December 6, 2009
Breaking Out of the (Stressful) Muggle Mindset
It’s December, and for many of us that means exams, college applications, and the holidays. No matter where you are or what you’re doing, it can be a stressful time of year. And whether we’re normally Harrys or Rons or Lunas, stress can turn us into full-on Hermione mode.
We live in a culture where it’s okay to act like a pre-exam Hermione all of the time, because it has somehow become “normal” or even “cool” to be that stressed. It’s a Muggle Mindset that says in order to be productive or hardworking, we must live with a level of stress that is so high it can cause us to panic or lose sleep over what we “should” be doing. And worst of all, this Muggle Mindset tells us that if we relieve stress, or if we choose to live at a low-stress level, it means we are lazy or careless (which, of course, is simply untrue).
But we’re not Muggles, and we don’t have to act like them. We don’t have to be that stressed. We can Break Out of the Muggle Mindset, even at this stressful time of year.
For the next ten days, HPA staffers will be blogging about how we relieve stress – and challenging you to decrease your stress levels with us. Join us here every day for new tips and tricks – and be sure to add your own in the comments or over in The Common Room.
Happy December, everyone! Let’s make it stress-free and relaxing!
Today’s Task: What stresses you out? Make a list of 3-5 situations or feelings that make you stressed. Over the next ten days, we’ll work on tackling those lists and making them more manageable.
Vanessa
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This is a wonderful idea, I’ve been feeling really stressed and overwhelmed lately! I can’t wait for this campaign to begin! Thank you so much, and happy holidays!
Sierra
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Oh, I definitely need this.
Homework is definitely the #1 thing stressing me out. I worked for 6 hours the other night, pausing only for dinner and to write to my newspaper editor.
My job is also stressful, but only because it takes time away from homework, of course. (Instead of starting homework at 4, I have to wait until 9. It’s not pretty.)
And then there are the stupid social issues that, being a high schooler, I’m pretty much programed to care about.
Obsidian
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This is a wonderful idea!
For me, my #1 Stresser around this time is money (not having much, how to make more)
#2 is how to keep away the Holiday / Winter Blues.
Amy
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This is great! I’ve been stressing about prOWLS! (prelim exams) all week! Me and my friends have concluded that they were invented by Voldemort!
Taylor
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Finals! So much stress because they are worth of the term grade.
Money is another stresser too; I don’t want my family to feel like they need to spend a lot on holiday gifts.
Sara
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Ah, yes this is great! I need some tips.
As a HS senior, the main stressor in my life is definitely financing my undergrad/grad studies and choosing the right school.
Midterm exams are making me insane also. They’re just the perfect holiday treat. Thanks school!
Vanessa
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*cough cough*
I have now compiled my list! There’s about 1 million things that stress me out, but I think these might be the top three.
#1 would have to be anything with a deadline! I make all of my holiday gifts by hand, and I participated in NaNoWriMo for the first time this year, November is usually the month where I make all my gifts. Also, I celebrate Yule (the winter solstice), which happens substantially before Christmas.
Any situation where I might be expected to read anything. Cards from family members, gift tags, boxes of presence, menus at restaurants etc. it stresses me out to no end.
#3 Money. I don’t buy any presence, but my other family members do. Sometimes I wish they wouldn’t spend so much on me.
Well, that’s about it. Sorry for posting twice, I didn’t know we were supposed to say what stressed us out, just another wonderful function of dyslexia!
Marie
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This is such a great idea!
My #1 stressor is school. I’m a senior in high school, and between my classes and college stuff, I’m going crazy. It takes forever to finish my homework! And that only makes me dislike school, which makes me frustrated and…yeah.
#2 is money. We barely have enough for gas and food for us & the animals, let alone money for all the things I need for school (senior things/class trips/etc.)
#3 is my current family issues, which I won’t get into, but is (in a way) connected to #s 1, 2 and 3.
#4 is my health and my mother’s health. She ‘s working like crazy, two jobs that are both physically and emotionally demanding, when she really shouldn’t be doing so much. And me…I’m not exactly the definition of health. And I keep gaining weight (not at all athletic, asthma, hate winter & being cold so no outdoors), and it scares me.
…stress reflief please?
Stephanie
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Holy crap, this is exactly what I need right now. I’m freaking out over all my final projects and exams. So situations that make me most stressed:
1) School/homework! This is the biggest one for me. I’m always feeling so overwhelmed with schoolwork, even though I do all kinds of crazy/OCD-organization techniques (I’m so much like Hermione, it’s ridiculous). So I’m not sure if organization is my problem. It’s just that I spend too long on certain things (I go to art school), and I just can’t handle stress well.
Everyone says I should just change my attitude, but that’s so much easier said than done.
2) Trying to balance school and social life. Lately I’ve kind of forgotten how to be social, hahaha…
3) Some family stuff that I shouldn’t talk about. Basically my dad’s health is declining and he might lose his job. It’s been pretty stressful for the whole family. =/
4) Money- trying to figure out how I can afford my tuition and college costs for my remaining years at school. Art school is really expensive.
I’m looking forward to these tips on how to break out of the Muggle Mindset, haha!
Thanks so much!
Max C
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This is a great idea!
For me…
1.) School
2.) College stress (this includes apps as well as the stress of moving to somewhere completely new)
3.) School vs. Social Life (like Stephanie)
I definitely am looking forward to some tips
Julie
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1) work… I work for a non-profit animal shelter. So little money + lots of animals + lots of work = stress. Add to that I don’t exactly get on with one of my co-workers. I try, but most of the time I just have to try and avoid him to keep sane.
2) social life… I feel like I have none and that bothers me. But at the same time, I get home from work, and after caring for my pets, I’m just too tired to do anything.
3) school… I’m trying to go back to school but I don’t know if I have to money for it.
4) money… although I feel as though that is mostly because of my job.
Karen
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Ack! I forgot to add mine in all of that….
1) School – finals, grades, etc!!!
2) Finding a job – I graduate in May, and I’m worried about what i’ll do next year
3) Day-to-day stress – depending on the day, different things just wind me up. This can be anything from my room being really messy to getting all my errands done.
Hope
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1. Theatre
2. School
3. Lack of Money to pay for things like school
Andrew Weyandt
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Okay then, In no particular order…
#1: My Dad will not admit he desperately needs a Hearing Aid. Years of working with Heavy Machines and Old Cars have reduced his hearing to pitiful levels. He has to have the TV at near max volume just to hear it! And I have had to repeatedly Yell just so he can hear me!
#2: My parents taste in TV Shows. Cop Dramas, God I Despise them! Murder this and Killing that, the whole genre makes me physically sick. And guess how hard it is to atempt to ignore this when the computer is in the next room! See also Stresser #1.
#3: My desire to start a Family of my own and the fact that I have no clue how to get a Girlfriend at all! Social things are a difficult thing for an Aspie like myself, to say the least!(Aspie: A person that has Aspergar’s Syndrom, A form of Autism. Look it up.)