Opinion
Options offered to relieve stress
December 1, 2006
This is the time during the semester when stress seems to mount to an almost unbearable degree. Finals are only a couple weeks away, projects need to be finished and numerous papers still need to be written. Long gone are the days of elementary school when students watched movies and ate ice cream at the end of semesters. I, for one, still miss the ice cream socials -- they were far better than stressing out over finals and gigantic projects.
All of this stress is enough to drive a person insane, but there are a few remedies that can help to partially reduce it. Some of the simplest things can help to reduce stress, but they are often the hardest to achieve.
According to the article, “Take Charge of Your Stress” by Patricia Farrell, there are three essential things people need to do to battle stress. First, a balanced diet is essential. Second, sleep is imperative. Third, having fun is a great way to reduce stress.
“When I’m completely stressed out, I drop everything and do something completely unproductive,” UWRF senior Tanya Hawkinson said.
Hawkinson went on to say that when school gets her stressed out she talks to her roommates, plays on Facebook when she is supposed to be writing papers and watches some of her favorite TV shows.
“I procrastinate like no tomorrow,” she said.
Procrastination may not work for some people, but others thrive on it. Hawkinson plans to graduate this year, so the practice of procrastination has apparently worked for her.
Personally, I usually try to get exercise when I’m stressed out during this time of year. Even if I only exercise for about a half hour, it really helps to relieve stress. If I get exercise it helps me sleep, and if I’m well rested I am more apt to deal with stress in an effective manner.
Along with exercise, I usually browse the Internet to find random video clips that will make me laugh. I’m sure a number of people know what the “Badger” video is.
This video is a couple years old and it’s completely random, but it still makes me laugh. Several badgers pop up in a field with their arms waving up and down. These badgers are accompanied by a song that simply sings, “Badger, badger, badger...” Next, a mushroom pops up on screen and the song says “Mushroom, MUSHROOM!” Lastly, a snake slides by and the song says “Ahhhhhhh, snake! Ohhhhhhh, it’s a snake!” For me this is a perfect stress reliever since it is totally absurd.
Every time I watch it I try to picture the stoned teenager or the over-the-hill computer programmer who most likely made this video. For some reason this seems to calm me down a bit, and the mountains of homework don’t seem as high as Everest any longer.
So if homework is piling up and stress is getting you down, remember to try a couple of the aforementioned remedies. Whether it’s sitting down with your roomies and watching TV, going to the gym for a good workout or browsing the Internet for comical videos, these are all good ways to deal with end of the semester stress.
And if none of these remedies work for you, maybe an ice cream social is in order.
Derrick Knutson is a student at UW-River Falls.