Managing Stress as a College Student

Everyone experiences stress. In college, the combination of academic demands, meeting new people, making choices about your future—perhaps balanced with work and family responsibilities—can make life especially stressful at times. When stress is not too intense or too prolonged, it can sharpen your thinking and motivate you to act. When you experience stress continuously for long periods, however, it can take a toll on your physical and emotional health.

Learn to recognize the signs of stress as they build, understand what triggers stress for you, and take steps to manage your stress before it affects your health and behavior in negative ways.

Recognize the signs of building stress.

The first step in dealing with stress is learning to recognize it as it builds in your body and your mind. If you don't know the signs of stress, it can intensify to the point where you're paralyzed with anxiety, have trouble controlling your emotions, or feel like you can't succeed.

Physical signs of stress include

• Muscle tension or headaches
• Stomach problems
• Sweating
• Trouble sleeping
• Low energy or fatigue
• Rapid heart rate

Excess stress can also affect your emotions, thinking, and behavior, with signs such as

• Apathy and loss of interest in studies and activities
• Trouble concentrating and retaining information
• Anxiety, irritability, poor emotional control, or feelings of depression
• Overeating or loss of appetite
• Increased use of alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs

Identify your stress triggers.

As you become more attuned to the signs of stress, make an effort to identify what causes your stress level to rise. These are your stress triggers. Some might be obvious: the demands of your classes, worry about falling behind or failing, money worries, or a tense relationship with a roommate or friend. However, there may be others that you haven't recognized, things that might bother you more than other people, maybe because of your past experiences or simply your personality.

As an exercise, keep notes for a week or two on when you feel an extra level of stress, and write down what might be triggering those reactions:

• Where were you and what were you doing just before your stress level started to rise?
• Who were you dealing with?
• What were you thinking and feeling?

These notes, and your reflections on them, can help you identify your personal stress triggers. Once you've identified the most important triggers, or causes, of your stress, think about how you might deal with them. For each stress trigger you identify, write down steps you might take to address it in a positive way. That might mean getting a better handle on your studies to avoid feeling overwhelmed, or it might mean learning to recognize and control negative thinking or irrational fears.

How to Deal with Study-Related Causes of Stress

• Hone your study skills. Find ways to make the most effective use of your study time so that you learn and remember. These might include reducing distractions, finding a quieter place to study, and taking breaks to refresh your thinking. Your college may offer support services to help you improve your study skills.
• Plan ahead. Create a schedule showing time reserved for study. Get started on your assignments early.
• Break large tasks down into smaller steps. For longer assignments, follow a work plan with deadlines for each stage of the work. If you face a big problem that feels overwhelming, tackle it one step at a time. Small successes and a sense of progress will make you feel more in control of your life.
• Aim to do your best, not to be perfect. Set high but achievable standards for yourself, recognizing your limits. Be kind to yourself when you miss a target or make mistakes.
• Find a balance between academics and social life. Allow yourself time to have fun, but learn to say "no" to social invitations when you know you need to study.
• Talk with a professor or your academic advisor. If you're struggling in a class or with your overall workload, they may be able to help you prioritize or focus your studies.

How to Flip Negative Thinking

Some stress is caused by negative thinking and unnecessary worry. Here are a few ways to flip negative thinking and have a more positive outlook:

• Keep things in perspective. Ask yourself, "What's the worst thing that could happen?" Then realistically assess how likely that outcome is. Is it really worth worrying about?
• Focus on achievements. When you feel daunted by the work ahead, take a minute to consider the progress you've made. Think back to past achievements and other challenges you've overcome.
• Practice positive reframing. When you find yourself looking too quickly and too often at the downside of things—a challenging assignment, for example, a social interaction, or a small mistake—push yourself to imagine a positive view of the situation and a happy outcome. How might the thing that worries or bothers you actually turn out to be a good thing? Then think about the steps you might take to make that positive outcome happen.
• Challenge negative thoughts. Is what you're worrying about really true? What might be a more positive and equally reasonable explanation?

How to Manage Stress

You can't eliminate stress from your life, but there are ways to manage it to keep it at a healthy (or at least bearable) level of intensity:

• Get moving. Physical activity is important to your health and is one of the most effective stress reducers. Take a walk outside—even if it's just for five minutes—to interrupt a feeling of rising tension. Build more physical activity into your daily and weekly schedule.
• Sleep well. Adopt healthy sleep habits to get more rest. That means a regular bedtime, no studying in bed, and no electronic devices as you wind down for sleep.
• Build healthy eating habits. Avoid stress-driven eating, which can lead to weight gain and swings in blood sugar and energy. A regular schedule of healthy meals and snacks, with plenty of fruits and vegetables, can help keep your emotions on an even keel. Limit consumption of coffee and other drinks with caffeine.
• Nourish your social relationships. Talking with a trusted friend or family member can help you feel less alone with your worries and can help you put them in perspective. A hug or a pat on the back can make you feel calmer.
• Take breaks to recharge. Study intently for a couple of hours, then stand up and stretch or go for a quick walk outside. You'll come back to your work with a clear head and more mental energy. Find a time during the week when you can set your studies aside for a longer break—a day trip off campus, a concert, or reading a book for pleasure.
• Draw on your sense of humor. Life can be tough sometimes, but there are always aspects to it that you can laugh at. Laughter is a wonderful relaxation technique.
• Use relaxation techniques to change your reactions to stress triggers. These can stop a mounting sense of tension and turn it around, relaxing your muscles, lowering your blood pressure, and calming your mind. Relaxation techniques include the following:
  • Deep breathing—Sit comfortably with your back straight. Breathe in deeply through your nose, then breathe out slowly through your mouth. Concentrate on taking slow, deep breaths. As you do, you'll feel your body relax and your tension evaporate. It can help to place one hand on your chest and the other on your stomach as you breathe. Deep breathing can be used to quickly calm yourself in almost any situation, in class, during an exam, or when working on an assignment.
  • Visualization—Sit in a quiet spot, and close your eyes. Imagine yourself in a peaceful scene, maybe relaxing at the beach with the warmth of the sun on your face and the sound of the surf in your ears, or perhaps resting in a hammock on a warm day, with the sounds of birds around you.
  • Progressive muscle relaxation—Sit comfortably or lie down. Tense and then consciously relax each muscle group in your body. You might start with your toes and work your way up to your neck and face. Savor the feeling as your muscles relax.
  • Mindfulness or meditation—Sit in a quiet place where you won't be distracted. Choose a point of focus, such as your breathing, a picture, or a meaningful word that you repeat to yourself. Concentrate on the present moment—what is happening right now. If distracting thoughts intrude, don't fight them, just gently turn your attention back to your point of focus.
  • Yoga—Yoga is a practice of adopting stationary and moving poses combined with deep breathing. You can learn yoga by attending a class, hiring a private teacher, or watching an instructional video.
  • Aromatherapy—Aromatherapy is the use of essential oils from plants like lavender, peppermint, and orange for relaxation and to boost your mood.

Use whatever strategies work for you to calm yourself and replace stress with relaxation. It might be a combination of the techniques above, or it might be something else: relaxing music, a walk in nature, or a massage.

Know when to seek help.

If you've tried the steps above and you're still feeling stressed, overwhelmed, or discouraged, you might benefit from talking with a mental health professional. Contact your college's health service to see what supports are available to you. Your student wellbeing program may also be able to help. You might even find a psychologist or mental health counselor on your own.

An expert can help you understand the sources of your stress and help you take steps to address them. That might be by changing ingrained habits of thought and behavior, by learning strategies for better communication, or by treating a clinical problem such as depression or anxiety disorder that could be contributing to your feelings of stress.