3 Ways to Get Through the Post-Graduation Blues

Anybody who’s graduated college knows how annoying the chorus of “What are your plans now?” “What field do you want to go in?” and the infamously annoying “Are you working?” can be when you get home. I’m pretty sure there wasn’t one family function after I graduated that didn’t involve three different family members asking me the same question. No worries, I have 3 ways to help you cope without wanting to lock your bedroom door and eat yourself into a food coma just to escape.

Set goals.

This may sound like something that’ll make you stress even more but setting SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely). YourCoach breaks down exactly how you should make these goals and how they help. I believe that they will honestly help you keep your feet on the ground and give you something to work towards. When you take the time to right down what you want to accomplish and when you want to accomplish it it helps YOU know what YOU want to do so the opinions and questions don’t matter. Set goals, smash them, and set new ones.

Travel.

This may sound extremely unattainable to someone who just walked across the stage jobless and thousands of dollars in debt (literally me), but you must travel. Get out of your city/state and see this big beautiful world of ours. I know it sounds so cliche but it truly is an eye opener and more importantly, YOU DESERVE IT. You just completed two, four, five, etc. years of challenging coursework, annoying classmates, and terrible cafe food that’s the least you could do for yourself. It doesn’t have to be to a tropical island somewhere it can be to another state or city just get away, regroup, and breathe. I’m a strong believer in always knowing when to relax and doing your mind, body, and spirit a favor by giving them a break.

Don’t Stress.

This might be the most important tip thus far, but it is also the hardest. It took me a long time to take this advice, and honestly I’m still working on it to this day. I’m not sure if you believe in any kind of higher power, but I promise you what’s for you will ALWAYS find its way to you. The career you’re supposed to have, the purpose you’re supposed to fulfill, the nice things you know you deserve will all find its way to you when the time is right. It sounds so hard to sit and wait for something to happen, but when you stop stressing and look up one day and that thing you prayed or wished for for so long is here and you didn’t even realize it you’ll see what I meant. Outside of this stress can lead to other health issues or increase current issues. Women’s Health says that women specifically are more likely to have their mental health issues to become worse because of constant stress.

 

 

I know my tips sound cliche and easier said than done, but I can only tell you things that I know or have done. I have gone (and still go) through every phase possible after graduation and kinda now again because I’m in grad school. I had to stop overthinking and stressing every little thing in order to realize that I was stressing myself into an anxiety disorder. Also, I’M ONLY 22, you would think I was 35 and life was passing me by the way I stressed things. We’re young and we have our whole lives ahead of us we need to learn to stop and smell the roses instead of driving ourselves crazy trying to live up to unrealistic standards.

There aren’t many tips in this post because honestly I could write a book, so if you’re a recent grad (or older we don’t discriminate) let me know in the comments what helped you get through the post-grad blues. You never know who’s going through the same thing!

Bye for now!

“Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is relax.” – Mark Black