Student blogs

Do you ever feel stressed because of school? I have been there, done that! Here are some tips that can help!

1. Get involved in (team) sports!

During high school, I spent a lot of my free time swimming. Did you know that there are certain benefits associated with this sport? For instance:

1. Your flexibility and posture will improve considerably and thus the back pain will be greatly diminished;
2. Not only will your muscles tone up (and your muscular endurance will enhance), but they will also relax considering that water will support most of your body weight (therefore, the joints and the skeletal system are protected from any kind of stress or pressure);
3. Lower your risk to develop cardiovascular diseases, thereby protecting your heart;
4. Takes the form of an extremely effective cardio workout intended even for injured people or pregnant women (swimming is also often regarded as an excellent rehabilitation method to cure peripheral nerve damage);
5. There’s no better coach than swimming that can guide you on how to become a goal-oriented person and how to dedicate yourself to a healthy lifestyle;
6. Reducing stress and anxiety leads to an increase in the brain’s ability to think more clearly (besides, a social sport, in which group training takes place, substantially improves our mental health);
7. Delaying the terrible effects associated with the aging process as a result of improved blood flow and oxygen delivery to the brain, reduced blood pressure, and increased cardiovascular health
8. Last but not least you will sleep like a baby again!

However, in addition to the swimming pools that Stockholm will offer you (at fairly low prices), KI provides you with 2 campus gyms:

• Box Campus Solna
• BASE Campus Flemingsberg

2. Be part of as many student communities as possible!

This is the best possible way to interact with other students, to see what they are going through, and how they manage to cope with the pressure. Just feel a little taste of what the sense of community means and explore your passions in this environment where you will meet other people who share the same interests as you!

At KI, I enthusiastically recommend that you should join Medicinska Föreningen (MF). But why? Well, let me give you a flavor of what kind of events you can participate in:

• Sports Day
• Graduation afterparty
• Info pub
• Amphiox Day and Amphiox Games (competitive team-building games)
• CHaSE (the largest career fair at KI)
• Union election (one can apply to become a member of The Union Council)
• Lucia Ball (Nobel laureates of medicine or physiology are also invited!)

3. Find creative and helpful strategies to learn!

Biology has always been my guilty pleasure! Nevertheless, sometimes it can be extremely difficult to make certain correlations and remember even the smallest detail you have learned, right? As a consequence, I put my passion for drawing to good use and I managed to turn the stress associated with learning into an activity I enjoy the most. And my sister does the same thing, and she’s only 12 years old! Take a look!

4. Achieve time management

In order to manage your time as efficiently as possible, you can create a well-defined schedule that includes the activities you have to do daily, the time spent on each activity, and the well-deserved breaks that you will have to take! Building and pursuing a routine, along with recording all deadlines for projects and exams, will significantly reduce the impact of some stressful situations that are part of our student’s daily life.

​While making a to-do list, a good idea is to also recognize time wasters because once identified, they can be avoided. In other words, ask yourself: Where is my time wasted? If you can find the answer, then the problem is almost solved.

5. Ask for help

​If you didn’t understand something in class, ask your teacher as many questions as you need! Never feel ashamed or embarrassed to do so! If you feel that stress is affecting your mental health, there are many student support services or tutoring programs that will come to your aid immediately! Please contact them as quickly as possible! Mental health must always be our priority!

At Karolinska Institutet, our Student Health Centre is always available to advise us and provide support in any kind of problem we might encounter. If you struggle with stress, anxiety, or depression or you’re facing concentration, procrastination, or lifestyle-related issues, please contact our center/ book an individual consultation straight away!