Stress management
About
Everyone feels stressed sometimes. It is a normal part of managing work, study and life. You can feel stressed if there are high demands on your time, ability and resources and you feel that you have little control over these demands. As a result, how you perceive stress an play an important part in how you experience stress.
A small amount of stress can be a good thing as it increases your energy and motivation to act. However, if the stress becomes too much, it can affect the quality of your life and cause problems with your physical health and your social and emotional wellbeing.
What to do
If stress is impacting the quality of your life, here are a few tips that may help you keep your stress levels in check and provide a sense of control over the demands on your time and resources.
Effective stress management can help you maintain a balanced life with enough time for study, work, relationships, relaxation and fun. Different stress management techniques work for different people, so take so time to find the techniques that work best for you.
- Identify early warning signs of stress, these can include muscle tensions, headaches, trouble sleeping or irritability.
- Identify your triggers. It can help to write a list of the situations or things that tend to cause stress.
- When it comes to study, it’s best to find out what’s expected of you at the beginning of each trimester and plan ahead as best you can. Planning and making time for study will help you to stay on top of your study load.
- Make time to practice relaxation. This will help your body and nervous system to settle when you feel your stress levels increasing.
- Try to keep a routine in your day or week, such as creating regular times for exercise, relaxation, mealtimes, and waking and bedtimes.
- Do your best to eat healthy food and get regular exercise.
- Speak to someone you trust about how they manage stress in their life, they might have some techniques that will work for you too.
- The DeakinWELLBEING app can help you find balance and develop healthy habits, which may help you to manage stress.
Getting support
If you find that stress is impacting your wellbeing, seek help. You can make an appointment with the Deakin's Counselling service or visit the student life and services website to find other supports available to you.
More help and advice
ReachOut provide information on stress management and relaxation.