Just breathe, just relax, it’ll be okay. With finals week coming up soon, the stress can be overwhelming. It’s hard to navigate how to avoid stressful habits. During this stressful period, it’s important to take care of your mental health. I sat down with Jadeshala Humphries, a mental health counselor at Georgia Southern to give you seven tips for taking care of yourself during finals week.

1. Show yourself some love
During finals week, we become our own enemy. We put ourselves down, we let our grades define who we are – when that is simply untrue. It is critical to remember that we are doing the best we can. Humphries reminds students to “acknowledge that you are doing good work, acknowledge that you are breathing, that you are alive, that you are showing up.” This is a great mindset to carry on. Instead of being our own enemy, we should be our own advocate.

2. Get away from the fire
After studying for five hours straight, you have burnt yourself out! It is wise to take a break once in a while. Need to breathe? Take a deep breath, close your eyes, and just move yourself away from the headspace that has you spiraling in homework. Get up from your chair, and go for a walk. Go grab coffee with a close friend, and share a laugh. Socialize! This way, when you do eventually come back to study, you are feeling refreshed and ready to push yourself towards that degree.

3. Overwhelmed? Go for a walk
When we have a huge workload in front of us, it is easy for us to prioritize that, rather than taking care of ourselves. We push aside eating, hydrating, and getting sleep when we need it most. We also tend to isolate ourselves so we do not feel that we are burdening others. “Students should incorporate breaks like taking a walk, and nourishing their bodies by staying hydrated and eating balanced meals. By making sure we are taking care of ourselves, it helps prepare us to carry the load,” Humphries says.

4. From delayed to done
When it comes to studying, anxiety is not your hero – it is your enemy. It convinces us that we can do something later because it is too big to carry now. When in reality, the present is when it is the smallest. As you get closer to deadlines, the workload can seem even greater. When a deadline is approaching, you should start planning immediately. The least you can do is start with your name, and inch by inch, make progress. This way, you are managing your anxiousness, and ridding the world of your “procrastinator” allegations.

5. Find your power hour
Struggling to find the perfect time to sit down and commit to studying can be irritating – that is why it is important to figure out what times are typically your power hour. What is something that you normally do everyday at the same time? Are you able to cancel it? If so, that is your power hour, a time when you know you can sit down and begin working with the appropriate headspace. Also, do not be afraid to set boundaries if it will help you get your work out of the way.

6. We are all in this together
Humphries guided me to an app students can use called TogetherAll. Ever feel like you have a million problems? You can use this app to communicate with other students anonymously to help one another get through whatever problem is faced, whether you need to vent, to talk about academic pressure, etc. TogetherAll ensures a safe environment monitored by mental health professionals. For more information click here.

7. Same Day Solution Sessions
The Georgia Southern Counseling Center offers Same Day Solution Sessions. These are brief sessions that typically last thirty minutes to help students reduce stress, and create a plan moving forward. Students can call ahead at 912-478-5541 to ask to be scheduled for a Solution Session during regular business hours, Monday through Friday. For more information click here.

I wish you the best of luck as finals week is rapidly approaching. Make sure to start preparing now, so you can effortlessly tackle your exams. Remember that you are safe, your grades do not define you, and you are a rockstar. You have made it this far – look at you go. Now go out and make memories. Socializing is extremely beneficial for your mental health, as it reminds us that we are all in this together. Make sure to check in with everyone after finals week too, and in the meantime – take care of yourself.