April is Stress Awareness Month, and who better to benefit from anxiety reducing tips than Westwood students? Stress is physically and mentally harmful, and it’s a problem that needs to be minimized drastically. When looking up quick, easy solutions for an influx of stress, all Google has to offer is “breathe, take a walk, and look at the positives”. Okay Google, as if my crippling anxiety is going to be cured by looking at the positives, and taking a few breaths won’t do anything against my relentless stress. Instead of these vague  tips, here is what I do when having an anxiety attack:

I relax by playing Animal Crossing: New Leaf. It is a console game on the Nintendo 3DS where you’re the mayor of a town. You can build friendships with the animal villagers that live next door while designing the town, from the trees planted in town square to the cafe built by the beach. Another cool game is Tengam, a Japanese styled game for sale on steam and tells stories in the form of a beautifully colored pop-up book. Although these games are relaxing and fun, they do cost money. Orsinal, on the other hand, is a free, online website with a multitude of different games such as Drifting Afternoon, a game where you control a tiger and jump on bubbles worth varying amounts of points. What colour is it? is a super relaxing website that changes color depending on the time of day.

As for music, I listen to Alt-J , Twenty One Pilots, and Walk The Moon. Alt-J is perfect for their catchy, somewhat techno songs. Twenty One Pilots is great because of their relatable lyrics about anxiety and depression. Walk The Moon contributes happy, upbeat music.

So, when downwards spiraling into a panic attack, blast Alt-J and play cute games about animals; it’ll help.