It’s normal to experience stress from time to time – it’s part of the human condition.
As students, we experience stress and anxiety too, from many causes- academic demands , deadlines, test anxiety, relationship, parents, environment ( especially students that are away from home) and on and on.
But the good thing about stress is that it can also be easily brought under control.
Different people have different ways of de stressing themselves. The thing is you need to find your own way out of this. There’s no point in following others’ way of stress management, what might help one’s might not help you, and worse, might lead to added stress. We often associate alleviating stress with indulging unhealthy vices, like clubbing, smoking, drinking, stress-eating, addiction , and etc. 🥂
The trouble is, after one of those activities, you’re rarely left actually feeling better—in fact, you usually feel worse, leading to added stress.
But what if one of the best stress relief activities is actually something good for you and your wallet and it’s fun? Yes, you guessed it: Cooking is one of my way of de stressing. It is indeed very therapeutic and relaxing. 😁
As quoted from the internet,
Food Network’s Alton Brown has said that cooking is “a very calming ritual. It’s a different kind of stress relief than I get doing anything else…[we] find kind of a physical solace doing things with our hands, more and more in the kitchen. The sounds, the smells, the feels of that room are comforting to me.”
"Cooking is a great destresser because it serves as a creative outlet," says Debbie Mandel, author of "Addicted to Stress." "And while stress can numb your senses, cooking activates them. It's a sensory experience with aroma, taste, touch, visual delight and even sizzling sound."
Mental health experts even credit cooking with helping to relieve depression, anxiety, and its manifestations, like eating disorders. Mental health clinics have started using cooking as a type of behavioral therapy, much like music or art therapy. Not only is the act of cooking meditative on its own (chopping, whisking, stirring), it also leads to improved diet, which experts are now recognizing as crucial to mental health.
During normal school day, I still cook/prep my own lunch, especially starting this year- my intermediate cycle in RCSI, our classes are based in Beaumont hospital, which is my college teaching hospital. It is 40 minutes away from the city by public transport. There’s a staff cafeteria in Beaumont hospital (that we students are allowed to use) and a deli in our student building. However, most students still opt to bring their own food. The reason is straight and clear- hospital food- they are mostly tasteless and not as flavorful.
Around 3 weeks before finals, we won’t have classes anymore. So I no longer need to meal prep. But I won’t have time to cook as well.
the dilemma is,
dining out too much isnt healthy
the food choices will soon be frustrated (as me and my friends, we most often just eat around our college to save time).
of course we did order take-out ( we even signed up as member on deliveroo), but the restaurant/ cafe on the list is limited as well.
For all the factors combined above, and also as one of my way to de stress, no matter how busy i am, I will set aside some time, say, maybe few hours of my weekend to cook some simple basic dishes or make some desserts! 🍰🍮🍩 or maybe just let the soup or stew simmer in the pot the whole day 😜
Soup//stew/ desserts are the ultimate comfort food!
Cooking our own meals will also give us a greater degree of control over what we are putting in our body, and there is a definite link between the foods we consume and how well we cope with stress. Some food are linked to stress reliever, such as salmons, potatoes, walnuts, lavender etc.
Also, Trying a new recipe is definitely a great way to relieve tension while learning something new. Start by taking a few minutes to find recipes that look delicious and healthy. I often search online from the internet for recipes or learn from some Culinary Facebook pages/Instagram accounts that I followed. They even will provide some short videos to help!
I will then grab the ingredients needed in Asia Market or Dunnes. And Now, I’m ready to get indulged in the act of cooking.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Last but not least- Make cooking social.
The one thing I always do whenever I cook is COOK IN BULK. not for myself, but to share with my friends there 😉 Great satisfaction comes from sharing. Its better than leaving the ingredients on the shelf. I learn and improve from advices and special techniques from my friends. Moreover, their appreciation for your creation can boost your mood too!
Physically, cooking satisfies an immediate need and offers quick gratification and that is why it makes a way to feel better about life. Because honestly, at the end of the day, we’re all just a bunch of animals who need to eat. The joy of cooking is real, just give it a try.
For me, studying abroad is a journey of self-discovery, even when it comes to the kitchen. I didn’t know that cooking can be so smoothing since i’ve been living with my parents and have no cooking experience.
I’m no food expert, no chef, I burnt the pot during my first time cooking, but I do improvise through experience.
Below are some simple dishes that is cooked by me (in my second year😂) - they still doesn’t look appetizing enough, but it was way better than my first semester’s cooking!
👻🍡 Marshmallow Man Epidermis 🍡👻 If there’s something strange in your stratum corneum. Who ya gonna call? I’d definitely contact your local dermatologist, their expertise in the area of skin will ensure you receive the best possible treatment for your condition. i♡histo www.ihearthisto.com Histology by @mariecrp
Sorry, it has been a while since an original post I had my accounting midterm so I needed time to just focus on that. But I had my midterm today so I am back 😊.
I would really like to say thank you to all my followers, I literally logged on after a few days and have gained 300 new followers which is crazy! So thank you.
Also because I took a small break for my midterm I didn't post my days of productivity challenge but I have actually been productive on all those days 😂. However, I will just pick the challenge from where I left off.
Today I had my midterm and then I finished my accounting reading and my assignment for next week. Now I am watching UnREAL, which I highly recommend.
I hope you enjoy some mechanics notes, these were from Maths A-level because I haven't had a chance to take new photos, but will be posting recent content tomorrow.
Haven't posted anything useful really, but I don't have much to say, most are just complaints about my program, the hospital, etc. But, I will be soon finishing this! I can't wait! I am thinking about a sub specialty after... but I REALLY want to eat and sleep at reasonable hours!
How can doctors-in-training learn to have hard discussions with their patients? Will, a fourth-year medical student intending to become an internist, recounts two formative patient encounters he had during his third year. In the first, he learned from an attending physician and a man dying from cancer the challenges of determining when it’s time to end treatment. In the second, he realized a non-English speaking patient did not understand that she had lupus, and thus took the initiative to more effectively translate to her what the condition meant.
Discussions with patients can be very hard, ranging from questions regarding sexual history all the way to having end of life hospice care talks.
In today’s Inside Stories audio clip, Will tells us about the times when he realizes that just a few more minutes with a patient can be the difference between their best quality of care and just another hospital session.
Side note before I start this post- I totally just read one of my posts and I Promise you all I know how to spell. I may or may not just be too lazy to spell check..probably something I should start doing.
So disclosure, this post is mainly going to be aimed toward a childhood fear, my college major, and my fears now about medicine. So if you’re into that kind of stuff, I guess I suggest scrolling along to the next blog.
They say that if you have a traumatic experience with some before the age of 10, you’re likely to develop a phobia for that when you’re older. The only thing is, I really can’t remember having a traumatic experiences with needles. Just thinking the word makes my body cringe though. It may be from the time I donated blood (remind me to never do that again) at our school blood drive and then happened to pass out at the juice table ten minutes later that gave me my fear. Or perhaps the fact that when I grow older I don’t want to give shots and IVs because I was never really given them as a child, and I know that they cause pain and that’s not something I want to do, even though I know it helps them. Although I got a biopsy done at the dermatologists office and didn’t flinch a bit when they put a needle in the back- it didn’t really hurt a bit! So why do I keep holding on to the couple negative experiences I’ve had, even though I’ve had more good experiences? Arg,I feel lightheaded anytime I think about it. Which is a HUGE problem considering my major is Allied Health Science (basically most medical professions except pre-med). I want to be a Physician’s Assistant, and I’m not quite sure what else I would ever do. I love the idea of helping people and having a vast knowledge about the human body.
Even though my original antics and reasoning behind me becoming a PA may be considered “wrong”, they have now evolved in something more. When I was little, and by little I really mean late middle school/early high school, I was the most money-driven person I knew- probably in the whole state. So much so, that I would google the Top 20 highest paying jobs, and was convinced that one day one of those would be my job. So after evolving and researching, I came to becoming a PA. I know I want to work with kids, so I’m thinking neonatal or pediatric. I would go for OB/GYN except I really don’t want to deal with gross vaginas..but I guess anything could happen? Haha, moving along, now I couldn’t think of anything else I would do, but I’m confusing myself with what my motives are now. I would like to think it’s not money, but unfortunately that may be part of it.
I really think that subconsciously I am having panic attacks, which is causing my to get dizzy and want to pass out. I’m afraid one day I’ll be giving a presentation or interning in a hospital and I actually will pass out though! And I think that fact that I’m afraid causes me to think about it all the time which amplifies it to get worse and so on. I don’t like the idea of an IV but I feel like that’s such a small part that I can’t let that get in my way of what I want to do. I always resort to the worst case and grossest things, which isn’t even likely for what I want to go in to. It’s stupid that this is happening, out of all people, to me. It’s not even a fear of needles now as much as a fear of fainting around people. I want this, but now I fear I will not be able to accomplish it, and I’m at a bit of a standstill. I’m not quite sure what to do or what direction to go in; I guess this is what you could call being at a fork in the road, a pre-quarter-life crisis even? After all, this could effect the rest of my life… oh boy, I think I’m getting a little light headed..
