Charger Blogger Offers a Student’s Guide to Finding Calm Amid Chaos

To the people who wake up feeling anxious with five thousand thoughts scattered around your brain, this is probably the blog meant for you.

Stress is a huge part of our lives. Whether it be remembering to feed your fish, the stress of passing an exam, or realizing you left your AirPods in your pants pocket after you washed them, stress plays a huge role in how we react to things. Unfortunately, our bodies are so good at responding to stressful situations that sometimes we can get confused about what is truly harmful versus what is not.

For example:

I got dispatched to chest pain at work. On arrival, it turns out that it wasn’t a heart attack, but a case of pneumonia. While I had no way of knowing this beforehand, my body was already preparing for an emergent situation: dilated pupils, increased heart rate, bronchodilation, etc. While I wasn’t going to go box with a saber-toothed tiger, my brain thought I was going to be in a high-stress situation.

While this example may be unique to me, I imagine that everyone also has their own specialized stressors as we all live different lives. After a while– especially in college –we get really good at living under stressful conditions as a result of adaptation to our surroundings. And what happens when we get really stressed for a very long time with no break?

Burnout. Burnout happens.

As the years have prolonged, I’ve found that I’ve gotten very good at shoving my body’s signals away and telling them, “Don’t worry, I got this.” This is basically the equivalent of stress-snacking, not exercising as much, or always going to the worst-case scenario regardless of the situation at hand.

So how do we fix that? How can we re-regulate our brains so that they may not blow up at the smallest inconvenience?

Unfortunately, it starts with stopping. No more running to your laptop or phone when you wake up. No more flicking through Instagram or rotting on TikTok. You need to sit with yourself with no stimuli, and accept the present moment for what it is. This is the hardest part, but when you do it enough, you begin to realize the beauty all around you. The sweet chirp of birds outside, the crisp of the fall air when you breathe it in, the abundance of flavors in the food that you eat, the feeling of your heart beating in your chest as it continues to keep you alive. Focus on deep breathing, mindfulness, and recognizing you are exactly where you’re meant to be.

Another way to re-regulate your nervous system is to get outside. Touch some grass, feel how it’s shaped, the dirt it comes out of, etc. Embrace the grass. We New Englanders are also in need of all the Vitamin D we can get, so feeling the sun on your skin for a few moments isn’t a bad idea either.

You know what you also need to feel? Bedtime. We’ve all been guilty of doomscrolling before bed, and about an hour or two after our designated bedtime, we finally seem to fall asleep. Consuming media right before we sleep only elicits more stress from us. Our cortisol goes up to keep us focused, and then we eventually crash because our bodies are so tired from the constant overstimulation.

If you really want to improve your mental, physical, and psychological wellbeing, you need to slow down. Or, if you’re on an “I’m running away from my problems” run, feel free to speed up and clear your mind. I know it’s not easy, but perhaps it can be something you work toward in the future – even in small ways.

I hope this blog has been a gentle reminder of the life we humans have been slightly robbed of, and encouragement to engage in the activities, friendships, solo dates, and other aspects of the life we want to live. I know it’s not easy, but give it some thought. Have a great day 🙂 I love you.

With peace, love, and peanut butter,
Beatrice