{"id":4955,"date":"2021-10-11T21:31:12","date_gmt":"2021-10-12T01:31:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/inside-rec\/?p=4955"},"modified":"2021-10-25T15:56:01","modified_gmt":"2021-10-25T19:56:01","slug":"combatting-anxiety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/inside-rec\/2021\/10\/11\/combatting-anxiety\/","title":{"rendered":"Combatting Anxiety"},"content":{"rendered":"

After a stressful first year of online college, I was feeling really burnt out and run-down <\/span>by the time I got home to Connecticut for the summer. I\u2019ve struggled with anxiety, overthinking, and other mental health issues since about my freshman year of high school. Knowing I was going to be home for a few months and have a lot of time to relax and work on myself, I decided soon after getting home that I was going to go on a journey to change my mindset and become a more relaxed, positive person. Today, I\u2019m going to share with you some things I\u2019ve learned and some resources for you to help change your mindset and make your life happier.<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Read a self-help book<\/b><\/h2>\n

\"PhotoThis summer, I was on a reading kick. I was working as a nanny, which led to a lot of <\/span>downtime to read books rather than sit on my phone. I\u2019d heard a lot of good things about <\/span>self-help books, and I can safely say that it helped immensely in changing my mindset. The one that I read was called \u201cCalm the F*ck Down\u201d by Sarah Knight. In this book, Knight describes different ways to think about things that may be stressing you out in order to limit the amount of energy you spend on certain topics that are not important enough to be stressing over. She calls these \u201cf*ck bucks.\u201d If you stress over things that you can\u2019t <\/span>control, you\u2019re spending too many \u201cf*ck bucks\u201d and wasting too much energy on an outcome <\/span>that you quite literally have no control over. For example, if you have an outdoor concert on Saturday and the forecast calls for rain, it\u2019s not worth it to stress over the thought that it MIGHT<\/em><\/strong> rain because you can\u2019t control the weather. All you can do is prepare for it if it does rain – bring an umbrella, wear a raincoat, etc. This book helped me change my mindset and battle my anxiety way better than anything else I\u2019ve tried. Every time you find yourself starting to overthink about something, stop and think \u201cCan I control this?\u201d If the answer is no, distract yourself with something else. If the answer is yes, think of the next steps to get your desired outcome. If you want a good grade on your exam, set aside time to study, and you\u2019ll get a good grade.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Put good things out into the universe<\/b><\/h2>\n

If you read this headline and thought \u201cOh god, this is gonna be some voodoo manifestation stuff,\u201d you\u2019re kind of right. I don\u2019t think I\u2019m a witch, I don\u2019t own crystals, but I do believe in the power of positive thinking and \u201cmind over matter.\u201d It\u2019s too often that students and young people fall into the trap of automatically thinking that things are going to go wrong. \u201cI have a big presentation to do today! I\u2019m going to fail. I hate public speaking!\u201d or \u201cI really want this internship but I think that there are better candidates for the position!\u201d If you go into your day thinking that things are going to go wrong, things are going to go wrong. However, if you do the best you can, believe in yourself<\/strong><\/em>, and tell yourself that even if they do go wrong, you\u2019ll survive, you\u2019ll notice that things will start going right.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"World<\/p>\n

It\u2019s as simple as waking up in the morning and thinking \u201cToday is going to be a good day.\u201d If you go into the day thinking that you\u2019re going to have a good day, chances are you\u2019re going to look back at the end of the night and realize that you had a good day. Setting intentions for yourself is so important. And, if you ended up having an unlucky day, think about the good <\/span>parts of it, even if it\u2019s something as small as you got your favorite lunch.<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Know When to Take a Break<\/b><\/h2>\n

I\u2019m the kind of person who likes to constantly be busy. I\u2019m involved in multiple clubs\/organizations on campus, a double major, I write to-do lists in the mornings, take pretty <\/span>notes on my iPad, and like to constantly feel productive. However, I often find myself falling <\/span>into the trap of overworking myself until I feel like I\u2019m going to explode. Whether you\u2019re as busy as me or not, I think it\u2019s important for any college student to know when to take a break. If you\u2019ve been doing things for the past 2 hours, take a break. Listen to your favorite music, sit outside on the Quad, scroll through TikTok, FaceTime your mom, and NEVER<\/strong><\/em> underestimate the power of a 15 minute nap. College students are some of the busiest people, and it\u2019s easy for us to get overwhelmed. Having a balance between work time and scheduling in time for a break is so important to a successful college career.<\/span><\/p>\n

4. Surround Yourself With Positivity<\/b><\/h2>\n

\"PaintingThis one sounds super cheesy but TRUST<\/strong><\/em> me when I say it helps. Go on Pinterest, look <\/span>up positive quotes, and set one as your lock screen on your phone. And no, I\u2019m not talking about one with a sunset in the background that says \u201cYou miss 100% of the shots you don\u2019t take.\u201d I\u2019m saying find a quote that you need as a reminder in your life at the moment. For example, my current lock screen is a graphic that says \u201cLove yourself first.\u201d I used to have one that says \u201cOne day at a time.\u201d These simple reminders every time you open your phone can really help you get through your day.<\/span><\/p>\n

As always, cut negative people out of your life. If you have a friend that you feel like judges you all the time, maybe distance yourself from them a little bit. It\u2019s your life, you\u2019re only <\/span>this young and in college once, and would you rather remember being happy and having fun all the time or being judged and feeling bad all the time? I\u2019ve had my fair share of toxic friendships and once you\u2019re out and looking back on it, you won\u2019t be able to believe that you ever were friends with them in the first place.<\/span><\/p>\n

5. Leave the Past in the Past<\/b><\/h2>\n

I don\u2019t know about you guys, but I\u2019m a dweller. I can sit back and think about everything I\u2019ve done wrong in the past 5 years for HOURS<\/strong><\/em>. It\u2019s important to focus on where you are now <\/span>rather than where you were then. College is a time for personal and professional growth, and <\/span>when you think about how far you\u2019ve come rather than where you started, you\u2019ll feel so proud of yourself and so much better.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s important to remember that we are human. We\u2019ve all made mistakes. And half of the <\/span>time, the mistakes that you see as huge, nobody else remembers. Nobody remembers the time you fell in gym class during dodgeball in high school. If you\u2019ve lost friends along the way, it\u2019s just a part of your journey. What matters is the person you are now, and if you\u2019re actively putting in effort to make that a person you\u2019re proud of, that\u2019s all that matters.<\/span><\/p>\n

URI Resources<\/h3>\n