Anxiety is something that I feel everyone has experienced in their life. Whether it’s stress before a big test or something more existential, anxiety is a part of us.

Now, there is a difference between everyday stress and anxiety: stress usually has a specific cause that the person can trace, while anxiety can pop up unannounced and unexplained. Not to say that anxiety can’t pop up under more expected circumstances, however, this has been my experience.

More than a few times, I have swung into full-blown panic for something minor or unexplained. More often than not my mind tends to trace lines between activities and traumas in a way that obstructs my enjoyment. It usually goes something like this: “I want to play this video game I really love. Someone I used to care about but now I’m not on good terms with used to play this game with me. I now associate the game with them. I no longer want to play this game.”

Think of it like nostalgia, which in this case refers to associating something with a positive memory, like when you open a new save file of LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga and you are transported back to 2011, back to before you were old and crotchety and you had to pay taxes. Instead of those feelings though, you get transported back to whatever negative memory is waiting to make your day a little worse.

It’s a difficult thing to manage, especially when you don’t exactly know the origin of the anxiety. I have employed the strategy of “Keep it simple, stupid,” or “KISS.” I first heard this saying when learning about writing and problem solving. I use it as a method of keeping writing concise and to-the-point and use a straightforward problem-solving method that keeps things fast and efficient. I’ve found the method also helps with managing my anxiety. I can’t say with certainty that this method is one-size-fits-all, but I wanted to share it in case it helps someone else.

The KISS method, when pertaining to mental health, involves one sitting down and doing the most simple, enjoyable and non-harmful activity one can manage. From my experience, anxiety sparks when there’s an overload in the system. In this circumstance, the best way to reduce anxiety is to take some time to decompress or distract the mind with some brainless fun. Honestly, just sitting down and watching a show, playing some video games or otherwise relaxing while absorbing stimuli can really help. It’s important to make sure that you’re not alone with your thoughts; if you’re already having anxiety, it’s only going to make it worse.

Does this method work 100% of the time? No. Is it always feasible to do this in every environment? No. But ultimately there is no one solution for all cases of anxiety.

Anxiety comes in all shapes and sizes. It can originate from specific traumas or it can show up one day without warning. So your method of management and mine are going to be different.

I’ve said the word “management” a few times throughout this article and it’s because mental illness more often than not, can be managed, not fixed. Mental illness is not always something that goes away. Sometimes it’s a permanent part of one’s life. In this case, trying to “fix it” only leads to frustration as there is no way to truly get rid of it. Sometimes the best way to treat mental illness is with medication, or with regular psychological counseling such as therapy. I believe that everyone could benefit from going to therapy and taking a deeper look at their mental health and behaviors, but I know that not everyone wants to pursue that route.

Whatever the case, managing stress and anxiety are vital for mental health maintenance, especially for college students with more and more things being loaded onto their already-stacked agenda.