I’ve just caught the bus after turning in my last assignment of the semester and for some reason, I’m convinced I left my laptop charger behind.

I know it’s unlikely - irrational, even. I almost distinctly remember putting it in my bag, but I’m not quite sure.

Sound familiar? Are you also plagued by the fear that you’ve left the stove on, forgotten something major, or just have a general sense of foreboding after finishing a stressful semester?

This phantom anxiety is nothing new to me. Last spring, it was the incessant fear that I’d left candles burning in my room. It’s almost like my brain is in a state of hyper-anxiety during finals period. Once the exams and assignments are finally over, my brain just doesn’t know where to direct this anxiety, so it channels it into the most mundane things.

I’ve started calling this “residual stress.” A quick google search reveals that the term typically refers to things in the physical realm, used to describe materials that retain a morphed state even after physical pressure is removed. I like to think that this parallels the mental phenomenon quite well.

So, how to deal with this residual stress? That's one I'm still figuring out. I think the most helpful thing has been to understand the source of my anxiety. In most cases, it's easy to recognize. However, sometimes my anxiety brain plays tricks on me and I'm convinced I genuinely do have so many meaningless things to worry about.

As I said, this semester (the first of my master's) was particularly stressful. I was burnt out after it ended and I felt jittery, anxious, and like I simply did not have enough left in the tank to deal with anything else. I was incredibly raw. Soon after finals were over, I headed to my boyfriend's house to spend some time celebrating Christmas with his family. I took this time to shut my phone off completely.

Surprisingly, being "off the grid" took a lot of weight off of me and gave me space to reset. I can sometimes retreat to hermit mode when I'm stressed and I always thought of this as a bad habit that needed to be avoided. However, giving myself permission to ignore emails and enjoy a digital detox greatly cut down on my residual anxiety.

Chances are, I will face many challenging semesters to come and many more challenges after that. It's in my best interest to identify when my daily worries start to cross into the residual stress territory and learn how to coax myself back into a state of calm. If you've ever felt residual stress after a hectic period, comment below! I'd love to hear your tips.

xx ASP