Sometimes we don’t realise that saying yes to things, taking on extra responsibilities and trying to get as much as possible out of our time at university, alongside the pressures of the, let’s be real, ridiculous rises to the cost of living can lead to moments of overwhelm, perhaps even panic! My friends, I will be honest with you, I am one of these “Yes I can do it” people. I take on lots because I can manage high volumes of responsibility and juggle like a pro in some sort of circus. However, this sometimes comes to bite me in the ass! Recently I have felt these impending moments of complete overwhelm and I am stressed! Whatever your circumstances and position here at Edinburgh Napier I want to say some things to you – 1. You are not alone! - we are not islands, and the university has a number of support systems, teams and people who can help - from the Disability Inclusion, Counselling and Mental Wellbeing, Student Funding, Keep on Track, and more to aid us all in this journey. 2. You are not a failure! - this is a difficult thing to feel, that if we can’t juggle or achieve what we are striving for, that we must be useless or worthless or just not good enough! - this phrase seems to have become ingrained in our psyche - screw that - you are good enough!! 3. It’s ok to take a break - Sometimes a break is exactly what we need to recharge and get some headspace to be able to refocus on what we need to. There are plenty of options here at Edinburgh Napier that mean we can pause studies, or just take a week off etc to help us. Talk to your course programme leader or a lecturer if you need to take a break! I have found some tools useful to help me deal with overwhelm and just having too much to do that I cannot even think or figure out where to start! It isn’t complex and can prove very useful for all areas of life - I like to doodle mind maps and then work out from there what needs doing when and how I can manage the different tasks or challenges. This is also helpful to see, down on paper, when things are out of our control. For example, the rises in the cost of living are beyond a joke and squeezing us all like lemons at some sort of lemonade making fiesta and it’s just not even funny! I have used this mind map doodle process to figure out where I can make changes and for things that are literally out of my control I can take the pressure off my own internal bad self-talk, because it isn’t my fault the countries finance systems are messed up. That’s not to say approach your finances this way - figure out how you can make life affordable and where you can help relieve the pressures - sometimes it means dropping some non-essential activities or take aways and sometimes it means making tough choices like job changes or moves. Please access the help of services, both in the university or outside of it, if you are worried and struggling!