For many college students, the next few months are going to be a whirlwind of emotions and to-do lists. Graduation, the next milestone in life, is in May at many colleges and universities. Like other milestones in life, graduation can bring with it a lot of stress.
Chris McLean, a psychologist and assistant director and career program manager for Counseling and Psychological Services at UC Berkeley, said there are a lot of students stressed at this time of year figuring out how to transition and what they want to do after graduation.
The economy could still be playing a part in that stress as well.
“There’s a lot of pressure for college students to feel like they should know exactly what they will be doing the moment they set foot on campus, that they’re investing a lot in their education and that they feel a responsibility to themselves or their families to get a good-paying job or get set up for a professional career,” McLean said.
He encourages students to explore different career and graduate school options and to utilize campus resources preparing students for graduation and a future career. Yet many students might not have realized all the resources available to them and are now stressing out right become the looming May graduation.
“Take time to assess what’s important to you,” McLean suggested, including skills, interests and values. “Take time to learn about or to research different careers so that you are making informed decisions about things that might be a good fit for the skills and interests or values that you hold dear.”
Stress and anxiety are normal in these situations, but it’s healthier not to dwell on the things that cause more stress and anxiety.
“It’s important to think about what are some of the successes that you’ve already achieved and to kind of believe in yourself and what you have to offer a graduate school or prospective employer,” McLean said.
“A lot of times there’s all-or-nothing thinking or catastrophizing,” he said.
This includes thinking that you’re never going to get a job or nothing will work out. However, the better option is to analyze all the positive things you can bring to the table to a prospective employer by looking at your skills, successes and outside activities.
Throughout this whole process of transitioning, students need to still remember to take care of themselves with the basics of sleep, exercise, food and socializing with friends, he said.
Monica Kintigh, a member-at-large on the American College Counseling Association executive council who is also in private practice, said that this time of year isn’t stressful for just soon-to-be graduates.
“The other issue this time of year for all students is ‘Are my grades going to be at the level they need to be to keep my scholarship, is tuition going to go up?’” said Kintigh, who is also an adjunct professor at Texas Christian University.
In addition, there is the transition to look forward to (or dread).
“Any time you go through a transition in life, there’s always stuff you have to let go of so that you can take on whatever’s new,” Kintigh said.
Even if students have already been accepted to graduate school or have a job waiting for them and are looking forward to the transition, there will still be changes. The changes can be especially dramatic for students who were lucky enough to not have to work during school.
During this time of stress, it’s important to remember to take care of oneself and to be aware of the body’s reaction to stress.
“They feel threatened and so they’re going to gear up to make the big push to the end of the school year and try to do the best they can,” Kintigh said. “It’s like their alarm system in their body physiologically is triggered and stays activated all the time, so what they need to do is activate that part of their body that triggers their relaxation reflex.”
Some things that can help students relax are exercise, a warm bath, music and socializing with friends. Another thing can be to stay away from the Internet, e-mail and phone for some period of time.
“Turn off the cellphone for a little bit of time and don’t be accessible for 30 minutes and just have some time to relax,” Kintigh said.
She said breathing properly can also work to decrease stress.
“When we’re stressed, typically we’re breathing really shallowly and not getting that nice, deep cleansing breath that helps our body get back to a … homeostasis,” Kintigh said.
Time management is crucial as well. I would suggest writing a pre-graduation to-do list and start working on different tasks gradually, then check them off. The first step is to register for graduation (and know deadlines in general), and the next tasks all depend on the individual. Just remember to not overwhelm yourself with all these expectations at once. Think of what you want to do most and what would be best for you, not what everyone else expects. For example, if you think people expect you to get an amazing job or go straight to graduate school but you really think you need some time off, then respect your own desires. You know yourself best. At the same time, be realistic. Of course you need to find some way to support yourself after college, so start considering your options now and plan ahead. You might not get your dream job right away, and that’s OK.
How are you dealing with your pre-graduation stress? Share your advice and stories here.