By Rafael Robledo

As students, we tend to have high stress levels due to the constant workloads that we have or due to personal reasons which affect our daily life. I’d like to share with you how I manage my stress levels and hope that they may also help you relieve yours or guide you on what you could do to relieve stress.

One thing that I like to do is to read. I enjoy medieval world books which makes me immerse myself into the world that the author created. I really do recommend reading as a hobby and as a stress reliever. This is because if you are able to immerse yourself into the book, then you can take a mental break from whatever is stressing you out. 

Another thing that I do to relieve stress is to workout. Now I know that working out may be more of a hassle but hear me out. The scientific explanation is that when you exercise your body produces endorphins which is a chemical in the brain which acts as the body’s painkillers and mood elevators. Personally when I am very stressed out, I take a little jog or I simply “hit the weights” and it really does help out. It boosts my mood up and instead of feeling stressed out, I feel more motivated to tackle my work!

Hanging out with friends is another good way to take a break from school and relieve stress! It can include going to eat together, going to an amusement park, or anything! As long as you are with your friends, you are for sure going to have a blast and destress. I often hang out with my friends when I am stressed out. For example, last week I hung out with my friends for lunch while we all waited for our classes to start. I was stressed out since I had a midterm that day and when I ate lunch with my friends, it was more relieving and it motivated me more for the exam.

Additionally, I would recommend to join a school club or an organization. This is because you get to do fun projects, activities, etc… with people with similar interests. I for example, I joined the Esports team which is a recreational club for competitive gaming. I compete against other schools in the game Overwatch for fun and for a prize pool. This for me is a way to break away from school work and engage in something that I really like which is videogames. There are many student clubs and orgs which you might want to try out just go here.

Hopefully this gives you a guide to different ways to relieve stress. These examples are what I do when I do get stressed out. Maybe these examples help you find your own personal ways to destress from school or daily life.