Reducing Anxiety & Stress in College

I’m not going to lie to you. College is stressful. That probably won’t come as a huge surprise to you (but if it is, sorry to be the bearer of bad news!). In my experience, a lot of life can be stressful and anxiety-inducing. But that doesn’t mean college (or other parts of life) are bad, just because of the stress and anxiety they cause! In all honesty, college is one of the more stressful phases of my life I’ve experienced (so far), but it has also been one of the best phases of my life!

Everything comes down to this: managing your stress and anxiety! Follow some of these tips and hopefully you won’t feel like this photo!

      Figure out your triggers. Make a list of things that cause stress or anxiety for you. Common ones are roommate issues, exams and grades, college loans, money, friend drama, boyfriends/significant others, homesickness, etc. Now figure out what aspects of these triggers that you can actually control!

      For anything out of your control, try your best to let it go. If you can’t control it, there is nothing you can do about it. Worrying about it will only make you feel worse!

      If you can control it, write down a list of things you can do to reduce the problem that actually causes the stress or anxiety. Then act on that list! Hang it up by your desk or mirror or somewhere you can see it often so you don’t forget about it.

      Make sure you are taking care of your body. This means eating enough, getting enough sleep, keeping up with personal hygiene, etc. Remember: for a typical person, you need to eat about 2,000 calories a day, sleep about 7-8 hours a night, and get about 30 minutes of physical activity per day.

      EXERCISE! It is hard to make yourself go to the gym sometimes, but exercise—whether it be walking, running, sports, pilates, yoga, or something else—releases chemicals in your body called endorphins that MAKE YOU FEEL HAPPY! So exercise = more happiness and less stress and anxiety.

      Get outside and see nature! Sunlight is proven to make you feel better. If you have access to them, pet an animal like a dog or cat! This also releases endorphins. If you don’t have a pet of your own that you can pet or cuddle, try asking your friends or even going to an animal shelter.

      Keep busy. Make sure you are keeping yourself occupied and not just sitting around in your room, moping about your stress.

      Talk to someone you trust about your stress and anxiety. This can be a parent, other family member, roommate, friend, teacher, etc. In the same vein, talk to a therapist if you feel like you cannot manage your stress or anxiety on your own. Penn State offers counseling and psychological services to students. There is NO SHAME in seeing a therapist/counselor/psychiatrist. Their job is to help you, and it is definitely worth it to look into.

      Remember to take a deep breath, and try to relax. You can get through this.

      Volunteer. Helping out in your community can really help you to gain perspective on what actually matters in life.

Good luck managing your stress and anxiety! While it may all seem overwhelming at times, stress and anxiety is not the boss of your life. YOU ARE. And you have the power to reduce and remove stress and anxiety from your life. You got this!

Emma Clement is a junior majoring in Civil and Environmental Engineering and is a Mentor for WEPO'16!