DEALING WITH STRESS.

Let’s be honest here. If you’re in IB, you know all too well what stress is. Depending how lucky you are, each person has their own way of handling stress. Some handle them steadily and calmly, like Barney from How I met Your Mother tv series over here:

 

Or, if you’re the opposite, every time you think about your IB life, deep down in your heart you picture yourself looking like this guy over here:

                                    

     Whichever way you think you are in handling stress, just remember, ‘stressed’ is ‘desserts’ spelled backwards. If you are able to control them and channel them positively, something good will come out of it. You will find yourself more productive and more focused on your work while still having fun at the same time.

Without further ado, here are some of my tips to relieve or to control your stress level in the IB:

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1.       Laugh

      One laugh can change your stress level and even your mood in a heartbeat. Scientists have proven that when you laugh, you’ll send signals to the brain that triggers it to think about good thoughts. The same thing happens when you smile.

      

You can do this by having a couple minutes seeing funny videos on the internet, throwing jokes with your friends, or even simply by thinking happy or silly thoughts that will crack you a smile. So, laugh a lot! It’s the cheapest way to relieve your stress. In fact, it’s free!

2.       Listen to music

      There is a reason why pregnant mothers listen to music when they are pregnant. Music soothes you, and it helps the neurons in your brain to connect to each other so that you can be more focused and sharp. Of course, this only applies to calming music such as classical or ballads.

      However, if you want something you can dance to so you can loosen up and have some fun, any kind of music will do, really. You can even sing to it really loudly so you just get all your stress out there. After that, you will surely be much more relieved.

3.       Have a friend

      “A friend is someone who is always there for you, no matter what”, or so I’ve heard plenty of times. Although melancholic, I would say that the quote is true. Find someone that you can really connect with and that understands you. That way, you can let out all your stress to them and feel understood. A true friend will always be willing to listen to you, but you must also do the same.

      Listen to them about their problems as well. Therefore, you can learn from each other’s experiences and have the support you’ll need to deal with all the problems in your IB life. Sometimes, reaching out to them is just a text message away.

4.       Find a hobby

      A hobby gives you a time-off. As a matter of fact, it can be your escape from the IB life. It could be dancing, singing, playing sports, or anything that you love so much that you feel like you can lose yourself while doing the activity. That way, you’ll forget all the stress you have in the IB for a moment and come back to it with a fresher find.

      I know for a fact that a good friend of mine seems to love playing basketball so much, and by so much I mean so so very much, that he can get away with pretty much any stress he is going through just by playing for a couple of hours. Cool, isn’t it? So find your hobby guys, it’ll work just like a quick vacation from the IB.

5.       Exercise

      When you exercise, your brain is actually releasing a hormone called the serotonin, which is the same hormone you can find on stimulants. The cool thing about this hormone is that it makes you happier in an instant. That’s a fact. Trust me. I’m taking Chemistry and am currently studying medicines and drugs (oh life). It doesn’t need to take too long, you know. A half an hour jog or even a ten-minute workout session from a Youtube video will suffice.

6.       Channel your stress positively: Focus on what you can control

A lot of times, we stress on things we cannot do anything about anymore. This actually happened to me a lot. I usually got upset for a really long period of time after I felt like I did terribly in one of my exams. Even though I could no longer control what happened to my grade in that specific test, I kept on worrying about it again and again until I was really stressed out the whole examination week, which affected my performance in my other subjects. (Yes, the subject I did terribly in was Math HL).

So, after that, I just had enough with worrying. I learn to focus on things that I can actually control, which are the things that await me in the future. This includes my future examinations and essays issued by the IB. As it turns out, a lot of weight has been lifted from me since then. I know it is hard to let go, but you just have to do it if you want to make room for a better future.

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Speaking of exams…………….

      Stressing is good to give you the urge to fight, but over-stressing is really bad for you as it decreases your focus and confidence in going through the IB. So to relieve your stress, just laugh, listen to your favorite songs, talk to a friend, find a hobby, exercise, and only focus on what you can control. 

Yup, Good luck <3

-L