It’s about that time. Finals week is right around the corner, and with it comes stress. Reagan Tillery, a 21-year-old junior majoring in political science and africana studies, talked to me about her destressing strategy.

Reagan Tillery: This is very hard to do, because you have papers. Well, my major is really writing intensive, so I always have papers in the back of my mind. So, one thing that I have found is helpful is to eat what I like during finals. Go ahead and I’ll meal prep or I’ll already have set some dining dollars aside so I can really eat what I want instead of just being stuck with the caf. Another thing I do is when I’m writing a paper or an essay and I just feel burned out, I’ll get to a stopping point and I’ll watch an episode of something I want to watch. I’ll watch one of my favorite shows. I’ll plan to write two pages and then stop. That kind of thing.

Tillery advises students to have breaks built into their studying.

Tillery: It doesn’t even have to be a long break. It can be a 30 minutes to an hour break, and just stop. Don’t think about it. It’s hard not to think about it, but don’t think about it for however long your break is, and then just go back and do what you gotta do.

There are various organizations that can help students destress. QuadWorks is one. Tillery went to their relaxation event on April 12.

Tillery: So that’s one way, especially since finals—some people, I know for me, finals have already started. . .I know there’s a lot of finals sitbacks and that kind of thing.

Destressing is important for our mental health. For more information, you can visit past Bear’s Beat reports on mental health and destressing. As for Tillery’s parting words?

Tillery: It’s hard out here! Just gotta stick it through.

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