March 29, 2024
silviarita- college stress

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Managing college stress - what can our students do when they are dealing with heavy loads, work and families.

Managing College Stress

managing college stress

Managing college stress – There are so many factors when we are looking at the stress that college students face today.  

Change is never easy and learning new aspects about the world in such a busy environment can be difficult.  Depending upon an individual’s background there may be factors that the student does not even recognize. 

College is like entering  a new world.  Many of us may have attended the same elementary or high school with the same people around us for years.  Whether this is the case or not, college brings new experiences and responsibilities. Coupled with the transition from family and living situations, the experience can be “overwhelming” or, at least, difficult to manuever through all the new expectations.  

Balancing all the responsibilities of college life with relaxation and fun time can be a daunting tasks.

My friend,

James Mitchell at Intern Solutions.net wrote an article entitled:

How College Kids Can

Manage the Stress of School, Work, and Life Responsibilities

manage college stress

College students are among the busiest people in the world. The days of college being four years of partying and occasional learning are gone. Today’s college student must balance school, work, family, and still have time to focus on their own physical and mental wellbeing. That latter bit often gets lost in the shuffle, but it’s important to make time for “me time”. Here are some tips for how to manage stress as a busy college student juggling multiple responsibilities.

Create a schedule and stick to it (but also give room for adjustments)

If you haphazardly attempt to just “get everything done” every day, you’re not really setting yourself up to succeed. People that are able to find a good balance between work, school, family, and social life don’t just do it by accident. You need to create a daily schedule for yourself and do everything you can to stick to it. Yes, this means that you need to schedule your “fun” activities too. Allot time in every day for study, class, work, exercise, and relaxation. Those are the five tenets of a healthy college life.

“Things such as exercise, date nights … and more can quickly fall by the wayside if they aren’t purposefully scheduled. Block out your calendar for important personal events, and you’ll find they happen as they should. It can be tough to remember in the middle of a stressful business moment, but they’re just as important,” notes Entreprenueur.com.

manage college stress
Art Dio- Pixabay

Remember that “balance” doesn’t always mean “equal”. You may need to devote more time to study than exercise, and that’s ok. As long as the balance is right for you it’s a good schedule.

Look for ways to give yourself more control of your time

manage college stress

It’s hard to add extra hours to the day – impossible, some might say. But what you can do is look for ways to give yourself more time flexibility. Waking up an hour earlier than normal to exercise, for instance, is a solid strategy. You can also try to find jobs that let you work on your own time – tutoring, for example. If you find yourself feeling caged in by your set class schedule, try taking an online course or two give yourself some more time flexibility.

manage college stress
Thanks to Michael Jarmoluk-Pixabay

No matter how you tailor your schedule, you’re going to experience stress trying to juggle all of your responsibilities. There’s no way around this, even for the coolest cucumber on campus. That’s why it’s vital you develop healthy techniques for dealing with the stress.

The number one thing you can do is eat right and get enough exercise. Both of these lead to healthy minds and bodies, which will help you combat the negative effects of stress. Don’t skimp on sleep. It may be tempting to forgo sleep to fit more activity into your day, but it’s unhealthy and counterproductive in the long run. You won’t be able to manage your various responsibilities at all if you’re running on fumes. Learn some stress-relieving exercises, like yoga and meditation. Practice these every day or at least when you’re feeling severely stressed.

Manage College Stress
Gundula Vogel – Pixabay

And finally, know that it’s dangerous to rely on drugs and alcohol as a method of coping with stress. While alcohol may provide some relief in the short term, the long-term risks are too great. Substance dependency creeps up on college students, as you can be an alcoholic and still shows signs of being high-functioning.

The pressures of entering the workforce and taking on life’s responsibilities can get to anybody, but if you can learn to manage the stress now, the skill will stick with you, and you will function better throughout your career.

Photo Credit: Pixabay.com

James Mitchell (InternSolutions.net)

James offers great suggestions for those suffering with managing college stress and I hope you will share this article with others.   

Thanks for reading.

D.Foster

I hope you have found ideas to help make the transition to college and managing college stress easier.

D. Foster

Find out more about how InternSolutions.net can help you with internships, scholarships, grants and apprenticeships on our website at: Http://www.jobopportunitiesconnect.com 

Be sure to check out James Mitchell on the website:

Http://internsolutions.net