We have those days where you just want to throw the covers over your head and stay in bed all day, but then you think of the paper that’s due, two readings for class, your project that you’ve been procrastinating on, your time consuming job and the internship that you wish you got paid for… the list goes on and on, and on. I am a person who gets stressed from time to time. I love to be busy, but there comes a time in every student career where sleep is missed and the slightest annoyence throws you over the edge.
As a graduating senior, I hope that younger students will find resources to overcome stress. It can be a huge factor in your classroom performance. You need to be a little selfish sometimes and say no. Politely. If you really can’t do something or something takes away from your: A. Sleeping. B. Eating. or C. Functioning, you shouldn’t do it. As much as I would love to get an A++++++ on every project or attend every club meeting, it is important to understand that you are only one person. An amazing person and student, but human.
The professional world is filled with stress and learning how to balance life and work in a stressful environment is a valuable skill. I think that if students had more information and support involving stress management we would perform better. However, stress is and will continue to be a personal action that we need to be pro-active about. Nobody is going to help you randomly, you need to take the first step and ask for help.
Here is a great article that covers all kinds of stresses we face from About.com. It talks about finals stress, study tips, freshman 15, test anxiety and more. Read it and if you can relate to most of the content I would talk to a professional on campus to help you deal. Consider the career center, testing center or academic learning services, even a general adviser can offer some great advice. Good luck and remember you need to take the first step and overcome your stress.
I absolutely agree with you! Stress really gets to me and I’ve realized that I am incredibly stressed out all the time. I barely have stress free days because I have so much going on in my life. I have school, work, a boyfriend, job applications, internship applications and a dog I have to walk! It doesn’t seem like much on paper but let me tell you, it’s definitely a lot in life. Sometimes I feel like I can’t even make it through the day but I know I have to so I do. I will definitely check out the About.com link because I could certainly use some help in the de-stressing department.
We have a lot of college students on bigwhitewall.com that are suffering from all sorts of stress. As it is an anonymous site where you can talk openly and honestly about what is on your mind – many have found they are able to work through their issues through self expression and peer support from others in similar situations. So if you are going to throw your cover over your head – it may help to take your computer and Internet connection with you!