Stress and taking a ride on the hot mess express to the holidays

Photos by and written by Amy Bridges

With exams and final assignments coming up stress is ramping up and this is where we need to make sure we are doing everything we can to control it as much as possible. While I am fully aware that you can’t just magically be not stressed anymore there are some things that you can do to quiet your mind for at least a couple minutes. Sometimes those couple of minutes are just what you need to get through the rest of the day or week.

I had seen something on Instagram that the TDSA were handing out Exam care packages so I decided to go and get myself one. There were some great stress relieving things in there which included some bubble wrap, a stress ball, a bath balm, a colouring book with some crayons and my favourite thing that was in there a little teddy bear to cuddle. I named my Sven.

While I am sure I have written about stress before on the blog ( Ways to destress in Durham and  How to destress Covid Edition) when it comes to university and post-secondary school as a whole there is always stress that comes along with it.

Instead of giving you a list of things because most things about stress are just a listicle of stuff to help, I am going to give you what I actually do.

First, I panic and have massive anxiety while I make my lists. I find lists help so by the end of year I have about four. I have my normal bullet journal (which you will get a full rundown closer to the new year when I set it up), and then I have a to do list for the end of the year, I have daily lists of this is what needs to be finished this day to stay on track and then I have grocery and other to do lists. I keep track of these lists by making them all colour coded. It makes my life a little easier and when I see the lists and see that I still have time for the projects that I keep thinking I am behind on.

Once the initial panic is over then I can start to panic about time and try to shove everything in all at once. This is where it gets interesting to watch. I end up doing multiple things at once and the end of the semester ends up feeling like a blur of stress, tea and papers flying everywhere.

As the last assignments roll in and there is only two or three left that’s when I normally breathe a little better. I don’t have to worry about weekly classes or quizzes anymore just the last exam or paper. That is when I start feeling and to be honest looking more human again. Once the days get closer I normally start a countdown to when I can sleep and that is when it gets exciting.

So, if you are like me and a scrambling hot mess of anxiety just know you are not alone and we will be taking the hot mess express to the break together.