Monday, 11 May / Tips for the Stressed-Out Student

Given that my flatmates and I have ventured outdoors only one day this week, and, therefore, have remained in fleece loungewear throughout this duration, I have been unable to offer any form of ‘ootd’ throughout the past few weeks. Unless you wish to witness how I style my maternity joggers (I'm not pregnant, unless you count food baby, but these have proven a valuable gift from my mother during these biscuit-fuelled, revision times), leopard print dressing gown and assorted character socks, then I’m afraid we reach an unavoidable conclusion: I am not allowed to discuss personal style during this difficult time. Instead, given that I can’t remember a time before my current deadlines, and so the opportunity to discuss anything except Shakespeare is enough to make me physically smile, today I am popping something a little spicy up on my blog, and by spicy, I mean anything except the Iambic Pentameter. So here is my post to you today: an unfashionable, unadulterated and, hopefully not uninteresting, compilation of my current recommendations and general thoughts to pull you through uni stress. I will warn that this emerges as procrastination, so grab a cuppa and make yourself comfortable.

Take a break

My preferred activity during this time is to watch ITV Be: I was originally unsure of the concept of this but now ‘struggle to find the remote and change the channel’ when Dinner Date, Don’t Tell The Bride or Millionaire Matchmaker is gracing the screen. These TV breaks are heightened by the commentary of my flatmates, who are an essential component to not losing your mind during exam time. If possible, try and make a few friends who are also decent at head massages, this has proven invaluable over the last few weeks.

Find a treat food that genuinely excites you

Is this embarrassing to confess? Perhaps. Digestive biscuits were my original holy grail, but the transition to Nice Creams has got me just about as excited as that time Harry Styles winked at me in the back row of an area at a One Direction concert (don’t argue, just let me believe it). Though for my more nutritious flatmates, figs, bran flakes and a light salad may satisfy their tasty cravings during revision breaks, I find the sugar of a cracking biscuit an essential tool for an afternoon’s graft. I sometimes opt for raspberries also, just to keep things interesting and the love handles at bay.

Read for fun

Whether this is your Twitter feed, Daily Mail Online (nothing will make you feel less stressed about your own problems than the ‘nightmare’ situations posted on that website), a few articles on The Guardian or a juicy novel you’ve been desperate to start. Cleansing your mind of equations, formulas, or in my case, darling William Shakespeare, will keep your work interesting and revitalised when you return to it: just make sure you do…

Listen to music

This is a tough one for me as I actually can't handle lyrics playing in the background whilst I work. The number of times I’ve began a sentence about a modernist author and it has concluded with the lyrics to a Taylor Swift track is astounding. I do, however, believe that a little background noise helps prevent the descent into insanity during this difficult time, so give instrumental tracks a try. My current favourite is a Disney compilation instrumental, though my inability to stop singing along is perhaps defeating the purpose. Either way, embracing Mulan’s ‘I'll Make A Man Out Of You’ is just the inspiring mantra I need to power through my essays.

Do not let it break you

We’ve probably all witnessed this in various forms. My 'breakdown' occured last year and involved lots of tears and subsequent pizza. More recently, I've experienced a number of physical screams circling our little house from a flatmate who just can't take it. For me, the key to overcoming the university breakdown was being surrounded by an incredible network of friends and family and their reassuring comments. Though it may not have felt like it at the time, I promise your degree isn’t everything/the end of the world. Try to remind yourself that you’re there for a reason. Whether you were chosen by interview or from your application, someone at some point decided they wanted you as a representative of their establishment. Allow yourself breaks without the guilt (though pizza guilt is a tough one to shake), talk about it when you’re struggling, drink lots of water (infused with coffee granules and milk…), and be proud of absolutely every decision you make, as there is no worse feeling than regret (and photographic evidence is surprisingly erasable).

My recent posts appear entirely related to university life at the moment which, though I do apologise for, is relatively unavoidable given my current situation. Roughly one more month then the last three years will officially become the ‘best days of my life’ as a generic term in conversation and exist only as memories. These tips emerge as a personal realisation that allowing the more difficult aspects of university life to overpower you, only diminishes the genuiney incredible times that you will want to always remember. So grab yourself a Nice Cream, snuggle up to a friend and have a good old bitch about life’s struggles. I promise you’ll feel 100% better before returning to your work. If not, use the sugar high for singing along to that Disney medley: you won't regret it.