As we start to return to the new normal and a different university experience, many (if not all of us) will be anxious about what to expect and feel uncertain and overwhelmed. This article will cover how to deal with those anxious thoughts and how people in STEM subjects are more likely to obsessively worry.
Why are people in STEM more likely to be affected?
STEM subjects are methodical, so the people who study or work within STEM are usually left-brained. The left-side of your brain is responsible for carrying out logical and scientific thoughts, however, the left-side of your brain is also home to anxious thoughts. So, having a more active left-side brain means anxious thoughts are easier to come by and harder to manage.
Methods for Managing
As anxious thoughts make the left-side of your brain active, by making the right-side of your brain active you can essentially turn the volume down on those thoughts. The right-side of your brain is the creative side, so it’s time to start thinking creatively.
Personally, these methods work for me and might not be for everyone. I was skeptical at first, but I thought I would give some of the methods a try anyway and if they didn’t work, it could still act as a placebo effect.
Beanbag – this method is my favourite of them all and I think it works well. The idea is to throw something from one hand to the other, such as a beanbag or ball, when you feel stressed and just play about with it for a minute or two until you feel calm again. Usually, when you are stressed, you will throw the beanbag at a fast pace. Try and focus on slowing down the rate you are passing it at and this should make the right-side of your brain work and calm down the left-side’s nervous thoughts. Another thing to try would throw the beanbag/ball rhythmically (doesn’t have to be anything fancy, could be the beat to your favourite song) which would have the same effect. If none of that helps, it is still pretty fun to play about with so could also be a distraction for you.
Worry Stone – this could be helpful if you rub or pick at your fingers when you are stressed. It is a small smooth stone that you can keep in your pocket and instead of rubbing your fingers, you rub the stone instead! The stone I use is rose quartz but anything similar could work too, it is less obvious than throwing around a beanbag but can still be a good distraction and allow you to be less nervous. I’ve found that having something else to focus on stops me from overthinking what I’m worried about which helps me not obsess over what I’m stressed about.
Positivity Stickers – this is another fun one that could also help in decorating your flat/room a little bit! Buy some stickers that you would probably find your primary school teacher putting in your jotter after you had drawn an interesting picture of a horse or make your own signs with positive sayings such as “You’re Magic! ; )”. It’s time to hype yourself up!! Put those stickers in a place where you would see them often or at least every day, such as a mirror or door. When you see those stickers, take time to remind yourself of the positive saying or positive thing about yourself… you deserve it! This helps boost your self-confidence and reduce the chance of you feeling anxious, especially in social situations. It will feel strange at first but after a few days you get used to your positivity stickers and should start to feel more confident with yourself and it will boost your mood!
Mind over Mind – as you are probably aware by now, your mind is a powerful thing. If it has the ability to make you stress and worry about situations, it can also have the ability to make you calm and confident about situations. If it’s the night before some kind of social situation and you are picturing yourself forgetting your words, saying the wrong thing, or avoiding interaction, then stop. Start picturing yourself in that situation and acing everything, being outspoken, or whatever your desired outcome is. The more you tell yourself “you can do it!” the easier it will feel and what will actually happen will be far from the worst-case scenario you came up with earlier. Similar to the stickers, the more you believe in yourself, the more confident you will become! Even if things still don’t go as well as you would like, it isn’t the end of the world and you wouldn’t have been awake all-night overthinking scenarios that didn’t occur.
If you experience any kind of worrying or stress, it is worth giving at least one of these methods a shot. What’s the worst that could happen? Even if they don’t work for you, they could help a friend, so they are worth knowing about.
I hope this blog helps you in some way :))
By Holly Groves