Changes in life are often associated with a higher level of stress. There is nothing strange in it as it means that people leave their comfort zone and face challenging tasks. One of the first prolonged and very stressful periods in one’s life is joining the wide community of college students. While this major change presupposes a lot of fun and countless opportunities, it also goes along with the inevitable high level of stress in college students due to new tasks, responsibilities, roles, and even the entire environment. Most students also apply for student loans to fund their educational endeavors. As with any loan, the pressures to repay that loan can weigh heavy. Any freshman must know what the major causes of stress are so that he or she might develop successful coping techniques.
What Are the Primary Causes of Stress?
The majority of things that affect students’ lives are common for almost all young people. Stress in college students is also determined by the combination of several challenges rather than just one. Almost every freshman faces the following ones:
- New living environment. Students very often need to move to another city and live independently from their families for the first time. While it allows students to attend the college or university they wanted and obtain a lot of useful skills for future life, it is a very stressful experience and one of the primary causes of stress in college students.
- Academic requirements. College classes are challenging not only because of difficult material to cover but also due to multiple tasks to handle: attending lectures, doing a lot of reading, completing homework assignments, tests, and exams, writing journals, dashboard discussions, and countless research papers. Studying at a college is also expensive, which only adds pressure to one’s mind.
- Social life. This category of college student stressors unites not only the lack of parental support but the necessity to build new relationships with a lot of new people as well. Finding the balance between studies, time with friends, and work, even if it is a part-time one, requires significant efforts from the student’s side.
- Difficulty to make decisions independently. Freshmen receive more freedom than ever before. Sometimes it is difficult to say “no” to a party invitation even though a paper’s deadline is approaching. Doing chores and sharing various responsibilities with a roommate is also a part of an independent student’s life that requires constant attention.
How to Deal with Them?
Understanding the cause and effect of stress on college students is obligatory to adopt effective countermeasures. As soon as a student feels that he or she cannot bear the pressure, the time to sit and think has come.
- Ask other people for help. There is no need to overcome all hurdles alone. Family members and good friends will help if you ask and explain your situation. On-campus counseling centers available in many universities may be a solution as well since people there were specifically trained to develop working plans of action and find induvial methods of destressing.
- Academic assistance. College life is full of stressful factors that affect the studying process. Fortunately, an overwhelmed student may think: “Is there a trusted service to write my essay so that I can cope with other urgent tasks meanwhile?” Delegating some of the writing assignments to professionals will help to reduce the negative impact of these specific stress factors.
- Get good sleep. While one may think that reducing time for a night’s sleep is a good idea to cover all tasks at hand and also have some fun with friends, it is actually a very bad idea which is proved by scientific studies. Lack of sleep decreases overall productivity and affects memory and health. After all, one could not enjoy a party while desperately wanting a nap.
- Focus on something pleasant. Don’t forget that it must be something useful as well, alcohol should not be in the list of ways to reduce stress. It does not matter whether it will be the exercises in the gym or joining yoga class. Anything that helps you to manage stress without harming your health is good, even if it is just a walk in a park with your friend.
- Look for grants. This solution might be effective to reduce the financial burden and improve a student’s confidence. Taking into consideration the variety of options that range from $1.000 to full course’s coverage, this is definitely worth trying.
Conclusion
Stress is an inevitable part of a student’s life and, in fact, it is very useful as overcoming challenges and coping with related stress teaches young people how to survive in this world. However, a freshman’s mind and physical health might be damaged if the level of stress is overwhelming. The constant frustrating experience will result in a lot of issues in the academic field, working environment, and social relationships of the stressed-out student. Just like any other problem, college stress will not disappear by itself. Successful managing of all tasks, responsibilities, and new experience will be enjoyable if one takes into consideration proper stress-reducing techniques. Author’s Bio Robert Everett has a degree in Psychology studies and participates in group counseling sessions for adults overwhelmed with pressure at work. Many of his clients pursue their graduate degrees while working. This experience made Robert think about writing a book and he shares some of his thoughts on https://twitter.com/edu_birdie so far.
