Dealing with Stress - It's time to have a chat

I was definitely going to write about how I tried to go to my first yoga class ever and then I was going to tell you how absolutely hilarious it was because the only time I ever tried a yoga class before, I walked out within ten minutes. It was going to be this amazing story where I discovered something new about myself or something like that (or maybe that I could touch my toes?). But, as always, I missed the free, English-speaking yoga class I was planning on going to. Why did I miss the yoga class? Because I was stressed out and my sense of direction (usually spectacular) got confused and I went the opposite direction of the building I was looking for. 20 minutes late, I decided that it was not the day for my first yoga class.

What I obviously needed was to relax, hence why I planned to try yoga. Yet, what happened next turned what had otherwise been a horrible evening to an extremely pleasant one. My friend and I went to a cafe (okay, okay, Starbucks), drank giant hot chocolates (with salted caramel) and just talked for two hours. Not about anything important and at the same time about everything important. It was one of those no pressure conversations, where you talk about everything that’s been bothering you, but only if you want to, and the other person shares what they’ve wanted to talk about too. It was incredibly comfortable and cozy. After all, who doesn’t love hot chocolate on a cold evening? More importantly, it was nice to be honest and just talk, whether it was complaining about my day or saying what I was worried about.

Dealing with stress takes many forms, and in the coming weeks, you will be hearing about my many different attempts to relax. My mother’s even started telling me things to do, which means that this relaxation thing is serious business. Getting together with a friend and just having a nice chat over some hot cocoa may just be one of the best and easiest forms of relaxation. It’s so easy, yet there are a few specific things you should think about beforehand:

1. Find a friend you are comfortable with and invite them out
2. Pick somewhere (off-campus) to go that people won’t interrupt you and you won’t see anyone you know (this will offer more privacy and you will know you can time for just the two of you)
3. Make it fun! Pick somewhere you’ve never been to or venture further out than usual
4. Drink something that will make you relax (but alcohol and caffeine may just feed into the stress, so remember that)
5. Block out some hours for just “you” time (by knowing you don’t have to run off somewhere and that you aren’t going to do your homework during that time, you can actually relax)

Cozying up during the winter in a big armchair and talking to someone is not just comforting but let’s you get everything out of your system. Talking to someone can give you new ideas about how to deal with situations and it gives you the chance to take a break from the repetition of class, library, food, class, etc. It forces you to stop worrying for a while. It’s simple but effective. Afterwards, I decided to be happy and have fun for the rest of the weekend and that’s exactly what I did. I felt so much more like myself.