No matter what walk of life you come from, you have something in common with every student in your college: you will all experience some form of stress in your college career. I’m no stress expert, but being a writer, having a job, and attending school full time has allowed me to pick up a few tricks with managing those ‘special moments’ when you want to tear out your hair by the fistfuls.
Leave your scenery at least every two months.
I know this may seem hard to do, but if I can do it with my crazy schedule, I promise you can. Take the time to make sure that at least every 2 months you leave your normal scenery. It could be a park 30 minutes away, or you could drive 4 ½ hours home. It could be a beach, your friend’s house, or an impromptu road-trip. The location need not matter, but your body craves a change for some sort of peaceful interlude.
Invest in bath bombs.
I don’t care what your gender is, just do it. They are lovely and you need them.
Worry about what’s in front of you.
If you find something is putting you in a particularly stressful mood, just make a simple list. In one column write what’s stressful right now. Your next column should address if every problem will matter in 1 year. Make another similar column, but for 5 years. Then 10. Then 25. If it doesn’t make 3-4 columns: it doesn’t matter. Do your best and be happy. Recently my best friend reminded me that this is the only thing that matters in your life: that you are happy. If you are not, change it; change you!
Therapy. Get over it and go.
Most campuses have on-campus therapy/counselors you can talk to for free as part of your tuition and fees. It’s time to disband the theory that going to therapist/counselor makes you ‘insane’ or ‘crazy.’ At this time, the majority of every campus student population has some reason or another they should be talking to a therapist too. While I can’t promise that every single counselor or therapist you will talk to will alleviate your stress, I can promise that talking about your issues with someone who is trained to listen and help is better than bottling it up.
You’re doing no one a favor by letting stress consume you.
Stress is a human condition no one can live without. It will naturally always be a part of you. How much you let that part become is what will determine how you let it affect you. To quote Bridesmaids, “You’re your problem, and you’re also your solution.”
