8 Ways To Cope With End Of Semester Stress | tips + advice

The end of the semester is now nigh, and I mean like less than three weeks away. This means that stress levels will go from bad to worse. So today I’ll be sharing with you how to cope with the end of semester stress.

Along with how to take care of your mental health in the process.

It’s hard to believe that the end of the semester is almost here. While in school time flies so slowly and quickly at the same time, that I feel like I’m always running behind.

Oftentimes leading me to become anxious and worried about exam period and whether my GPA will go up or down.

And since I know that all post-secondary students deal with university stress, especially during the exam period I thought to share with you all some of the ways to deal with school stress and how to end on high!

How To Cope With End of Semester Stress & Anxiety

1. go for a walk

Depending on where you are the weather might be on the cold side, however, that doesn’t mean it going for a walk is not an option. After spending hours upon hours looking over textbooks, notes and materials one starts to feel antsy and fuzzy-brained.

One way to combat this and clear your head is by going on a walk.

It can be 10 minutes or an hour, but going on a walk can give you a new perspective, clear your head, and best of all remind you of the world outside school.

2. nourish yourself

Eating healthy is an important part of coping with end of semester stress, even though it doesn’t feel like it. Nourishing yourself will help you feel alert and best of all after eating a filling healthy meal, you’ll feel like you can tackle the world.

Eating healthy snacks such as mixed nuts, fruit, and protein bars will help you feel less worried and stressed about assignments and tests. As the saying goes “you’re not you when you’re hungry”.

If you’re looking for more ideas Carlton Univerisity has an article on how to eat healthy during exam period.

3. spend time with friends

Hitting pause on assignments or essays and going out with friends, families, maybe even foes will help deal with the end of semester stress. Being with friends and sharing your anxieties and worries with them will lighten up your emotional load, make you forget for a while all the university stress and lastly, you can be of service to them too.

4. exercise

I’ll be the first to say it: I’m not much for exercise. However, I’ve found that getting up and spending 10 minutes doing a HIIT cardio routine or just stretching gets my blood pumping.

After spending hours upon hours in front of a screen it’s easy to become lethargic and tired so exercising can help you get out of that mood while also dealing with your stress.

Lisa at Lisa’s Notebook has a great post on how exercising can help your stress and mental health. So while it may be hard to get up and exercise there are more benefits than just the physical.

5. take deep breaths or meditate

This one may seem a tad foolish since we can all breathe, but did you know we don’t actually breathe properly? Especially in stressful situations when we start to do it shallowly and inconsistently causing us to further stress out.

However taking a pause, closing your eyes, and just breathing in deeply holding and releasing it will help you relax your muscles and clear your mind. You can also try mediation or any other mindfulness activities to refresh your mind and memory.

For how to breathe deeply and properly this article by Harvard Health will be of help.

6. take a scheduled break and watch a movie (or read a book)

Yes. I mean just stopping what you’re doing, taking a break, and watching a movie. Or maybe catch up on some recreational reading or crafting, heck maybe even some baking.

What’s important here is taking a necessary break. At times it may feel that if you’re not studying you’re wasting time (I’m like that), however, the mind gets tired, bored and to a point becomes useless after hours spent studying.

Just like going for a walk or exercising, taking your mind off school and focusing on something else for 30minutes to an hour (1.5hrs max) will be a great way to relieve stress and refresh your mind.

7. listen to your body

this tip is usually one that I forget to do, but it is vital to keeping university stress away. If your body is saying “I’m tired, I need a break” then listen to it and stop.

If your body is feeling lethargic try to understand why and since it’s exam season try to fix that either through eating healthy, exercising or just getting out of the house.

8. make a to-do list

There’s a reason this one was left for last: it’s the most important of all. Well besides the healthy eating and exercising.

If you’ve read my how-to make and keep a schedule post or any other posts, then you’ll know that I love to-do lists and schedules. They can help you keep track of everything that needs to be done and is a great way to reduce stress.

How you may ask? Well, you can schedule in how much of an assignment you hope to get done that day, what to focus on, and finally, add reminders to take care of yourself and take a break.

For example, during exam season I first schedule/add what I hope to accomplish in a day such as writing 300 words in an assignment or having 50% of an essay done. Then I add the extra, such as reminders when to take a break, go out, call it a day.

At the end of the semester, making a to-do list can a) help you keep track of everything that needs to be done and b) remind you to take a break, see some friends, watch a movie or relax.

final thoughts

So those are the 8 ways to cope with end of semester stress that I’ve used in the past (and am currently using!) that have proven to help me in this stressful and anxious time.

I hope that this post is of huge help to you. If you’re dealing with university stress, just remember this is just a temporary thing! One day you’ll go back and say “thank goodness that is over!”

If you’re looking for more tips for anxiety or stress, read this post on how to be mentally healthy in a time of crisis.

Do you have any other tips for university students?

In my next post, I’ll be sharing some holiday fun. (Hint: it’s a Christmas DIY)

Til next time

Loren Camila