Managing Stress and Anxiety in College
College life can be an exciting and transformative experience, filled with new opportunities, friendships, and challenges. However, it can also be a time of significant stress and anxiety as students navigate academic pressures, social dynamics, and the transition to independence. Balancing coursework, extracurricular activities, and personal responsibilities can feel overwhelming, making it crucial to develop effective strategies for managing stress and anxiety. In this blog, we'll explore practical tips and techniques to help college students maintain their mental well-being and thrive during this pivotal stage of their lives.
If stress and anxiety are impairing your academic performance, social life, and connection with home, you don’t have to go through it alone. Our therapists at North Texas Adult & Child Counseling Center provide counseling for college students that helps with responding to anxiety and stress, so you can thrive in college.
The weight of your college workload
Stress and anxiety are inevitably the pesky, uninvited guests that accompany the workloads and responsibilities college students have in courses, internships, and jobs, particularly in the first year. They result from trying to ‘adult’ and feeling pressured to excel academically and socially while worrying that you won’t.
Fear of failure can fuel stress and fan the flames of anxiety
A heavy workload coupled with high, unrealistic expectations can cultivate a fear of failure that exacerbates anxiety and attacks a student’s motivation with:
Lack of Focus. A student’s anxiety-riddled mind may become so focused on avoiding failure that it races with intrusive, worried thoughts that make concentrating on the task at hand difficult.
Perfectionism. Anxiety can fuel perfectionism, leading students to set impossibly high standards for themselves on top of those they feel society places on them. When they don’t meet these unrealistic expectations, it can be demotivating and lead to a cycle of procrastination and avoidance. For instance, the fear of receiving a failing grade on an assignment can paralyze students, causing them to put off getting started and ultimately cram at the last minute and submit subpar or incomplete work.
Negative Self-Talk. Stress and anxiety can amplify negative self-talk like “I’m not good enough” or “I’ll never succeed” as well as self-doubt, undermining a student’s confidence and motivation.
In counseling for college students at North Texas Adult & Child Counseling Center, we help clients understand that avoidant behaviors aren’t effective ways of managing stress and anxiety in college. We encourage them to show self-compassion that silences their inner critic as they experience life transitions and shifts in family relationships, make new connections, and live more independently.
Burnout can be a barrier to doing your best
Without effective ways to manage stress and anxiety in college, the stress and anxiety may grow and culminate in burnout. Burnout can feel like a heavy cloud of exhaustion covering students as they move from semester to semester without resting. It plagues students as they line up internships, seasonal jobs, and visits to graduate schools during winter, spring, or summer break instead of relaxing and meeting with family and friends.
Burnout can make you feel like it’s you versus your mind and body. Things that used to be easy, like waking up in the morning, studying, hanging out with friends, and even just relaxing, seem way harder now since your mind and body seem to punish you with:
Discomfort. Experiencing prolonged anxiety without effectively managing stress in college can manifest as debilitating physical symptoms like headaches, stomachaches, nausea, sleeping difficulties, and even nightmares.
Decreased Energy Levels and Motivation. High stress can leave you fatigued and lethargic, making it challenging to find the motivation to engage in academic tasks or extracurricular activities.
Social Withdrawal. Always under the pressure of the clock, you may use what little energy and time you have to power through your assignments instead of socializing with friends or family, ultimately putting some strain on your relationships.
Emotional strain. Having difficulties expressing your emotions or experiencing stress-induced irritability and mood fluctuations can create tension and misunderstandings within relationships, leading to feelings of loneliness and isolation.
Listen to your body and mind when motivation is low
When you’re feeling burnout’s physical, mental, and emotional toll, it’s not because your body is trying to punish you. Instead, it’s trying to get your attention and tell you it can’t stand any more wear and tear and that you need healthier ways of managing stress and anxiety in college.
How do you go about managing stress and anxiety in college in ways that are conducive to mental, physical, social, and behavioral healing? Try:
Approaching anxiety-inducing situations instead of avoiding them. If you’re struggling in class or feeling stuck getting started, be proactive and reach out to your professor for help before your assignments pile up and stress you out.
Creating a self-care routine. A nutritious diet and good sleep hygiene can be challenging away from home. Resist the temptation of pulling all-nighters and establish consistent wake-up and sleep times. Leave mealtimes for eating instead of taking notes or rushing through assignments.
Scheduling time to check in with home. If homesickness compounds your anxiety and stress, try setting aside time to call your family or meet them somewhere to have quality time the way you did before college.
Listen to your body and mind when motivation is low
Lounging around the dorm unfocused and unmotivated is normal for a burned-out student who’s having difficulty managing stress and anxiety in college. Your energy, focus, and motivation may return, though, when you listen to the signs from your body, step away from what weighs you down, and ask for help. Asking for help isn’t an admission of failure or weakness. It’s a sign that you want to properly manage stress in college and take care of yourself so you can feel your best and perform your best.
Your college or university campus may offer counseling and mental health services, but consider augmenting this help with off-campus counseling for college students provided by qualified therapists and mental health professionals who understand the unique needs and mental health concerns of college students.
In counseling for college students at North Texas Adult & Child Counseling Center, young adults receive the support, perspective, and understanding they need from our off-campus therapists. Our compassionate professionals provide a safe, trusting, unique, gentle, comforting atmosphere where we work with college students to explore the root of their fear of failure and low feelings, verbally and nonverbally express themselves comfortably, build healthy coping mechanisms for managing stress and anxiety in college, shift negative and unhelpful thought patterns, cultivate self-esteem, and encourage optimal physical and mental health.
