Is food really a fix?

Hope everyone has had happy and stress-free holidays! I know I've been having a good break so far-it's definatly going to be hard going back to school! But anyway, this week I wanted to talk about how eating healthly can reduce stress. Now I know how hard it can be to eat healthy; after a long, draining day you just want something thats quick, easy and yummy, not something nessicarily healthly. But, when you eat these junk foods, your body is deprived essential vitamins and doesnt recieve balanced amounts of protiens, fats ans carbohydrates. Thus, the body isn't able to regulate everything as effienctly because it hasn't been fueled properly, which causes you to feel sluggish and tired. Combine that feeling with mounting stress,  and combating your problems becomes ten times more difficult. So recently, I did a little experiment and for a week straight I only ate healthy, well balanced meals. Within a few days that sluggish feeling went away and by the end of the week I had much more energy. I felt better able to accomplish tasks and fight stress, which in turn help me feel less stressed! Not only did I feel better, but by the end end of the week I had lost a pound! And that always makes anyone feel a little bit better ;)

FINALS!!

Its that time of the year again...FINALS. For many students, finals can be one of
the most stressful times of the year, so, to help battle finals stress, here are my tips to help you stay stress-free..or at least sane through finals.
1. Don't procrastinate. Start studying early; use those extra ten minutes that you use to check instagram to review some of your notes. Trust me, the time adds up. You'l feel less worried about knowing the information, cause you've been reviewing, and wont have to cram nearly as much. This rule also applies to projects. Get them done ahead. That way you won't have to spend valuable study time on them and you have enough time to go back and fix them if you need too. Its a double win.
2. Set up a study date with a friend. Sometimes, having another person can aide your studying since they can quiz you or explain things in a better way. Plus, its always nice to spend time with a friend :), espically when your stressed.
3. Use online resources. I'm the type of person who gets extremely bored of just reviewing notes, so I often search online for what i'm studying and use one of those resources instead. Many teachers have their own quizzes too, so feel free to browse teacher website too.
4. Finally, on the day of your finals, eat a breakfast and brings snacks. Nothings worse then being grouchy and hungry. Along with this, be sure to get sleep the time before; sleep gives your brain time to sort through all the information its learned.

Good Luck!!

UN-Pleasant Passiveness

When meet with a problem, sometimes the best solution seems to be to take the passive route. One may assume that it would minimize the chance of an argument from happening and may make someone feel like they're just doing the "nice" thing. But most of the time, not clearly setting boundaries only causes that person more problems and thus more stress. By being passive, one provides the person they are confronting with an opportunity take advantage of them, which never ends well. So while it may be easier to take the passive route, if you want to protect yourself it is much better to remain assertive when talking to someone. Being assertive isn't easy; sometimes you can take it one step to far and act aggressively, or you can fall back a step, and remain passive. So, to keep from being either of those, sometimes it is helpful to remember LADDER. L-look at what you want and examine how you feel, A-arrange a meeting; don't randomly confront them, D-define the problem, D-describe your feelings to the other person, E-express what you want clearly, and R-Reinforce the other person by explaining mutual benefits. Remember not to attack the other persons, keep a calm tone and don't feel guilty about asking for something. Even if you don't get what you want, you have set a fair boundary that people can respect.

**LADDER taken from: http://www.mindtools.com/stress/pp/Assertiveness.htm

Ahhh....

Sometimes, the best ways to de-stress, is to just relaxxxx... I personally think their's nothing better than the feeling of having nothing to do and being able to spend a few hours just resting. But, like most people, I very rarely have enough free time to do so. So, recently, I have been trying to incorporate little burst of relaxation into my hectic schedule. On a daily basis, I like to listen to calming music, give my self a small temple rub, or even just close my eyes and take a few deep breathe. During the week though, I always try to find a few minutes here and there to treat myself to a longer period of relaxation  For example, I might squeeze in a short session of yoga or take a hot bath instead of a shower. The small pleasure of having this  time to relax has really help relieve a lot of the stress I feel through out the week, and I have found I am also more focused and alert after than I am if I just push through the day without any breaks.