Last semester, a graduate student who runs studies in the psychology lab I work in told me that college kids’ stress levels today are higher than those of psychiatric ward patients in 1950. I was going to ask him about it during my lab shift this week, but he wasn’t in. Luckily, I have a few theories as to what could be causing us so much stress, along with some healthy ways to deal.

There are basically two sides to college: work and play, meaning half of college (if you’re one of those people who thinks work is as important as play) is automatically stressful. In fact, college is basically designed to smother you in so much stress that you’d rather be back at your in-bred high school. First of all, group projects are one of the most infuriating academic stressors ever. Nine and a half out of ten times you’re forced to do a group project, you’re screwed. Fortunately, I’ve been spared from this misery for the most part, but I’ve heard some things—usually about how that ONE PERSON had ONE JOB and either messed it up or just didn’t do it. My solution is simply to be that ONE PERSON, which could be difficult if you have anything resembling a conscience. Chances are, there will be at least one Type A who cares too much about the grade to actually make you do anything since that person knows that chances are, you won’t do it right (and they’re not wrong).

Another thing that always stresses us out is when our work-life balance gets messed up (and not in a good way), meaning the weight of our workload crushes any chance of going out faster than a frat star can shotgun a Natty Light. There’s nothing worse than attending one of the top party schools in the nation and not being able to uphold the reputation. Remember the time you REALLY wanted to go to that one exchange but stayed in only to suffer from FOMO and not actually study for your MCB and orgo exams the next day? Same. Learn from your mistakes and stick it to whoever decided it was okay to schedule MCB and orgo exams on the same day—even your liver won’t regret preemptively celebrating the drop in your GPA. 

Even though the whole point of college is to prepare you for the real world, the majority of us have no idea what we’re doing with our lives, or even what to put in our Chipotle burrito bowls. On the bright side, we’re not living in the real world just yet, and thank God because in the real world, binge drinking on weeknights makes you either an alcoholic or the cool aunt. Either way, I’m looking forward to graduating, not my first adult hangover. To battle the stress that comes from the pressure of being a functioning member of society, don’t become one (because it’s a trap).