We all have encountered some type of stress and anxiety in our lives and especially as a college student I think that stress and anxiety are tripled. We encounter the life of a heavy workload, adjustability, and adulthood all in one. I chose to take SDS3482 Stress and Anxiety Management at the University of Florida to find ways in which I can control my own stress and anxiety while not only getting through college but life in general. This Fall 2020 semester has not only been an extremely tough semester for us students but also our professors and families who have been affected by the Black Lives Matter’s Protests, Elections, and last but not least the COVID pandemic we are still fighting. These three topics have caused an unbearable amount of stress on not only myself but others around me, and this course has taught me some strategies to help me reduce my own stress and anxiety levels.
When reflecting on our stressors, it is important to know what stresses us out as a person and also what relaxes us. During this semester, we were required to make a wellness wheel which consists of six categories which are: physical, intellectual, spiritual, social, environmental, and emotional. In my opinion, this assignment gave me a rough estimate of my current state of well being and a visual representation of what I need to change to have a healthier state of mind and well being overall. This assignment early on in the semester helped me to establish short-term goals to achieve weekly for myself such as exercising and eating healthier. Now especially with my current health situation, exercising is essential. I take the extra initiative every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday to walk around Lake Eola Park in Orlando with my boyfriend. This physical activity alone helped me to improve my mental and physical health. This course has taught me the importance of nature and the positive effects nature has on our mental health. Personally, my boyfriend and I walking in the park is not only a bonding moment but a moment of relaxation. Walking literally improves my mood, reduces my feelings of anger and/or stress, brings a feeling of relaxation, mental and physical support, and companionship, and improves my overall physical health.
Moreover, I also learned other factors of stress including time management and budgeting money. I am pretty sure everyone has procrastinated one or multiple times in their lives. I am unfortunately one of those people who work better under pressure and when I beat the shot clock I feel accomplished. Although it is great I get the assignments turned in, my stress and anxiety are at their all-time high and somtimes even the lack in the quality of work ethic is diminished due to the assignment being rushed. Time is so important to be used effectively because time is something we cannot get back. The organization is a key goal I have accomplished throughout the fall semester. Because of the COVID, classes being online was a rough adjustment for me and I was legit missing assignments because I forgot to log into canvas every day or I’ll get a due date mixed up for one class with another. Despite the mistakes, I bought a really cute aesthetic wall calendar that I physically write my assignments and goals for the week down. This way when I am in the room I am unconsciously reminded of my upcoming assignments.
In addition to time management, budgeting was a really good topic in this course. Time management and budgeting in my life go hand and hand. Time management and organization are two important factors I’ve learned to successfully budget. I use the calendar I mentioned earlier to also jot down bills and the due dates they need to be paid (without the amount for my own privacy). This way helps me a lot because I am also able to see what bill is coming up and this will tell me what I need to cut back on when it comes to spending money. While paying bills is always a stressful time of the month, this course has taught me the importance of self-care and putting aside a leisure fund. This fund is used for me to do whatever I want, such as eating out, going out with my friends, or even retail shopping. This organization I think has made me more responsible when it comes to budgeting and prevents me from spending unnecessary money or overspending. This fund gives me a limit and when that limit is reached I’ll find other ways to stay within budget and financially able to pay my bills.
Also, another method that really helped me was doing the interview and asking how others around me deal with their stressors and anxiety. This activity really helped me to take advantage of some of my interviewees’ methods to test if they work for me. One approach I took, that all three of my interviews included was listening to music to soothe the mind. I personally listen to rainwater, nature, gospel, or R&B music, these are genres I prefer to help me to be actually more productive than I thought. I initially thought that listening to music would distract me or make me lose my train of thought when attempting assignments, however, I later realized listening to the preferences I listed earlier, helped me from being frustrated and giving up. I also discovered the importance of music and how it exits out the extra background noises. This really helps because I have a really short attention span and when I am distracted I no longer have a desire to do homework (which I know is really bad). I however have discovered that I have a longer time of productivity when it comes to academia when listening to music. This was such a great takeaway from asking others how they deal with their own personal stress and anxiety.
In conclusion, I learned very good methods from this course whether it was from my classmates, additional research, and even Ted Talks presented on how to deal and control my stress and anxiety. I personally think that mental health should be our number one priority especially with all of this craziness in this world. This class has taught me ways to improve my mental, physical, and financial health while also helping me mend relationships that have probably cause some of this stress and anxiety in my life. Talking about your stress and anxiety by focusing on your physical health are ways that have helped me reduce my levels of stress and anxiety.
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