Online learning is no longer foreign for students around the world due to the Coronavirus pandemic that has confined us all inside our homes. A lot of students have complained about the increasing workload due to online learning and the lack of social interaction. It is also sometimes hard to distinguish between home life and school life in online learning. All these things come together to cause a lot of stress for students.
Stress is very common among people of all ages, specifically for students chasing academic achievements. There are two types of stress, namely acute and chronic stress. Acute stress is stress that is short-term. It is released when you face dangerous situations, including fights with other people. In a way, this is a positive type of stress because it helps us deal with the problems at hand. Chronic stress, on the other hand, is long-term stress that may affect our health very negatively. It is usually associated with family problems, financial issues, underperformance, and relationship problems.
According to the US National Library of Medicine, some health risks that chronic stress entails include:
High blood pressure
Obesity
Heart problems
Depression
Skin problems
Menstrual problems
Headaches
Weight loss or gain
Upset stomach
Lack of energy and focus
Tiredness
It is certain that many students have had some of the aforementioned symptoms of too much stress. It is very important for us to know how to deal with these things instead of wallowing in that stress. Here are some ways to manage stress that comes with school.
1. Keep a positive attitude.
“A cheerful heart is good medicine.” It is important to stay positive even when things don’t go our way. Many times, during home-based learning, a lot of things may go awry, the main culprit being our internet connections. We must always remember that it is not the end of the world when something bad happens, and focus on making this world a better place to live in instead of sinking into our own fears and negativity.
2. Love yourself.
Even when things may seem very bleak, when all that you do seems to do nothing for your ever dropping grades at school and constant pressure from teachers, parents, peers, and yourself, you should always remember that you are more than enough. Our mental health is more important than getting good grades at school and excelling at subjects. We must take good care of ourselves and put ourselves first.
3. Accept that there are things you cannot control.
Sometimes, we have too high expectations that we are let down horribly. We don’t realize that there are just some things that we cannot control. We can’t expect things to change just because we want it to, and we should be okay with that. Change comes from within, and if we have done all we can do, it is enough.
4. Create boundaries.
Sometimes, we need time for ourselves and away from others. That’s okay. There are days when our social battery is empty and we cannot manage to talk to people. We have to set our priorities and think about ourselves and our health above excessively trying to meet people’s expectations of ourselves. However, we must also be reminded to notify our loved ones if we need time for ourselves instead of simply dropping them and “ghosting” them because it may hurt them considerably. A simple “I’m very sorry but today I really need time for myself,” will suffice. Don’t be a people pleaser and a “sponge.” A “sponge” is someone who overly takes in emotion and others’ problems into heart. It is actually very unhealthy and we should always set a boundary between our problems and others’ problems to manage our mental health. Everyone has a specific capacity and it is not healthy when it overflows. This is not saying that we should ignore other people’s problems, but we have to build a wall to protect ourselves from spiralling down, especially when we are not in a good condition, mental health wise.
5. Learn to manage your time more effectively.
Sometimes, we tend to stress over projects and assignments last minute because we did not manage our time effectively. It is important to know that a small step each day will bring us closer to where we want to be. That goes for our goals, projects, studying for exams, etc. Success is not measured by finally reaching your goal, but the process of inching closer and closer to it everyday. We can start making a planner and arrange our schedules.
6. Make time for your personal interests, family, and friends.
This point is quite interdependent with the previous one. We should manage our time so we can make time for our personal interests, family, and friends. When making a planner, we should leave a slot for them. Many times, it seems as though we have no time at all, and we are swamped with work, but there are more important things in life than grades and academic achievements. We should always strive to do our best in them, but we should not have to sacrifice time for ourselves, our families, and our friends to do so.
7. Have enough sleep.
Okay, this last point may be very hard, especially for students during test periods and times where there is a whopping amount of assessments. Sleep is very important. It gives our bodies, organs, and minds the time to rest and regenerate. It allows them to prepare for the next day, the next mountain to climb. We have to let our bodies do so. Getting enough sleep is the key to a happy life. To do so, we should manage our time wisely, and cut off any unnecessary and excessive things that may distract us from getting a good night’s sleep, including our smartphones.
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