Dealing with stress can be very overwhelming. At the same time, you can’t just drop everything and put off work, that’ll cause you to be even more stressed. Stress is something that needs to be taken seriously as it has caused 1 in 5 students to think about committing suicide.
So what do you do? In this guide, I’m going to give you the steps to deal with stress in college without putting off your work. Here are the steps I’ll be covering:
- Figure out the cause of your stress
- Take a moment to relax
- Schedule out a plan
- Talk about your situation
- Start tackling your plan and revise when necessary
1. Figure out the cause of your stress
There are many things that may be contributing to your stress.
Grab a piece of paper and a pencil and write down all of the things that you believe are causing you to stress. Don’t overlook this step. It’s important to take everything into consideration. Here are some things you could write down:
- School workload is too hard
- Balancing school and my life is too much
- Feel lost in life
- I never get enough sleep
- Don’t know what I want to do in the future
- I feel lonely
- I can’t afford to keep going to school
- I have too many things to pay for
It’s very likely that activities outside of school are contributing to your stress as well, so don’t forget to write down any personal, family, and relationship issues either.
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Well done! Now that you have an idea of all of the things that could be causing your stress, it’s time to move onto the next step.
2. Take a moment to relax
Whenever you’re dealing with stress, avoid saying the words “calm down.” It seems like they do the exact opposite of what they’re supposed to. Instead, replace those words with “relax.”
Take a look at the list you created in the first step. Did you write down a large number of things?
If you did, don’t panic. We’ll talk about how you should deal with them after you learn to relax. If you know how to get yourself to relax, don’t hesitate to do so. Otherwise, consider the following:
- Go for a walk and get some fresh air
- Turn off all of your electronic devices and take a quick 20-minute nap
- Avoid thinking about anything that’s related to your stress
- Grab a cold glass of water and watch some T.V.
- Sit up straight and take some deep breaths in
Some people also recommend exercising. If you think exercising will help you relax, then go for it. I want you to tell yourself that no matter what you’re going through, you can come out on top. Everything will be more than okay, as long as you have a plan.
This leads us to the next step.
3. Schedule out a plan
This is the most important step to take. You need to schedule out a plan that is going to tackle everything you wrote down in step one. And don’t worry, creating a schedule is a lot easier than you might think.
1. Prioritize your list in step one
Go through your list and rank each item starting from one, one being the most important.
2. Schedule your course of action
Open up or download a calendar app on one of your electronic devices, whether it be your phone, tablet, computer, or laptop. Starting with rank one on your list, create a schedule that includes what you need to complete until you’ve finally completed the item.
For example:
Let’s pretend your rank one item is to study for all of your final exams. If you have 3 weeks to study them all, you need to create a schedule that will allow you to do so. If you have courses, here is a basic calendar you could follow:
Related: The Most Effective Study Guide to Succeed in College
Repeat this process for every item on your list. Be careful if you have multiple things to complete on the same day. If one item is lower in rankings, move it to a later date or time.
Because this is a plan, things might not go as planned. You may have to revise and move things around along the way, and that’s okay.
As you can see, you can deal with all of the things that are causing you to stress by using a plan. In college, almost everything you have to deal with has a finish point. When you’re finally there, you’re going to feel not only great, but you’ll also feel accomplished.
4. Talk about your situation
Depending on your level of stress, you may want to consider talking to someone about it. If you’ve read this far, you should most likely talk to someone.
Reach out to a friend or relative and talk about what you’re going through. Show them the schedule you created in step three and ask for their opinion. Sometimes, someone from the outside will spot something you might have missed.
If you want some more professional advice, schedule an appointment with a guidance counselor or academic advisor at your school.
If your situation is serious, consider visiting a clinic, physician, or therapist. Don’t hesitate to dial suicide prevention or substance abuse hotline if you need to.
I’m not a doctor, nor am I a health specialist. I just know that you aren’t alone in this situation. There are thousands of other students that have a lot to deal with as well.
If you search online, you will most likely find someone in the same situation as you. Try to get in contact with them and see how they’re dealing with it.
Maybe, having a conversation with someone who’s going through the same situation as you will help bring back some faith. Feel free to contact me if you would like to have a conversation with me!
5. Start tackling your plan and revise when necessary
Remember, using drugs, watching movies, and sleeping for countless hours isn’t going to permanently relieve your stress. All of the work you have to do is still going to be there.
That’s why we created a plan earlier to actually deal with all of the things that are causing you stress. Making it this far is an achievement in itself as you’re trying to avoid brushing off your work to the side.
You are actually going to deal with everything that’s on your plate. Now it’s time to actually follow through with your plan. Take a look at your calendar on a daily basis so that you know exactly what’s coming up next.
Set a timer that goes off every day to remind you to check your calendar.
As you live through the next couple of weeks, know that it’s going to be difficult. You’re still new to all of this and there’s a lot you still haven’t completed. Be consistent and tackle one thing at a time.
As you start to complete tasks, other things might come up, and that’s okay – you can’t plan out everything. Just relax and revise your schedule as necessary. When you reach certain milestones, evaluate how things are going and continue to make revisions if necessary.
Conclusion
If there’s one thing I want you to get out of this guide, it’s to always keep in mind that you can beat anything that’s causing you to stress.
In college, you have so many responsibilities and it can be overwhelming. It’s important to try and pick yourself up so that you can come out on top. Remember you are not alone.
Is there something I missed in this guide? Let me know by leaving a comment down below.
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