Mentally Exhausted?

You know what I'm talking about. Those days you're so done with everyone and everything in your life. Those days when you just wanna scream and yell and thrash and those days when all you wanna do is shrink yourself into a ball and lay staring at the ceiling. I hear you. So here is a list of things you can do to, if not cheer yourself up, help you get through the day.

Take a walk: I am a HUGE walk person. If ever I am stressed or overwhelmed by anything in my life, I just grab my earphones, ditch my thoughts, and take a walk through that lovely campus of ours. One of the good things about studying in Kengeri, staring at greenery calms me down. But don't take my word for it. A study by Walid Briki and Lina Majed says that "that green might be processed as a calm, relaxing, and non-aversive (inoffensive) environment, thus inducing a decrease in participants’ cardio-vascular reactivity" (Briki, W., & Majed, L. (2019)).

Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate: If you're super busy organizing events, doing your CIAs, or preparing for your exams, chances are you haven't drunk water for a long time. Settle down in a peaceful place, try to calm yourself, and have some water. It does wonders, I promise. Not just me, but many research studies have established the connection between hydration and stress reduction. So go grab yourself a glass of water.

Grab something to eat: Though you might be itching to have all those unhealthy 'comfort' foods, trust me, and do not do it! You might get into a pattern that will only be detrimental to you in the longer run. Go get fruits or something nutritious and filling and make yourself feel better. And again, there are research studies supporting this exact phenomenon, go check them out in the reference section.

Meditate: I know it's probably the last thing you want to do but you cannot imagine the effectiveness of this technique. There is so much research supporting this and countless real-life examples. Start small and slowly discover how a few minutes of meditation could be life-changing.

Grab a novel from our library: Sometimes all we need to do is take a break from our lives and where else to find that escape but in the magical pages of a wonderful book? And to think you could just lie on the grass with a view of beautiful lotus flowers and pretty birds. Do I need to say any more?

I hope you found these tips helpful and hope you end up having a better day. And if you have any other coping mechanisms, do hit us up :)

References:

1. Briki, W., & Majed, L. (2019). Adaptive Effects of Seeing Green Environment on Psychophysiological Parameters When Walking or Running. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 252. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00252

2. Soltani H, Keim NL, Laugero KD. Diet Quality for Sodium and Vegetables Mediate Effects of Whole Food Diets on 8-Week Changes in Stress Load. Nutrients. 2018 Nov;10(11):1606.

3. Krause, E. G., de Kloet, A. D., Flak, J. N., Smeltzer, M. D., Solomon, M. B., Evanson, N. K., Woods, S. C., Sakai, R. R., & Herman, J. P. (2011). Hydration state controls stress responsiveness and social behavior. The Journal of neuroscience: the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 31(14), 5470–5476. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.6078-10.2011

4. Carrington, Patricia Ph.D.; Collings, Gilbert H. Jr. M.D., M.P.H.; Benson, Herbert M.D.; Robinson, Harry Sc.D.; Wood, Loring W. M.D.; Lehrer, Paul M. Ph.D.; Woolfolk, Robert L. Ph.D.; Cole, Jean W.. The Use of Meditation–Relaxation Techniques for the Management of Stress in a Working Population. Journal of Occupational Medicine 22(4):p 221-231, April 1980.