Stress Management Strategies

School can be stressful at times. Managing this stress is a work in progress, no matter if you’re a ‘type A’ individual or someone who works on impulse. Over the years, I have developed a system for managing the stressful moments that come with life in general; more specifically pharmacy school. Next time you are stressed, these hints and tips may help you too J

1.      Get enough sleep!—I really cannot stress this enough. Each night (especially before a big test) I set an alarm for myself and say ‘Ok, whatever I don’t know by this time, I just won’t know’ and it works. This way, my brain knows that we have until this hour to get whatever we need to get done, done. Right before a big exam this is especially important. You’d be surprised what you can retain with that extra hour of sleep!

2.      Do what you enjoy. Don’t feel like you have to give up things like TV and exercising just because you’ve been told that’s the ‘right way to handle things’ . You can do any hobby you’d like, you just have to prioritize your time. Find out what parts of your day you are spending the most time and cut that out. Five minutes can make all the difference---Which brings me to my next point….

3.      Manage your time. I find that writing out an actual itinerary works for me. For those who aren’t as ‘type A’ I would suggest making a mental list of all the things of all the things that you’d like to get done.

4.      Reach out.  9 times out of 10 the person sitting right next to you is feeling just as stressed out an overwhelmed as you are, if not more. I found that joining study groups worked for it and me helped out a lot to have my professors there, ready to help if need be.

5.      Last but not least remember---Rome wasn’t built in a day. If there is a task that can’t get accomplished exactly when you’d like, it ‘s okay! Try your best to plan ahead of time to make up for the inevitable times when things just so happen to come up.

Danielle

P2 - Class of 2017