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- Float Your Stress Away
Float Your Stress Away
Take Care of Your Body
- Get 8-9 hours of sleep on a regular schedule
- Maintain a properly balanced diet
- Avoid or reduce alcohol and caffeine intake
- Aerobic exercise for 20-30 min, at least 3 times week
- Massage, sauna, or relaxing bath
- Get a medical checkup
Take Care with your Communication
- Reflect before expressing anger
- Avoid building up resentment
- Be direct instead of using jokes or sarcasm
- Use “I” statements
- Be assertive without being aggressive or passive
- Listen, do not interrupt
Take Care with your Time
- Set goals and prioritize (life priorities, not just academics and work)
- Overcome procrastination
- Delegate responsibility
- Avoid polyphasic activity
- Do not overextend yourself; pace yourself
- Be realistic about deadlines and what you can accomplish
Allow Others to Take Care of You
- You help others; why not let others help you?
- Spend time with kind and respectful friends and significant others
- Don’t bottle up tension
- Talk to a supportive friend, clergy, or counselor
- Prayer and spiritual support
Take Care with Systematic Relaxation
Take Care with Cognitive Restructuring
- Challenge dysfunctional thinking
- Let go of perfectionism
- Reexamine excessive guilt, self-blame
- Confront your fear of failure or fear of success
- Recognize and accept personal limits
- Your self worth isn’t based on your achievements
- Counselors can teach cognitive restructuring