I spent Saturday morning crying. Actually, I think sobbing is a better word. You know that kind of cry where you can’t even form a sentence, and you have an instant headache afterwards? Yep, that was me.

I’m currently dealing with some mega school stress right now. I’m not going to go into detail (probably because I’ll start crying again. Ugh.), but the point is that I’m feeling overwhelmed. My classes are hard, and I have a lot of responsibilities on campus–the typical college life stress.

Though I’m (clearly) a work in progress on stress management, I want to share four things I do to handle stress.

1. Seek God first.
When I’m feeling overwhelmed, I know it’s time to spend extra time reading my Bible and praying. I’m usually tempted to feel like I have so much going on that I just can’t make time for more Bible reading, but I have come to realize that reading the word of God is one of the best things I can do in stressful situations. I also like to pray more–really pouring out my worries, and leaving them with God. The hard part is leaving the worries to God, but I’m always working on it!

2. Prioritize.
Spending a few minutes figuring out what needs to be done first can be so helpful. Something may not need to be done for a couple of weeks, whereas something else may need to be done in a few days. Knowing what I have to do today relieves a bit of anxiety, because it helps me realize that I’m probably stressing out over something that isn’t even due for a few weeks. I try to take life one day at a time!

3. Try to achieve balance.
This is one of the hardest things for me. When I know I have something to do, I tend to have “tunnel vision” until it’s done. I try to remember that it’s super important to pay attention to all aspects of my life. I should spend (fairly) equal amounts of time doing homework, working, and playing. When I have balance in my life, I’m a better student, daughter, Christian, athlete, etc.

4. Take care.
I’ve blogged about this before, but it’s always good to remember to take care of myself. I have to know my limits, and realize that it’s absolutely necessary to take care of myself. By taking care, I mean doing things I love, getting enough sleep, saying no sometimes, asking for help, and enjoying the little things in life.

The other thing I do to handle stress? Drink a lot of coffee.

How do you deal with stress?