Any tips to deal with stress

Hi @Roselove573, thanks for reaching out. Stressing about the future, especially about your career, is so understandable! In my honours year of psych right now, and recently, I often find myself stressing about my future career. So here are some of the things I do when I find myself being overwhelmed:

• I pause whatever I’m doing to take deep breaths and try to calm my thoughts. It’s hard to be kind to myself amidst all these anxieties but I always try to recite positive affirmations like “I’m okay, I’m doing well,” and “It’s okay not to rush things.” I find that making time to reassure myself that I’m doing well and on the right track helps me calm down.
• I also like to engage in activities that take my mind off things like crocheting, reading books, or watching my favourite shows.
• When things get too much for me to handle, I often talk to someone about my thoughts and feelings such as my mom or my friends. Speaking about my concerns to someone clears off my chest and helps me organise my thoughts.
• Lastly, like what @LilacLeopard14 said, allow yourself to take a break. You’ll have a much clearer mind and you’ll perform better when you let both your brain and body get the rest they need. It’s okay to stop thinking about your worries even for a bit to take care of yourself.

I hope this helps! All the best in your future endeavours! I know you’ll do great as a counsellor 💙

Hi @Roselove573 🩵🩵

It’s so normal to feel stressed sometimes. But it’s really difficult when the stress becomes too much to manage! 

I find that if I’m stressed because I have a lot of things to do (e.g. assignment deadlines, chores, errands, family/friend commitments) that breaking everything down into achievable steps helps me. Also in that, prioritising which thing I need to deal with now, and what can wait a little helps give me a bit of a plan/timeline in achieving what I need to do. I even write this down on paper to really help visualise my plan.

Secondly, I also find taking some time out and focusing on self-care can help to clear my mind and get back into focusing and giving my all on a task. Burnout or even just feeling overwhelmed can make really easy tasks seem so hard to do because we are so exhausted. Allowing yourself to take a break, spend sometime outside, get active, hang with friends etc. can often be the reset we need. We can’t even begin to do things for others if we don’t take care of ourselves first! You may want to check out the self-care space here on ReachOut for some ideas and more information. 

It’s so great that you’d like to become a counsellor one day, and I’m sorry to hear it’s causing you a great deal of stress because it’s a fantastic goal ❤️

lots of love and hope to speak again soon ☺️