National Stress Awareness Day
The first Wednesday every November, aims to spread awareness to this thing we call stress.
Every single person knows what stress is, it is all significant, no matter the levels. College students in particular are very familiar with stress. Academic, financial, relational, physical, and emotional, are all stress types that the average college student feels everyday. Sometimes it is all of those categories and then some.
The first thing to address when stress is taking over, is that it is 100% normal. And you are valid for being stressed about all these things, it is a lot for one person to deal with.
We know that stress can be good for us, we have been taught the difference between positive and negative stress. It is important to identify whether the stress we feel is benefiting our body and our minds, or if the stress is hurting us. Positive stress can be studying every night for hours for a really important exam. We put ourselves through that stress to achieve something great for ourselves. Negative stress can be beating yourself up over not doing that great on the exam, this is not great for us, since we know we can’t change what happened. You can only try to do better going forward.
This time of the semester for college students can sometimes be the worst. We are firmly established into our routines, classes are advancing rapidly, final projects and exams are in the near distance, and most of the energy can be running low. It seems everything is moving so fast. That’s why it’s crucial to take some time and slow down right now.
If your goal is to finish the semester strong and successful, or even if your goal is to just get by, (i’ve been in both places). Here are some things you need to do for yourself, in order to meet your goals and deal with your stress head on.
- –Give yourself credit. You should be proud of yourself for making it as far as you have, and that should be acknowledged.
- –Treat yourself. Whatever this means to you, do it. You deserve it
- –Finalize your schedule. Take some time and really plan out the next few weeks, write down everything. This way when they come up, you won’t be surprised, and therefore super stressed. ( This is one of the most helpful things I’ve done for myself in college)
- –Get the best sleep you can. This is obviously easier said than done, but seriously even if it means trying to go to bed 30 minutes earlier, you should try. Great sleep is one of the best things we can do to help ourselves.
- –Coping Mechanisms. We can try to prevent the stress as strategically as possible, but it will still come up, that’s normal. Figuring out healthy coping mechanisms you can do for yourself when the stress starts to overwhelm you is very beneficial. This can be taking a walk, listening to music, working out, taking deep breaths, or cooking your favorite meal. Figure out what works best for you!
If you need additional help dealing with stress, remember you are not alone, reach out to family, friends, roommates, professors, anyone you trust. There are also counseling services BloomU provides that may be able to help. Resource information listed below.
Counseling and Human Development: Monday- Friday 8am-4:30pm
240 Warren Student Service Center.
570-389-4255 counseling@bloomu.edu
