ED + stress = bffs

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Finals, graduation, staying at home, not having your usual routine of the school year… It’s no secret that quarantine brings a whole vat of stress along with it. As you struggle to barely keep up with your schedule, there’s someone who’s secretly taking advantage of the entire situation. ED. He thieves on stress. He sits around and waits for various moments of vulnerability.

When we find ourselves in a personal crisis, Ed will present himself as an ally.

ED might ‘help’ to relieve some of the anxiety and stress in the immediate moment. But he would also bring along the aftermath of sadness, depression, guilt, and shame.

Ed is a default reaction to anxiety. But always remember that there are so many productive ways to deal with anxiety or stress in ways that don’t hurt our mental, physical, social, and academic health.

Here are three tips on how to improve our reactions amid a stressful time. 

1. Understand that stress is normal

Stress can be helpful for you to recognize your needs. You can always approach it in a problem-solving manner rather than letting it overtake you. This is when ED comes in and tells you to relapse. As you blame yourselves for feeling this way, ED has succeeded because criticism only elevates your anxiety and make it more challenging to handle the situation. 

2. Find the right stress-management resource 

Everyone can deal with stress better once they have some excellent tools in place to cope with it. Check out the toolkit I created. 

3. Have some compassion

Remember to love yourself and know how hard you have been trying to recover. Beating yourself up after one relapse will only lead to a downward spiral. Nothing is permanent. If life really has been throwing you around lately, don’t worry, because time, along with your efforts, will heal everything.