18 Jun 2017

You don’t need me to tell you that there’s some pretty shitty parts of student life, particularly if you’re coming up to exam period. Sometimes, you can put your head down, work hard and push through to the other side. Other times, you realise that you need a break- and that’s okay.

1. You keep saying ‘I need a break’ or ‘I’m so done’

Sometimes, this is a sign that you just need to suck it up and get on with it. But, when all you can think about is how much you need everything to stop for five minutes, chances are you need a break. You might tell yourself that you don’t care, or that you’ll ‘push through’ but two seconds later you’re having your third breakdown of your week.

2. You haven’t had a solid sleep in forever

A combination of all-nighters, poorly timed naps, exams and assignment deadlines as well as being super stressed can mean you’re not getting the sleep you need.

Yeah, sometimes you’re going to be tired. But constantly being exhausted and never giving yourself a chance to catch up isn’t good, and there’s only so long that caffeine alone will keep you going.

3. You haven’t gone out in ages

You’ve convinced yourself that you don’t have time to hang out with your friends and you’re pretty sure the last time you saw your bestie’s face was when she updated her profile pic. Take a second to leave your house and spend time with people who will remind you there’s life outside school stress.

4. You can’t remember the last time you ate a veggie

You’re surviving on a diet that consists of shit food and you haven’t eaten anything without artificial colouring in weeks. If this sounds like you, give yourself a chance to have a good feed that hasn’t been deep fried or coated in sugar.

Mum’s cooking works best in this situation, but anything that you can buy from the local supermarket with minimal packaging (hint: look in the fresh food section) should be just as good.

5. You’re procrastinating

When you get to the point where you’ve been staring at a blank page for the past two hours and you still haven’t typed anything–you need a break. If you’ve managed to lay in bed and stare at the ceiling in silence instead of doing any of your assignment–you need a break.

And if you’ve convinced yourself that you don’t care about anything anymore but still have a gnawing feeling in your stomach when you do something else–you need a break.