The Reality:
Stress is a societal issue that has existed for about as long as people. It is an emotional state that most people struggle to deal with, and the rest of people ignore.
College is one of the most stressful parts of a person’s life and development for those who choose to attend it. As many of you likely know, it doesn’t end with choosing classes or studying for the classes you choose.
It comes from the realization that adulthood has come, and with that comes bills, cars, and a job, sometimes two.
It can feel all-consuming to manage, class schedules, work schedules, paying tuition, or even just staying afloat to get to your classes on time.
The reality is that the struggle and the stress do not go away. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t resources or methods to manage it. College, despite being stressful can also be fun, that’s why it is so important to have outlets that can lessen the toll of the work and relax the mind.
Causes and Outcomes:
College and life after high school as a whole are full of items to check off a list as an adult. These items themselves may not cause problems on their own, but facets of adult life will not wait for each other.
That overlap between what a person needs to do is going to cause stress. This is especially true when one arrives at college. When it is referred to as a new and more difficult world, the people who refer to it are not exaggerating.
It can feel especially frustrating when it is simple struggles that pile up to a stressful situation. These situations whether it be driving to class through traffic or walking to the wrong building.
When all of these small groups of situations pile up, it can be very hard to control our emotional states and we may even lash out at the people around us.
Being away from parents or family for the first time can bring on stress of its own. The previous mentions of adulthood responsibility feel that much heavier when remembering life with family.
Time Management:
Time management is highlighted every year throughout every aspect and period of a developing person’s life. It is usually thrown into the faces of students as they grow to prepare them for college and employment.
Traversing responsibilities in a timely manner remains to be a malleable and difficult experience. Poor time management can lead to sleepless nights, or overworking which can harm a student’s overall performance in class.
Though this did not stop us from finding a few ideas and resources to help with time management.
A tried and true way to manage time is to invest in a planner. A planner may seem harrowing at first, but consistent planning helps a student develop their own flow for work. Whether this be completing all work on a specific day or timing assignments out to finish them the day before they are due.
Planners offer structurally sound and easy to follow calendar dates that can help a student remember deadlines if written down in ways students can actually remember. Our Operation Manager Michael’s advice is still a great idea. Moving all deadlines for classes a week early can really make for effective planning.
Along that same vein, students can choose to invest in an actual calendar to keep track of their deadlines at home. The good part about actual calendars is the space needed to write down household chores or work shifts to make sure one is not late or misses cleaning days that lead to a less than desirable habitat.
Setting aside time for homework or exams depending on severity or personal difficulties can also be useful on a planner.
Setting goals can be a great way to manage time. Not only is it motivating, but it can also clear the mind and help focus on one activity or deadline at a time.
An offshoot of goal setting is breaking tasks into smaller steps. This can offer a great deal of personal pride and focus that can increase both knowledge and productivity.
While it is important to plan things out and manage time wisely, getting caught up in deadlines and tackling more work for the sake of completion can be truly harmful to a person’s mental health.
Mental Health Awareness and Assistance:
A college student’s mental health will look different for everyone. There are students who do not have a desire to go to therapy or get help. That is also perfectly acceptable. Mental health is about feeling comfortable with facing emotions and evolving.
When it comes to school and work, students can be known for prioritizing the completion of tasks or the meeting of deadlines rather than taking care of themselves physically or emotionally.
This can result in sleep deprivation. The lack of sleep will be palpable, and can even be dangerous. Exhaustion can lead to sleeping during class, sleeping at work, or in even more dangerous environments like while driving.
Mental health does not only have to be one’s emotional or mental state, but can also relate to taking care of oneself physically. Sleep is part of that, but it can be as simple as taking a walk down the street to soothe oneself.
Stress can really take a toll on mental health, so aside from physical activity after planning everything in a planner, it would be a nice idea to collect the emotions and stress from a long day or week and get it all down in a journal.
Journaling may not work for everyone, but it can be a good vantage point to see what exactly one needs to improve their mental health and overcome the stressors of daily life.
Remember to Breathe:
Rehashing daily stressors and stress overall may seem pointless. It really isn’t, it is important to gauge how impactful these stressors are.
Adulthood is meant to be full of responsibility, but is also about growth. If we can’t acknowledge what we need from the life we are living, then we won’t be able to live it successfully.
With midterms coming up, managing stress is vital, and it can be the key to passing or failing. So as the semester progresses remember that your feelings come from somewhere real and so do the solutions to deal with them.
