College and stress are generally synonymous.
If you think about it, college is basically a test of time management skills. How well can you juggle class, work, internships, activities and a social life? For some, this becomes a problem. Enter stress and anxiety and a whole lot of other unhealthy issues.
At any time within the last 12 months, 54.2 percent of women in college felt overwhelming anxiety, according to data from the spring 2010 American College Health Association National College Health Assessment. Also, 12.7 percent of women were diagnosed with anxiety.
With finals coming up for many college students, it’s important to remember the basics, said Greg Eells, the director of counseling and psychological services at Cornell University.
“Sometimes people stop doing the important things they need to do to help deal with stress,” Eells said.
Students should get enough sleep, eat well, exercise and take breaks, he said.
“The things that college students do go against all the research about what you need to do,” Eells said.
For example, downing alcohol or caffeine probably isn’t going to help, so college students need to consider the consequences of their actions. Sometimes a social life has to be slightly compromised in order to do well in school.
Although some stress and anxiety can be normal and typical, especially around finals, some students might have unmanageable levels.
“Anxiety at a certain level enhances performance, and then when it continues to increase, performance decreases,” Eells said.
For students with a diagnosable form of anxiety, therapy can help, like “looking at thoughts and how those thoughts relate to feelings of anxiety,” he said.
Eells said there is a therapy called exposure response prevention.
“You learn to tolerate feelings of anxiety and stop trying to control the feelings of anxiety,” he said.
Although college students aren’t necessarily more stressed than the rest of the population, he said some situations at college can be expected to cause stress and anxiety.
“People are investing a lot when they come to college,” Eells said. “They’re investing a lot in their future, they’re paying for an education so they can have a better life so they can make more money and [have] a more stable career. Anything that threatens that is definitely going to create stress.”
If you’re dealing with some stress and anxiety, here are some tips from different sources, besides the basics of proper sleep, diet and exercise:
1) Try meditation. According to one recent study, “transcendental meditation buffers students against college stress.”
2) Try limiting your use of technology, like cell phones and computers, if that’s causing unwanted stress. According to one study, some college students said that using less technology would be a relief, although others would feel more stressed without it.
3) Say “no” when you know it’s necessary, and decide what’s best for you in all scenarios. For example, don’t feel obligated to go out and drink with friends when you have a major test the next day. Also, if your boss is asking you to work a few extra hours when you know you need that time to study, just talk to your boss and he or she should be able to understand. If not, it might be time to find a new job.
4) Take breaks every hour or so and reward yourself when you can, especially for completing any tasks.
5) Of course, prepare as much as you can. Don’t put everything off until the last minute, though procrastination is sometimes inevitable. Make sure to prioritize.
6) Laugh a little. Maybe spend more time with the person who makes you laugh the most. Or just find some funny YouTube videos. Looking at some cute animals wouldn’t hurt either: www.cuteoverload.com
Read more about other ways to relieve stress and about stress in general by looking at the sources below.
Sources:
http://www.physorg.com/news154685234.html (meditation)
http://www.physorg.com/news205668176.html (technology)
http://www.uwplatt.edu/counseling/stress/stress.html (stress management from University of Wisconsin, Platteville)
http://www.uhs.uga.edu/stress/ (University of Georgia stress information)
http://www.acha.org/
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/stress-relief/SR00034 (laughter and stress)