Help! I'm So Stressed Out!

It's pretty common for college students to feel stressed out. You may be worried about grades, struggling with finances, or feeling anxious about a relationship. Life is full of changes and events (good and not-so-good) that may cause stress.

Stress is your physical, emotional, and mental response to change, regardless of whether the change is good or bad. Without some stress, people wouldn't get a lot done. The extra burst of adrenaline that helps you finish a paper on time, compete in sports, or meet any other challenge is positive stress. It's a short-term physiological tensing and added mental alertness that subsides when the challenge has been met, enabling you to relax and carry on with normal activities.

If you can't return to a relaxed state, this stress becomes negative. The changes in your body - increased heart rate, higher blood pressure, and stomach and muscle tension - start to take their toll, often leading to mental and physical exhaustion and illness. Although some stressors (the events that cause us to feel stressed) cannot be changed, we can all learn how to deal with our reaction to the stressors.

Read on to learn how you can cope with stress in different ways. How you respond can make a big difference!

Short Term Ways to Handle Stress

  • Relax where you are - close your eyes, breathe deeply and slowly. Visualize yourself in a pleasant setting, perhaps watching a beautiful sunrise or sitting on a beach.
  • Take a break - get some exercise or fresh air, or go somewhere private to yell or cry.
  • Ask yourself whether it's worth being upset over the situation. Often, you can choose to stay calm and ignore it.

Long Term Ways to Handle Stress

  • Think positive. Your mind sends signals to your body as you think of possible negative outcomes, and you become tense regardless of whether the event happens.
  • Make decisions. You can learn to live with the consequences or change your mind. In general, any decision - even consciously deciding to do nothing - is better than none.
  • Keep your expectations realistic. Don't expect perfection from yourself or others. Anticipate some problems reaching your goals and learn from your experiences.
  • Accept what you cannot change. If a problem is beyond your control, you're better off accepting it than spinning your wheels.
  • Become part of a support system. Make time to be with people you feel comfortable with. Let friends help you when you are stressed. Return the favor when they're overloaded.

Adapted from "Stress in College: Stretching the Rubber Band?" 1990 American College Health Association.

Techniques to Cope with Unchangeable Stressors

Diaphragmatic breathing

  • Exhale completely.
  • Inhale deeply and slowly through your nose, expanding your ribcage and then your chest, count 1-2-3-4, pause.
  • Exhale completely and slowly through your mouth, count 1-2-3-4, pause.

Meditation

  • Begin with diaphragmatic breathing.
  • Silently repeat a phrase or sound.
  • Allow other thoughts to enter your mind and exit, without focusing on them. Return your focus to the repetition whenever other thoughts intrude.

Progressive relaxation

  • Tighten the muscles in your feet for 15-20 seconds, then completely relax them.
  • Repeat with the muscles in your calves, thighs, stomach, etc., ending with the muscles in your face and head.
  • Try to consciously feel the difference between the tensed state and the relaxed state.

Guided Imagery

  • Begin with diaphragmatic breathing, clear your mind and body of all your cares and tensions.
  • Picture a scene that you find very relaxing and soothing - it could be a quiet sandy beach on a summer day, an autumn forest with a deep bed of red and yellow leaves, an outdoor hot-tub on a mountaintop overlooking a snowy valley, or a gentle summer rain storm.
  • Imagine yourself entering one of these scenes and experiencing all of the sights, smells, sounds, and feels of it.

Counseling

Confidential sessions with a trained therapist can help you…

  • resolve personal problems or life crises.
  • cope with and adjust to college life pressure.
  • deal with problems stemming from medical or physical concerns.
  • learn skills to optimize personal and academic effectiveness.