sTrEsSeD oUt

So you see finals week is coming up and for some reason I go into crazy psycho Jacob mode. I am so stressed out I am using every second I breathe for studying or keeping up with the stuff I have to do that week.  That is what I view as short-term stress. If you want the textbook definition of short-term stress go here. Just a quick comment on that website I totally agree with what it talks about. I think some stress is good.  Stress for me is a motivation to do better, and to be more efficient. Yeah I know stress is awful but I usually perform better under a slight amount of pressure. Also it helps to be stressed out and push harder so you can get to the light at the end of the tunnel. But you have to find a balance. Too much stress is not a good thing.

So when we talk about long-term stress we are obviously talking about something a bit bigger than finals week.  So then I start to look at the big picture of things. My academic pressure is really stressful. I constantly have to work hard to meet my goal of staying Valedictorian throughout high school and I have to make sure I am studying for the ACT and SAT to make sure I get into a good Universities. The little individual stresses I have in my classes and extracurriculars all pile into one category of long term stress of meeting some long term goals.

I find that I stress out a lot. However, I don't think it is an entirely bad thing. I think it is part of my type-A personality. I regret my stress at the moment but when I look back at it, I am really appreciative that I powered through because it all paid off in the end. I know in finals week I'll be saying things like: "WHY AM I EVEN HERE. I DON'T EVEN LIKE SCHOOL OR PEOPLE OR TEST. LIFE SUCKS. CAN I GO HOME TILL NEXT YEAR? ANYONE HAVE A PAUSE BUTTON I CAN HIT FOR A FEW MONTHS?" And I am not denying this but if you see me saying these things just remind me I'm dumb, and I'll be ok and that it will all pay off in the end.

So in terms of stress reduction? I like to get my mind off of school for a while.  I play tennis which is fun. I like to go running and walking with my dog in the evenings. It means I have to stay up a little later but it's nice to relax for a little bit. I know this sounds weird, but blogging about this is actually making me feel better. I feel like I'm venting to my Anatomy peers and such and It's actually making me feel a little less stressed.  Another thing I think is a good stress reliever is friend support.  Having someone you can talk to and laugh with makes it a ton easier.

Okay, so I have a goal. During finals week in order to remain calm, I decided I am going to do things one day at a time. I found that that has worked in the past. When I have a busy week instead of looking at it as one messy schedule filled week, I chunk it into days and say "If I can just make it through today ok, then I can do tomorrow." and it works. So I am going to try that. As for long term stress I'm not sure what I want to do about that or even if  I want to do anything about it.  We'll check back in soon and get all updated and stuff on my stress reduction strategy.