There’s no denying it- college is tough.

Whether you’re a freshman figuring out how to live on your own for the first time or a senior scrambling to finish your thesis by the due date, you have to deal with countless unavoidable stressors you may not have experienced before.

Often, it may feel like you’re drowning in responsibilities and deadlines with no hope for escape. Should you skip your club meeting to study for chemistry, or go and sacrifice a few hours of sleep? Should you spend more time on your weekly economics homework, or on that essay that’s due soon? Should you take time to have a nice dinner with friends, or take food back to your dorm and study while you eat? Don’t know the answers to these questions? That’s okay! Ultimately, college life is filled with hard choices. It is up to you to prioritize responsibilities and projects to be as productive as possible, which may sound daunting, but it is a skill that can be built upon over time.

However, one of the most important choices you will make during your time on campus is how you will choose to deal with your stressors. We all know how tempting it is to wrap yourself up and binge Netflix for hours at a time to avoid assignments (believe me, I’ve done it), but, in the end, what does this act accomplish? All it leads to is further stress, which in turn leads to more binging sessions. Not only are you hurting your grades with this behavior, but also yourself.

 

So, if Netflix doesn’t solve all your problems, what can?

That’s precisely what this blog is here to answer! Over the next ten weeks, we will explore efficient strategies of handling and reducing stress and anxiety while on campus. Some topics we will discuss include an evaluation of the CAPS resources, an analysis of the positive effects of physical activity, and an explanation of how mental exercises can help change the way you think. These posts are designed to give you, as readers, an idea of where to start on your road to self-improvement. Of course not every method will work, but the one that works for you could make all the difference!

Another area of focus will be productivity. After all, you won’t have to reduce stress if you eliminate the source of it! These posts will focus mainly on time management and some study methods. With time management, we will refer back to the issue discussed at the beginning of this post: prioritizing. How do you decide what class to focus on during the limited time you have to study? How do you recognize that your schedule might be too overwhelming? How do you choose what activity to drop? Come back to my blog later to find out how to answer these questions.

 

Important Disclaimer!

While this blog is meant to provide support and potential solutions to readers, it is important to note that this is not a replacement for treatment. Later, we will discuss the warning signs that should tell you to seek professional help, but for now, you may reference here for a list of anxiety symptoms. If you recognize any of these, it is imperative that you seek help right away. This can include anything as simple as telling someone you trust about your concerns, or as serious as heading to a licensed professional to seek treatment. Whatever you choose to do, it is essential you know that you are not alone.

 

“Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change.”

-Anonymous