Relationships: The Good, The Bad, and The Stressful

We all have them. Whether it be a boyfriend, our girlfriends, our parents, even our grandparents, we ALL have relationships. While relationships can be great and give us lots of joy, they can prove stressful too. But when a relationship is more stressful then not, thats when you've got to ask, "Is it worth it?" If not, it probably means you should move on. Now this is easier said then done. I recently went through this with a family member. Because they were family, it felt like the right thing to do to visit them, but every week leading up to my visit I'd become so stressed and full of anxiety that it'd take me another week after the visit just to decompress. Eventually I had to confront this person, and explain this to them. It was hard, but in the end I felt better. I still see them from time to time, but its now on my terms and causes me substantially less stress. In the other case, that the relationship means enough to you, then its important to still talk to the other person and try to find ways to diminish the stress within the relationship. This can be hard. But at the end of the day, you have to take care of yourself if you want to alleviate your stress.

RELAX: Some tips:)

Since relaxation is so important to de-stressing, I'm always looking for new ways to relax. One technique I've yet to try is aroma therapy. I've heard amazing reviews, and who'd doesn't love things that smell good?! But in all serious, the different scents are said to have impactful affects on your mood. I don't wanna bore you with the details but here's a link to explain the relationship between anxiety and stress (http://www.calmclinic.com/anxiety/signs/smell). Instead of boring you though, I thought I'd share the best, most relaxing scents. So without further adieu the most calming scents:
Frankincense, Sandalwood,Ylang Ylang, Chamomile, Lavender, and Jasime
So thats the list! I'm on my journey to try them and will report back soon!

Test Stress

Continuing my theme of teenage stress, I wanted to talk about test stress. Whether its test anxiety, stressing over finding time to study, or just worrying about your test grade, test stress affects us ALL.  But conquering test stress is just a matter of preparing yourself!

If you have test anxiety:

       Remember everyone takes test and it completely normal to be nervous! It's even been shown that having a little nerves can help you perform better!

      Second, just prepare yourself. Don't cram the night before, but set up a manageable study schedule. Try visualizing yourself taking the test and get a good night sleep.

      Lastly, go into class and just focus on the task at hand. Don't stress over it or discuss it with others, just go in and take you're test. 

If you are stressing over finding time to study:

     Try planning ahead and creating an easy study schedule. Beyond that it's just a matter of finding effective time saving study tricks. One of my favorites is the flashcard app- take the 10-15 minutes to make your flashcards on this app and then squeeze in study time anywhere you have your phone with you! Also, it sounds silly, but make recording of important information and listen to them while you're doing something else. It will help reinforce the information and won't take any extra time!

If your worried about your grade:

     First, know that your grade DOES NOT define you. Everyone, even Albert Einstein, has failed sometime in their life. It doesn't mean ANYTHING. And one bad grade won't wreck your overall grade. You can always make it up! Just make sure you study hard and you will do fine! Maybe even try some of the tricks above to aide in your studying skills or calm yourself down. 

Keep it up!!

     

    

You get out, what you put in!

Being a student, I know how stressful it can be. Balancing school, sports, friends, etc, you can often come last. I try to address student stress as much as possible on here, but I know I probably miss more than I think! So starting this week, I thought I'd start a few week theme of student focused ideas on this blog! I will be gather a lot of the info from  this totally cool site, Totally Stressed Out, so BE SURE to check it out!!
This week I wanted to focus on how what we listen to, read, and watch, can affect our stress. This topic is often unthought about, but its actually really important!
While watching an hour of CSI or House seems like the best thing after a long day may seem like the best thing, it actually has quite an impact on us- and not in a good way. Watching such shows, (medical dramas, cop dramas, or even a really aggravated news rant) with all their negativity, have been shown to rub off and make you feel worse. So inside, maybe tune into a lighter comedy! Or start a new habit, like drawing! The same can off for aggressive music. Now I'm not saying you should avoid all aggressive music, causes there's some great stuff out there, but just limit it!
Its the same with dark media images and movies, while they can be good, if looked at excessively they can cause your mood to darken too.

Another under thought of thing that we consume everyday is media about body image: magazines, movies, even tumblr photos. As a girl, I know how much of an impact these images have on me. I know they're fake, but still, the constant reminder of whats "right" makes me feel worse about myself. No one needs that stress, especially since what you're stressing after doesn't even exist! So my advise, try not to let those images get to you, and limit exposure as much as possible! Everyones beautiful, whether you're a size 2 or not!
I'm sure there's lots more! But these are the ones that affect me most, so I thought I'd share them!
Keep stress free! :)

Love yourself!

Yes, it sounds so cheesy. But its true! Being a girl, I always find something I don't like. My thighs are to big, my pores are huge, my hairs so frizzy, there's always something. And its horrible! It never makes me, and any one else I imagine, feel good just focusing on the negative things all the time. All it does is bum me out and stress me out, niether of which I like to feel. And though its hard, the best way to battle this kind of stress, is yes, cheesy as it sounds, to learn to love yourself. In this link, the author shares her story and some great tips about accepting yourself, so check it out! But I thought i'd also share my story, just cause sometimes its nice to hear that other people have the same things as you happening to them to. Well at least I think so haha. But anyway, when I went into high school, all my friends were athletes, and looked like it. No one was bigger then a size one, and I was at least a 5 maybe a 7. They all had soft, straight hair and no problem with pimples. I had frizzy hair and acne. So I hated standing next to them, they always made me feel so ugly. I would get so upset over it and always try some new hairstyle, exercise, whatever to make me prettier. And it only got worse when they all got dates to the first dance and I didn't. But one day, I just got so fed up with always being so self conscious. I was getting to the point where I wouldn't do anything for fear of being judged. And it sounds crazy, but once I decided "Who Cares?!" I begin to feel more comfortable with myself. I still had slip ups, and fats days, but I was doing more and having so much more fun. And the crazy part, is that people noticed. People weren't shy around me any more, instead they reflect my confidence and were more fun too. And today, I still haven't perfected my hair or lost all the weight I would like too, but instead I value myself for what I am. I'm a great friend, a good student, and can rock sweats like nobody else :)
So just know, if you ever feel down your not the only one!

Applications on applications

Like many other seniors at this time of year, I am in the process of applying to college. I knew it would be work, but I had no idea just how much work goes into applying to  colleges! I already feel like I have so much going on with senior activities, class work and clubs, it seems impossible to add the extra load of writing essays, filling out form after form and being sure to stay on top of all the different application materials. If you're anything like me, you're probably under A LOT of stress too. While there's not much I have in the way of tips to make applying easier, I can tell you what has helped me tremendously through this process.
1. Get essays started early. Having a little if any work on them is better than none and helps alleviate some of the pressure too.
2. It's OKAY  to say no. I don't know why it's so hard to say no to people, but as hard as we try, it's not possible for one person to do everything. It's just not! So don't shy away from saying no. You don't need to add yet another thing onto your plate
3. Schedule time to relax. No matter how busy you find yourself, give yourself something. Otherwise you'll just burn out. So maybe treat yourself to some funny youtube or vine videos if your short on time, go for a quick walk with your dogs, or take a bubble bath instead of a shower. Just give yourself some down time.

Good Luck!!

"Life Is Too Short"

Like I've said over and over again, stress has a tremendous impact on our body. Just see the picture i've put in!
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Crazy. So when I came across this article in the Huffingting Post "Life Is Too Short: 10 Things to Stop Tolerating" I thought I'd share it. Each of the things on this list can cause stress, which we don't need! So why not stop? Easier then it sounds, I know, but maybe just being more aware and hearing some times here and there would help. I think that one of the best part about the list is that it covers a broad range of topics, some of them we probably don't even realize we are doing/stressing over, like comparing ourselves to others. Others are more obvious, but all in all its a good list and a great starting place to start tackling those problems. Hope it helps :)