things you would have liked to do in that position.

Research done by Richard Sagor showed that students who have had more positive experiences earlier on in school show more resilience, such as, ones that proved competence, demonstrated a sense of belonging to the community, made them feel useful, or gave them a sense of agency.

Now that we are in college now, we have more independence and it can be more difficult to really get recognition that can build up our resilience. Some activities that you can do to help build resilience can include, but are not limited to…

Building a sense of competence:

It can be hard to feel that you are doing things correctly when your schedule consists of spending most of your time completing assignments to turn in the next day digitally, only to be assigned another and perhaps receive a number rating how well you did maybe a week later. 

There are lots of apps available for helping including habitica, trello, and asana to name a few.

Develop a sense of community:

It can be difficult to gain a sense of community as most of our daily lives have been transformed into a digital landscape, void of most face to face communication. However, you were fortunate enough to pick Coe College for your campus where we have lots of clubs and groups to join! 

You also aren’t limited to clubs and activities on campus. Find volunteering opportunities with a quick google search or check out this site here with a few good opportunities for students!

Feel useful:

In the last bullet point, we discussed briefly donating our time or resources to charity. You can also help a little bit more within campus by taking on roles in your club or buying seeds to feed to the squirrels. More things that you can try is to check in with some friends or set up a group chat where you can talk to your friends all at once like at a table at the caf. This would be a great chance to ask for favors and offer to help others with their own. Helping friends to the grocery store, lend some notes, or be a sounding board for a presentation or prep for a test.

Take back control of the things you can:

While there are things we cannot control, like how long we will be wearing masks for or what they’re serving in the caf, but we can take control of things such as some of the design of our rooms, our schedule, our style of notes, what activities we do in our free time, and while relaxing, this can also cause some anxiety if you have too many things that you would like to do. To help relieve this, Be aware of what you let in — Netflix, online games, social media posts. Allow yourself some space and time to declutter your mind and religiously build in “me time” into your day. This could simply be some time for quiet meditation, home workouts, or doodling. Respond to situations or people only after you’ve taken the time to think. And when you need to think, repeat step one.

Above all else, it is important to think of yourself as a learner in this situation — something you did at school and are continuing to do at college. While these are dark times, they have also given you the opportunity to get to know yourself better, to connect with how you experience the world around you. So keep calm, and learn on.