09:32

Little Ways to Deal with Stress

After writing this blog post a few days ago, I have been inundated with so many emails, comments and tweets from people who really connected with the topic that I wrote about. It made me so happy to read phrases like 'for what it's worth I think you're an incredibly inspiring person', and it is comforting to know that so many of you can relate to the feeling of piling too much pressure on yourself. Therefore I have decided to do a little advice post, outlining some of the ways I deal with my own stress, in the hope that it may help a few of you out too!


1. Do things for yourself - working towards someone else's goal is never going to be as rewarding as working towards something that you want to achieve for yourself. It is an incredibly difficult thing to do, but try and separate yourself from what other people want you to achieve, and focus on what you would be happy with personally. Goals you set for yourself can be as big or small as you wish, but you will never feel pride or a sense of accomplishment if you haven't set out to realise these ambitions for your own benefit. 

2. Be realistic - Whatever it is you are working towards completing; be it revision, coursework deadlines, fitness goals etc., these are usually long processes, and the start of the journey will always be the hardest. When you are a long way from reaching your ultimate aim it can be hard to stay on track and motivate yourself to keep moving in the right direction, especially when you feel you are no closer to achieving anything than when you started. Don't assume that you can wake up one day and cram all the information into your head, or go on a 10k run after years of never working out... setting yourself these unrealistic targets will only lead to negativity when you fail to complete them. Instead, set realistic goals to be completed in a comfortable and attainable time frame, giving yourself rewards if you manage to achieve them ahead of schedule. 

3. Bad days happen - and when they do, you need to pick yourself up and move forwards. We all need time off every now and again, and that is OK. No one is expecting you to wake up at 6 A.M. and sit at a desk cramming your head full of information until you go to sleep at 10 P.M. It is physically impossible to retain all that information, and your brain will just switch off and become less effective by doing so. Giving yourself breaks will actually benefit your ability to absorb facts. Sometimes it's important to listen to your own body and mind... if revision isn't working for you that day, give yourself a day off and wake up tomorrow with a positive mind set that today you will get back on track. Every day is a new one, so don't dwell on the failures from the day before. (I could probably do with taking my own advice a bit on this one!)

4. Don't compare yourself to others - This one is without a doubt my biggest downfall. The most important thing to remember is that we are all different, we all work in different ways, deal with things in different ways and react differently when faced with the same situation. I have spent far too many revision periods in my life worrying about how many hours a day my friends are doing, what subjects they are prioritising, how many words have they written for the coursework etc... and at the end of the day this does nothing but stress you out. We all have different techniques that work for us, so try not to focus on others and focus on bringing yourself closer to the goal that you want to achieve.

5. Look at the Bigger Picture - For me, the thing responsible for the majority of my stress is a fear of failure... However, it is not just the principle of 'failing', it is the principle of having to admit that failure to other people. I remember waiting for university offers, not wanting to tell anyone where I had applied in case someone asked me the outcome and I would have to admit rejection, when sitting exams I always tell people a mark I would be happy with which is much less than reality for the exact same reason. It's a hard situation when you know you haven't failed in the literal sense of declining to pass, but failed against the much harsher expectations that you have placed against yourself. It can be a difficult thing to do, but try and take a step back from the situation, take your own over analysis out of the equation and start to look at the bigger picture. What ever it is you have achieved, you can be almost certain there are hundreds, if not thousands of people in the world who would love to have accomplished the same, and no matter what the final outcome the most important thing is that you didn't give up. You stuck something out and saw it through to the end, and that is an accomplishment in itself.

Good luck with whatever goals you are aiming to achieve over the next 12 months, as someone told me when I was young... aim for the stars, because if you miss the clouds will break the fall
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55 comments

  1. This is so lovely and inspiring to read, I think remembering the bigger picture helps a lot with stress!
    Jodie xo // La Lune Song

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  2. Aw Amy, this post was a huge mood-lifter! I always compare myself to others - it seems like no matter how hard I work, or how much I do, I don't benefit from the opportunities others manage to get. But I admire your perspective and I'll do my best to learn from your wise words, hehe! x

    Laura | FASHION, EATS & TREATS

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    1. aw thank you so much Laura! That really means a lot to me! I hope you had a lovely christmas, can't wait to catch up after exams xx

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  3. Such an inspiring post! I had a bad day yesterday and it only made me feel better to look to what i want achieve and how i can do it! Lovely post, will definitely be reading this one again when im feeling a bit blue!

    Charlotte // www.charlottesamantha.co.uk

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    1. Thank you so much... aw I hope you're ok now! try and move on from yesterday and start again today! xx

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  4. Such a brilliant post, I'm definitely going to take on board these tips. I'm so glad they work for you! <3 xx

    nessiehere.blogspot.co.uk

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  5. Fantastic tips! It's that time of year where everyone is a bit blue and this is just what people need to read :) I definitely need to stop comparing myself to others, it's quite hard in academia not to do that! x

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  6. I used to be such a ball of stress and I still can be. I tend to panic first and then step back and try to sort stuff out. A lot of what you said helped me when I was struggling with stress. Excellent post, Amy!

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  7. I love the way Handle everything here..this is so motivating

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  8. I think not comparing yourself to others is the most important but also the hardest not to do. We all do it to some degree whether it is personal life, relationships or blogging; we always want more.

    Charley xx
    www.pixipicks.blogspot.co.uk

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    1. I completely agree, it's hard to be surrounded by other people lives and successes and not directly compare them to our own! xx

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    2. Especially when you have social media portraying 'perfect' lives, all we get to see are the good bits.

      xx

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    3. I couldn't agree more... i actually think things like facebook can be so detrimental to your self confidence as people seem to use them just to gain likes and show off! xx

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  9. This is so inspiring to read! Love posts like this, they are so relatable.
    Ottilie xx
    oisforottilie.blogspot.co.uk

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  10. This is such a fab post! Definitely something I need to take note of!

    Danielle
    boothysabode.blogspot.co.uk

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  11. Great Tips. I am writing essays at the moment and keep getting so stressed but I have started to set a realistic goal everyday on how much I am going to write. Then I can feel good about myself when I accomplish it. Loved this post xo

    EmsAlice // Fashion, Beauty & Lifestyle Blog

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    1. Thank you, that's such a good idea, I do the same, it feel so good to cross something off your to do list! xx

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  12. Great advice Amy, I can totally relate on the 5th point because I'm exactly the same. Number three is also so true, we aren't superhuman, we all have bad days. A song I love that is applicable to this...Christina Perri - Human. Give it a listen :) xx
    www.ourflavourfullife.blogspot.com

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  13. So good to refresh goals and mindset at the start of a New Year and this post helped me do that! I often forget to look at the bigger picture too, when you're in the moment it can feel like the biggest thing and afterwards when you look back, it really wasn't ha! :) xx
    heymil.blogspot.com

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  14. All of these points are amazing pieces of advice! And I am definitely going to keep them in mind - especially the point about not comparing yourself to others, which I also do a lot and need to stop because like you say, we're all different! This post is so inspiring and your blog is one of my favourites too! :)

    Millie x | Millies Wardrobe

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    1. Thank you so much lovely!! You really made my day :) xx

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  15. I love these advices! It is almost like I wrote this post :) Great job! Much love

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  16. This is beautifully written Amy and something I really need to take on board because I am a complete stress head! Weirdly I've just written a post for tomorrow on preparation, so if it's ok I will link this in it? :) xx
    emilyjanewebb.blogspot.co.uk

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    1. aww thank you so much! Of course that;s ok! I look forward to reading it! xx

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  17. Hey Amy,
    Love your post, very real.
    Thanks for commenting on my Clarins post. I have replied to your comment.:) Hope to hear from you.
    Natalie Keane MUA
    http://nataliekeanemua.blogspot.com/

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  18. Such a lovely and well written post. Has made me reflect on myself. Thanks for writing

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  19. Omgg this post has made my day!! I have deep depression or something like that, i'm always stressed and think about weird negative thing you just helped me out, when I read the post tears were coming out of my eyes. Thank you sooo much x

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    1. aw thank you so much lovely :) I really hope you find your own way to deal with your problems! xxxx

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  20. There's some great advice there. I can get so stressed out and disappointed when achieving a certain goal takes too long. Sometimes we have to remember that we're doing it for ourselves, rather than to prove our worth to others...

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  21. This is honestly the post I needed, I've brought myself down so much recently due to teacher's putting pressure on me to get my target grade in my mock. But if take these tips into account, I hope it will help. Thank you xx

    annaboho.blogspot.co.uk

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    1. I hope they do help! good luck with your exams xx

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  22. Not comparing myself to others in all aspects if a big stressor for me and a challenge to stop:)

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    1. It's a hard one, but i really hope you succeed! xx

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  23. Lovely thoughts for the New Year Amy! Let's hope we can keep them in mind throughout 2015 x Jersey Girl x

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  24. Loved this! And keep in mind it's okay to be sad when something doesn't go exactly as you planned it:) xx

    http://lilliemysel.blogspot.com

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  25. Hi Amy, this is a really nice list of advice. We should all follow it but I guess the problem with people is their nature of not following advice. Hahaha. Anyways, I think for me it is more of caring about the reaction of people on my failure instead of failure itself. I'm overly too concerned about how everyone feels about me. I hate making bad impression and when someone don't like me, I get too sensitive and wondered what did I do wrong. That was also one reason I was skeptical of blogging because few times I encountered people talking BS about my blog when I don't even know them etc. That also happened when I wear something out and if someone looks at me, I begin to feel self conscious.

    Love, Angelus
    angelus-officially.blogspot.com

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    1. Thank you lovely! I am the exact same! xx

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  26. Absolutely in love with your photography! :O

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  27. Very inspire post, just come to see ur blog to comment back of your comment at my blog http://puleh.blogspot.com keep posting..!

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