Feeling Stressed?

Hey PASSers it's midterm time!!

Midterms can get pretty stressfull and a lot of people don't realize what stress can do to our bodies. Our mind and body have a connection. What is going on in our mind causes our body to respond. Some affects of stress on our body are:

-headaches, dizziness, upset stomach, breaking out in hives, body aches, sweating, heart palpitations, difficulty breathing, having a tight chest etc.
- being irritable, overly aggressive, forgetful, unable to make decisions
- having mental block, feeling depressed, having anxiety
THE LIST GOES ON!!!

so what are some ways you can deal with stress?

1. exercise
this helps release endorphins. go to the ARC. do yoga. take a quick walk.
2. Visualization
they say that when you visualize yourself in a peaceful place (kind of like meditating) your body becomes more relaxed. Close your eyes and picture yourself at a beach or anywhere peaceful and really think about the details of the place.
3. Breathing Retraining
Did you know that you breath incorrectly??? most of us do. When we are stressed/have anxiety we tend to have short quick breaths which come from the chest. THIS IS THE WRONG WAY TO BREATH!!! Put one hand on your chest and one hand on your stomach. As you breath make the hand on your stomach move while minimizing the movement of the hand on your chest. Taking deep breaths from your stomach relaxes your body because it tells your mind to calm down. It also helps increase blood circulation.
4. Eating
Eating all that nasty junkfood isnt going to help your stress. Try eating cooling foods like melons, or cucumbers. Also, proteins like nuts.

Also, if you ever need anyone to talk to about stress, your counselors are here for you AND you can also make an appointment at the counseling center which is located across from starbucks next to the career center. UCI students have 8 free sessions so use them!

Hope all this info helps & good luck on midterms :D

-Khrystyn