How to survive the first weeks of term

By The Wellbeing Team

The Croft Magazine // The Wellbeing team share their best tips and tricks for surviving your Freshers’ Week.

Staying safe

While your drunk selves are gracing Lizard Lounge and Lakota for the first time, remember to watch out for drink spiking. Ideally, buy your own drinks and always keep an eye on them. If someone does offer to buy you one (lucky you!), watch them buy it and don’t drink it if you’re at all worried. If any of your new friends seem suddenly more ‘out of it’ after a drink, tell someone behind the bar and be sure to stay with your new bestie.

Signs that you may have been drugged

• You feel drunk even though you haven’t had alcohol.
• You wake up very hungover and have a memory lapse or can’t account for a block of time.
• Your clothes are a mess or not on right.
• You are nauseous, sleepy, and have a loss of reflexes.

Healthy meal ideas for Freshers’ Week

So, you’re on your own and making food for yourself. How can you ensure you’re on your best form to party the night away?

Frozen vegetables: these keep for ages and are quick and easy to cook. You can cook frozen peas in the microwave for ten minutes and they’re done.

Seasoning: to spice up your blander meals add spice mixes and sauces (like Blue Dragon’s teriyaki sauce) to prevent your meals from being boring.

Carbohydrates: you need a lot of energy to survive Freshers’: this means eating a lot of great energy sources like quinoa, wholemeal rice, and potatoes.

Best hangover cures

• Carb up: pasta, bread, you name it... anything carb-filled and delicious may help you feel a little better.
• Bloody Mary: A cocktail containing vodka, tomato juice and spices (Worcester, garlic, hot sauce, celery salt and black pepper). The last thing you will want to do is drink any more alcohol, but this obscure concoction may really work.
• Water before bed is one of the best ways to avoid the dreaded hangover headache.
• Bouillon soup (a thin, vegetable-based broth) is a good source of vitamins and minerals, which can top up depleted resources. It's also easy for a fragile stomach to digest.

Dealing with peer pressure

During Freshers’ many feel as though their behaviour is being influenced by those around them, and end up acting in a certain manner because of this. Wellbeing’s top tips to overcome peer pressure include:

• Confront the person/people whom you are feeling pressured by (the likelihood is they have gotten carried away and neglected to consider your feelings).
• Remember that sometimes people’s values will not align with yours, and that everyone has their own boundaries which deserve to be respected.
• Remember that you aren’t expected to befriend everyone you meet.
• If you start to feel overwhelmed, walk away, and remove yourself from the situation.

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Featured Image: Epigram / Emily Fromant

How did you survive freshers week? Let us know!