As a university student, there are many things to think about. There is all the new course information going into your brain for one thing. You might be trying to form new friendships, and then there is the social life to consider. It might also be the first time living away from home and now there’s groceries to think about or laundry to do – and on and on.

It is only natural that your brain might occasionally go haywire. These racing thoughts often lead to anxiety, which in turn leads to sleepless nights, and that can debilitate your ability to think coherently. Having a loop of racing thoughts will eventually lead to burn out.

Luckily, there are quite a few ways to slow down and bring yourself a bit of calm. Below we list the top five ways to slow down a racing mind when things become too hectic.

1) Mindfulness

One of the first things you learn when you learn to meditate is acknowledging thoughts. This means that instead of shutting out your racing thoughts, you acknowledge they are there and allow yourself to experience them.

There is no shortage of apps these days promoting mindfulness and meditation. Apps such as Headspace, One Giant Mind, and others you can easily access on your mobile teach useful methods of dealing with stress by focusing on breathwork. You can also find guided meditation videos on YouTube.

A few minutes of focused meditation every day will reap massive rewards for your mental health and your daily life.

2) Breathe deeply

Okay, maybe you need a solution now and not in the time it takes to download an app and learn to still the mind. In that case, just breathe.

Focus entirely on your breath and do as follows:

a. Breathe deeply. At the top of your breath, try to breathe in just a little more.

b. Hold it for three seconds.

c. Breathe out, allowing your shoulders to slump and your body to relax.

d. Repeat.

You can add to this exercise as your confidence with it grows, breathe in for five seconds, hold for five, breathe out for five, repeat. And then move onto six seconds, eight seconds, or even up to 20 seconds. Go slowly though and start again if you begin to panic. This extra oxygen in your brain will encourage the release of endorphins, which will lift your mood and calm you. 

3) Exercise

This might seem like a cheap tip, but it is one which is worth bearing in mind. Simple exercises for the body, especially ones you are previously unfamiliar with, give the brain something else to focus on and can provide some much-needed relief. You can start with something simple like push-ups or jumping jacks, or go for a short walk or run. Anything to get the blood flowing and your body focused on something other than whatever is troubling you.

It is important to build exercise into your life. It will not only naturally defuse your anxiety and relieve your stress day-to-day, but it will also improve your overall health and improve your ability to deal with stressful situations when they arise.  For more ideas on how to keep yourself in shape to better fight those anxious thoughts, checkout the Trinity sport facilities for more ideas.

4) Schedule worry time

Whenever you find yourself getting worried try not to focus on it right away. Instead, schedule some time with yourself specifically to worry. This might sound strange but has enormous benefits. During this time, whether it is a half hour or an hour, you can write down your feelings on a piece of paper. Include all the things that are bothering you, even worst-case scenarios. You will find that you are much calmer once you have done this. It will also mean you won’t feel the guilt of having spent study time’ doing something else instead.

5) Distract yourself

When your mind is racing, trying to distract yourself can be easier said than done. That said, there are many activities that are naturally calming. Drawing and colouring, for example. You could get yourself an adult colouring book and some crayons (or a children’s colouring book because who’s going to know?).

There are even lots of online challenges you could take part in to flex your artistic muscle, like Inktober. For each day in October a prompt is provided and all you have to do is draw something related to that. The prompts are available year-round though and there’s no reason you couldn’t do Ink-gust or Ink-cember instead.

Or you could try cooking a new dish or learning a new instrument. There are dozens of easy recipes to be found online and if you make enough for a few days, you will save yourself money in the process. The ukulele is cheap, easy to start, and sounds great instantly. You can find lots of tutorials online and at the end of this you might have a new skill to show off at parties.

If you still have a racing mind after all these activities, the university offers a variety of student support and counselling services. Learn more about the student counselling services available at Trinity.