Ten Wajs to Reduce Stress
BY KRISTEN WOHLERS
Because o f work, school, traffic and other worries, you may be feeling stressed.
A dd midterms to that pile o f stressors, and you m ight fall over. Here are ten ways
to narrowly avoid the falling part.
Get out the colored pencils
Or markers, crayons, pastels? Coloring and
draw ing aren’ t just for kids. Calle Pierson,
a counseling intern at Clackam as Com m u
nity College, suggested drawing a picture of
a body (non-artists, fear not, a stick figure
w ill suffice) and m arking the spot where you
experience tension.
If th a t’ s too involved for you, just draw
or color.
View a few slime videos
Slime is trending. Heaps of social media ac
counts exist solely for posting slime videos, and
they’re not hurting for viewers. On Instagram,
l million people have opted to clog up their
feed with quiet videos by @satisfyingvideo of
manicured hands handling slime o f varying
textures.
Why so satisfying? It might be a phenome
non known as Autonomous Sensory Meridian
Response, where people experience tingling
sensations down their scalp and neck along
with feelings of relaxation as a result of visual
Oraudio stimulation.
“ I find these ASMR videos quite relaxing be
cause of the very little noise they produce,” said
Piper Doan in an instant message, who is the
owner of @slimeintemet, an Instagram account
with more than 35,000 followers.
“ It’ s like warm sand being poured all over you,
trickling over your head and down into your
shoulders. It’s like goosebumps on your brain. ”
Pierson also suggested videos containing
guided imagery or body scans.
Talk to yourself
You might think this would lead you closer to
insanity than to sanity, but according to the
experts, you would be wrong.
"I’ m a big advocate of self-com passion,”
Pierson said, “ so speaking to yourself the way
thatyou’d speak to a close friend or a pet. Most
people would not look at their dog and be like,
‘You’ re so stupid and horrible,’ right? That’ s
abusive. And you m ight find yourself when
you’re stressed out saying, ‘W hy didn’ t I do
this? This was so dumb.’ Take a minute to be
like, ‘Okay, I messed up. But now I need to move
forward and that’s okay.’ ”
Breathe
Before you have to pull out the paper sack to
control an anxiety attack, practice controlled
breathing. One method is known as “ square
breathing.” Breathe in while counting to four,
hold it while counting to four, exhale w h ile
counting to four and repeatfour times. Try this
exercise at least four times a day.
Exercise
Watch YouTube
One YouTuber, who has m ore than 800,000
followers on her channel Gentle Whispering
ASMR, posts videos of herself whispering and
performing slow motions such as tapping. In an
interview with “ The Washington Post,” Maria,
the Gentle W hisperer herself, described the
experience.
“ It’s like showers of sparkles,” Maria said.
It doesn’t have to be intense or time-consuming.
Find what works for you. Going for a run or a
walk can amount to miles of head-clearing, or
shooting hoops or dancing. Clackamas student
Jacob Dunn likes to go out and skate.
“ I know adding it to people’s schedules might
be a little hard, especially around midterm,”
Pierson said. But most people can squeeze out
a half-hour that might otherwise be wasted.
Plan ahead
When it comes to tests, homework and sched
uling, gather your to-dos ahead of time.
“ Preplanning is huge in terms of coping with
stress,” Pierson said. She recommended using
Microsoft OneNote or Google Calendar.
“ Have it in one spot instead of on 10,000
sticky notes,” Pierson said.
Listen to music
If you commute to the college, prep a list of
tunes and utilize that time to decompress. When
you’re studying, white noise apps can be both
relaxing and helpful in drowning out outside
noise.
If all that fails, just turn on Lady Gaga, which
w ill help you forget about your worries and
transport you to the halftime performance of
the century.
Lean on friends and family
When you’re drowning in an ocean of stress,
your social network could be a lifeboat. But
cling to the ones who have a calming effect on
you, not those who rile you up.
Student Bailey Dunn likes tb engage his
friends in an unconventional way, which just
might provide comedic relief for everyone in
volved.
“ To relieve stress I like to m ess w ith m y
friends, like do pranks, not really rude pranks,
but just pranks,” Dunn said.
See a counselor
If your stress or anxiety becomes unmanage-
able, counselors are available on campus. For
information and appointments, students can
visit ulifeline.org/clackamas online, call 503-
594-3176 or drop by their office, located in the
Community Center.