如何應對壓力

While it seems that young people should have everything to be happy about, according to survey carried out by the Nightline Association, 65% of students feel stressed. Juggling part time jobs with university work, worrying about assignments and what the future holds can understandably leave one feeling overwhelmed.

大學生似乎本該就是無憂無慮的存在，但根據夜間熱線協會的調查，大約有65%的學生表示存在壓力。而理由是因為兼職工作與學習生活交叉在一起，使得自己處在不斷擔心工作和未來會發生什麼的焦慮情緒中。

As a student, it seems that every spare minute seems to be filled with worrying, feeling that you have to achieve something and make plans for the future, instead of relaxing on holidays, most try to plan internships to bolster our CV』s or work to earn some extra cash. If you aren』t careful, working too hard and worrying too much can lead to 『burnout』, when everything seems bleak and as if you have nothing left to give.

大部分學生，感覺到似乎每一分鐘的空餘時間都充滿著憂慮，覺得自己必須有所成就，或是有一份良好的人生規劃，而不是在假期好好放鬆。大多數人都計劃實習來豐富自己的簡歷，或者通過兼職來賺點外快。但一不小心，工作辛苦、擔憂太多等負面情緒迎面而來，導致一切都變得黯淡無光，彷彿自己一無所有。

Although it might not seem like it when you』re feeling down, living a stress-free life is possible, and there are some really easy ways to beat stress effectively:

在情緒低落的時，人們可能會覺得生活充滿著壓力，但是有一些很簡單的方法可以有效地克服壓力:

Exercise

鍛煉

Exercise really is key, doing sports at least once is the best way to reduce stress. While its certainly one of the more difficult methods, as morning runs are a lot less comfortable than our nice warm beds, exercise helps the body produce endorphins, which makes you feel good and helps your brain focus throughout the day – even taking a daily walk of 30 minutes can help reduce stress levels and will have a noticeable effect afterwards.

首先運動是至關重要的，進行至少一次的運動鍛煉是減輕壓力的最好方法，雖然這也是比較困難的方法之一，相比早起鍛煉，溫暖舒適的床會更有吸引力一些。但是運動能幫助我們的身體產生一種叫做「內啡肽」的物質,它會使你的大腦在一整天的時間裡保持良好的工作狀態。即使每天散步30分鐘，長久以來也可以幫你減輕部分壓力。

Joining a sports club or taking up yoga classes is an excellent way to release some endorphins as well as make some new friends, which can motivate you to work out more and release stress by talking about your feelings.

參加體育俱樂部或參加瑜伽課程是釋放內啡肽和結交新朋友的極好方式，可以激勵你多鍛煉，通過談論你的感受來釋放壓力。

Diet

飲食

Eating fresh ingredients and lots of fruit is incredibly important for your mental health, think of your body as a car engine; if you don』t put the correct type and amount of fuel in the car, then the car wont perform as well as it can. Making sure that your eat regularly ensures that the body (and mind) receives a gradual feed of sugars and vitamins, rather than suffering sugar crashes from energy drinks or candy bars.

吃新鮮美味的食物可能會對你的精神健康有所幫助。把你的身體比喻為汽車引擎的話，如果你沒有將對應型號和數量的燃料放在對應的位置，那麼汽車的性能可能就會下降。要確保你的飲食規律能使你的身體(和大腦)逐漸攝取糖分和維生素，而不是通過能量飲料或糖果棒的方式。

While it』s incredibly easy to just grab a cheap oven pizza or ready meal for dinner, cooking from scratch is a lot healthier and can be a therapeutic process.

雖然看起來拿個烤餅或準備一頓晚餐是非常簡單的，但還是建議你從頭開始烹飪，這將是一個不錯的治療過程。

Meditation

冥想

It might sound simple, but quietly sitting down for 10 minutes a day is something people rarely do. Download a meditation app, like 『Calm』 or 『Headspace』, and learn how different breathing techniques can lower your blood pressure in order put you in a more relaxed state. You』ll find that actively slowing your brain down will help you to focus better, worry less and solve problems more efficiently.

冥想聽起來可能很簡單，但人們很少會安靜地每天坐10分鐘。建議你可以下載一款冥想應用，比如「Clam」或「Headspace」，從中學習不同的呼吸技巧如何降低血壓，讓你處於更放鬆的狀態。慢慢你會發現，冥想會幫助你的大腦更好地集中精力，減少憂慮，從而更有效地解決問題。

Maybe run yourself a warm bubble bath and put some ambient music on in the background to help yourself unwind.

你也可以給自己洗個熱水澡，放點安靜的音樂，讓自己放鬆下來。

Accept that stress is a part of life

接受壓力是生活的一部分

While you could waste time and energy thinking things like 『I shouldn』t have done that』 or 『why didn』t I use my time better』, it』s much more helpful to first acknowledge how setbacks, problems and hardships are inevitable – after all nothing worthwhile in life is ever easy. When stressful situations arise, try to devote your efforts into doing things which can help you move forward emotionally from what has happened. For example, if you know you didn』t revise a topic very well for an upcoming exam, don』t think about it too much and instead try to focus on ways you can improve.

雖然你可能會浪費時間和精力去想「我不應該那樣做」或「為什麼我沒有更好地利用我的時間」之類的事情，但要首先承認挫折、問題和困難是不可避免的——畢竟生活中任何有價值的事情都不容易。當你感到有壓力的時候，試著把你的努力投入到能幫助你從所發生的事情中前進的事情上。例如，如果你知道你在即將到來的考試中沒有很好地複習一個題目，不要太焦慮，試著把集中注意力放在你能改進的地方。

Take regular breaks

有規律的休息

Taking small breaks between long hours of work can help increase your productivity in the long-term while at the same time improve your mood. After all numerous scientific and psychological studies have shown that the brain can only process and retain so much information in a single sitting, with two hours being the maximum, so why stress yourself out if this is going to waste your time?

在長時間的工作中進行短暫的休息，可提高你的工作效率，同時還會改善你的情緒。經過大量的科學和心理學研究表明，大腦一次性處理和保存的信息，最多兩個小時。所以為什麼要在這浪費你的時間並給自己施加壓力呢?

Balance social activity with solitude

平衡工作與生活

While holing yourself up in your room might be necessary at times to get some last minute work done, you shouldn』t entirely shut yourself out from your friends and family. Working in two hour stretches followed by some quality time is a good way of balancing work and play, as chatting to your friends and laughing is the best medicine.

有時候，為了完成「最後一分鐘」的工作而將自己與外界隔絕起來，在某方面可能是好的，但你不應該將家人與朋友完全隔離。在連續工作兩個小時後，有一些高質量的休息時間是平衡工作和娛樂的好方法，和朋友聊天、大笑也是一種解決問題的良藥。

Listen to music

聽音樂

Listening to music can help calm you down and put you in a better frame of mind. If you』re feeling stressed, put on some calm music, or if you』re feeling angry, put on some aggressive music and let it all out! Keeping in your emotions leads to resentment, which can alienate yourself from you friends and family as well as cause you to spiral out of control.

聽音樂可以幫助你平靜下來，讓你的心情逐漸轉好。如果你感到有壓力，可以放一些平靜的音樂。如果你感到憤怒，可以放一些有衝擊性的音樂，讓它全部釋放出來!長期保持壞情緒可能會產生怨恨，這既會破壞你和家人朋友的關係，也可能會導致你失去控制。

Try to get a good night』s sleep

良好的睡眠

A well-rested mind is essential for maintaining a good mood and productive work rate, while adults are normally recommended 6-7 hours each night, teenagers typically need 8-9! As students, we tend to spend way too much time on social media, answering emails, texts and phone-calls, because phone screens emit 『blue light』 it can take our brain much longer to enter 『REM』 (rapid eye movement) sleep, which is essential for recharging the brain. So instead of watching YouTube videos until you pass out, read a book in a dimly light room or try meditating, as the lack of blue-light and the rate of activity will make you sleepier.

一個充分休息過的頭腦對於保持良好的情緒和有效的工作效率是必不可少的，成年人的每晚睡眠時間通常是6-7小時，青少年則通常需要8-9小時!身為學生的我們，往往在社交媒體上花費太多時間，難以控制的刷手機、回復消息。這是因為手機屏幕發出的「藍光」，會使得大腦進入「快速眼動」睡眠的時間變得更長，而快速眼動睡眠對大腦充電至關重要。所以，不要在你昏昏欲睡的時候一直刷手機，看YouTube上的視頻了，嘗試在昏暗的燈光下看書或者冥想，因為缺乏藍光和活動頻率會使你感到更加睏倦。

——THE END——

關於作者：多米尼克·沃姆斯利（Dominic Walmsley ）目前就讀於埃克塞特大學 政治與哲學 學士，是深圳市海鯨教育基金會的第一批國外實習生。

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