\u00a0<\/strong>Whenever I feel stressed I end up with a million worries running through my head. Am I going to fail this assignment? What if I never think of a topic for my dissertation? Will I ever leave my bedroom again? It can be easy to get overwhelmed. The best thing to do when this happens is find something that forces you to stop thinking and focus on something else.<\/p>\n Doing something that keeps your hands busy stimulates your brain into producing good chemicals that balance your emotions and lower anxiety. <\/strong><\/p>\n Cooking and Baking. <\/strong>I have become quite a proficient baker over the last few months. I like baking because it gives me a tangible goal to work towards. \u00a0Weighing out ingredients, stirring, kneading, chopping; these are all very therapeutic actions that your mind needs to fully focus on. It is rewarding to work towards something fun for a change, instead of yet another essay.<\/p>\n You can easily find very simple fairy cake recipes, such as this one<\/a>, to help you get started if you haven\u2019t had much baking experience before.<\/p>\n Jigsaws. <\/strong>Doing a jigsaw is the best mind-numbing activity I can think of. My mind gets so pre-occupied with finding all the pieces and figuring out how they fit together that before I know it an hour has passed and I haven\u2019t thought about my worries once. Yes, you will get frustrated at times and yes, it isn\u2019t the coolest hobby – but it works.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Do Something that Occupies your Mind<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n Sometimes I don\u2019t feel like moving from my chair all day, and that\u2019s okay! Here are some things that help me to distract my mind when I don\u2019t feel like doing anything else.<\/p>\n Read for fun. <\/strong>You probably already do a lot of reading for your course, however, there is a difference between study reading and reading for fun. Reading an enjoyable book can help to lower feelings of psychological distress as you temporarily escape from escape into a new world (source: NCC)<\/a>. I have sometimes found myself going back and reading books from my childhood, such as \u2018The Princess Diaries\u2019, because I know it\u2019s something that doesn\u2019t require too much brain power to read. Any book or comic that you find fun to read is great!<\/p>\n Play Games. <\/strong>Similar to the guidance on why it is good to read a book \u2013 it helps take you out of your current world and into a new one. Any game is good!<\/p>\n I find games like The Sims to be particularly good for this; ones that are very stress-free and I can dip in and out of. However, I know that sometimes I can get sucked into playing games like that for hours on end, so if I just want a brief stress-reliever I play games like \u2018Geoguessr<\/a>\u2019. This is a free online game you can play. Using Google Maps, you are dropped somewhere completely random anywhere in the world. By moving around, you have to find out where in the world you are and drop an arrow of your location on a map. The closer you are, the more points you get. This game is very relaxing; it takes about thirty minutes to complete, and you can put some music on and enjoy clicking your way around the world.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Do Something for your Body<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n Have a daily walk. <\/strong>Even if it is only for twenty minutes. Walking is proven to reduce feelings of anxiety and other negative moods. It can also help to boost your self-esteem and reduce the symptoms of social withdrawal. Having a walk can also help to clear your head and open up a free flow of activity in your mind to think of new ideas. \u00a0(source: Healthline)<\/a>. Having a walk whilst listening to music is the most relaxing part of my day.<\/p>\n
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