It’s common to think that once students have made it to college, they are going to be fine. Although getting admission to college is a milestone that should be celebrated, it can also be a stressful and challenging time in the lives of young adults. Almost every person experiences stress in his life at one moment or another, and college students are no exception. Every student, during his time as an undergraduate student, faces stress due to various reasons but these reasons should never act as a hindrance in their way of achieving goals.
Although short-term stress can help students to score well on exams or to polish their essays, long-term instances of stress can be detrimental on many levels. The incidence of long-term stress among college students, according to the American Institute of Stress, is on the rise. According to the report, 80% of the students reported that they often feel stressed, while 34% of them reported having feelings of depression as well. It’s clear from this survey that even students with bright futures are not immune to the anxieties of this modern world.
Why Is There So Much Stress Among College Students?
Stressful life starts for students, way before getting admission into college as they all have to perform well not only academically but also in co-curricular activities. Even after doing all the hard work for so many days and nights, only 65% of the students can fulfill their dreams of higher education.
After getting admission to college constant stress becomes a part of their lives. Most of the students are already drowned in the ocean of stress and depression towards the end of their freshmen year. They commonly experience stress due to increased responsibilities, unexpected challenges, a lack of good time management, not taking enough breaks for self-care, changes in sleeping and eating habits, and unpredictable traumatic events.
During their first years, pupils have to keep up with even more demanding schedules and intense coursework. Also, for many, it is their first time leaving their home, so the quest to navigate an entirely new support system in unfamiliar surroundings can also be pretty stressful. Along with that, the enormous financial burden due to high tuition fees and expensive books can also not be neglected.
Effects of Stress:
As short-term stress can help in motivating you, contrarily, long-term stress can cause a lot of serious issues both to your mind and body. Our bodies can’t even decide when to go back to their normal functioning during cases of chronic conditions of depression and stress. Along with making it difficult to concentrate in class and on studies, it can also affect your cognitive processes and abilities. According to a survey by Alzheimer’s Society, stress along with causing insomnia, can also result in dementia in some of the patients. It can also become chronic and result in heart disease, diabetes, and the problems of high blood pressure.
How to Manage and Reduce Stress?
Knowing how to healthily manage stress is a crucial tool for college students. Using effective stress management techniques during stressful times can help moderate and calm yourself and help your social, academic, and emotional experiences in college be more successful and positive. The following tips can help students manage and reduce stress and, henceforth, take care of their well-being as well.
Manage Time:
Research shows students who manage their time are less likely to be stressed. If you have a lot of responsibilities, as well as personal goals to achieve then you should manage your time by making timetables, weekly planners, and priorities charts.
Lessen Financial Burden:
Students pay thousands of dollars for their tuition fees and get expensive textbooks every year. The money spent on pricey textbooks can now be saved by getting free textbooks from various online platforms. This also helps in reducing stress caused by financial issues.
Engage in Social Activities:
You can always engage yourself in healthy social activities like going on lunch, watching a movie, video-chatting, or going on a walk around the campus with your friends.
Get Enough Sleep:
Getting enough quality sleep can brighten your mood and can also help in reducing stress, and lessen the chances of any health issues.
Set Realistic Expectations:
Having too much on your plate can also be very stressful sometimes. Always try to manage your tasks according to your capacities, and refrain from overburdening yourselves.
Avoid Procrastination:
Avoiding procrastination and doing work on time can save you from having work stress at the eleventh hour.
The Bottom Line:
Stress during college life is something that cannot be avoided. However, by using proper strategies, and making proper plans, one can keep oneself away from depression and stress. We should always look out for ourselves and for people around us who might be going through some difficulties that could lead them to depression and anxiety. Lending a hand in time of need can also help others to get out of the issues of modern society.