With the end of the first semester coming to a close and the third nine-weeks approaching, it’s hard for juniors to not feel stressed — specially when the stress of school couples with homework, sports, activities, midterms, finals, SATs, ACTs, college visits, and decisions about life after graduation. However, there are always ways to effectively manage your stress. Here are eight tips to help you feel more calm. 

Breathe

The first tip I’m going to start with is to just breathe. This helps a great deal, trust me. Breathe in, then out, in then out. Honestly, just keep doing that until you’re calmer. Sometimes it helps to count. One, two, three, four, and five. Keep counting up or just start over until you don’t feel stressed anymore. From my personal experience, I know that this one has probably helped me the most.

Let it all out 

This one may sound weird, but letting your stress out can really help. Be Troy Bolton and yell until your voice is gone. Take a pillow and scream into it. Grab a stress ball and squeeze it until your hand starts to cramp up. Rant to your best friend. Do anything you can to let out all your steam. 

Walk Away

If something is stressing you out, just walk away. If you’re stressing over an essay or a test, take a break for a little while. Do something else. Read a book, watch an episode of a TV show, take a nap, eat some food, listen to music, or watch a couple of YouTube videos. When you feel ready, resume what you were doing with a clear head and stress-free attitude.  

Relax

Do what makes your mind feel the most at ease. Read a book or a poem. Grab that bath bomb you’ve been meaning to use and take a nice bath. Use that cucumber face mask you got the other day. Get some paper and a pen and write until your thoughts are all down on the paper, or take a nap, because you deserve it after a long, stressful day.  

Positive Mindset

Before you say no to this or say that it’s stupid, just try it. For a positive mindset to work, you can’t have those kinds of thoughts in your head. If you just stop saying, “I can’t” or “This will never be done” and turn it into “I can” and “This will be done,” you will start to feel more confident in yourself, and eventually, your stress will disappear. 

Be Around Friends/Family

Being around friends and family can definitely make you forget about all your troubles. Play a game with your siblings or parents, see a movie with some friends, or go bowling with someone. After that, you can come back (hopefully clear-minded) and get whatever you were stressing out about done.

Listening to Music

Whether it’s the calming sounds of a piano from your favorite classical musical station or the loud sounds of the guitar from your favorite rock band, music has a way of making people lose themselves. It lets us forget our problems for three minutes and focus on the beautiful melody of the music instead. 

Going on a Walk

Go outdoors and listen to the birds chirp. Feel the wind blow against your face. Go for a run (or, if you’re like me, a walk). Get together with some friends and play a game. Just being around nature can make a person feel so calm. Also, getting up and doing some kind of activity gives you the type of exercise that sitting around does not. 

We all get stressed, whether it’s on a daily basis or every once in a while. We all need to take a break and just enjoy ourselves. The next time you are stressed out, I hope you use at least one of these tips to de-stress.