College Students And Stress: Learning To Cope

Some people might tell you that college can be the best years of your life, but that might not be a realistic expectation for everyone. College students and stress are frequently associated, so if you’re feeling stressed in school, you aren’t alone; it can be an incredibly overwhelming experience. While this transition can be challenging, there are ways to manage your stress in college and help yourself find enjoyment and friendship in these years. Read on to learn more about common stressors and different strategies that may help you with stress management in college. 

What are the physical and emotional symptoms of stress? 

Stress is the body's fight-or-flight reaction to external stimuli. It’s a natural response when faced with situations that feel challenging, threatening, or overwhelming. While stress can affect people differently, there are a handful of common physical and emotional symptoms to look out for:  

Common physical symptoms of stress include: 

• Twitching or shaking 

• Chest pain 

• Trouble sleeping 

• Heartburn 

• Nausea or other gastrointestinal distress  

• Irregular bowel movements 

• Irregular periods 

• Headaches 

• Fatigue 

• Unusual weight gain or loss 

Common emotional symptoms of stress include: 

• Restlessness 

• A lack of patience; irritability  

• Feeling sad 

• Feeling overwhelmed 

• A reduced desire to participate in hobbies or activities you once enjoyed 

What triggers stress for you? 

Understanding the underlying causes of your stress is often one of the first steps in alleviating or better coping with it. You might be able to reduce stress in some areas by addressing the root cause, or you may be able to learn more effective ways of coping with these challenges once you’ve clearly identified what they are. 

To start, you might consider taking some time to think about your past week and the times you felt stressed or overwhelmed. Or, consider these common stress-related triggers that could affect your experience in higher education. 

Being away from friends, family, and a familiar home 

For many college students, going to university is the first time they are living away from friends, family, and the home that has been familiar to them for so long. Everything might feel new: the food, the environment, the people, and the living arrangements.  

When stress or the newness of it all overwhelms you, you may want to go to a close friend or family member for support. If those people are no longer near you, you might consider calling them on the phone or speaking via video chat. While this physical separation can be tough during the first few months, having someone available to you virtually may help the transition feel more manageable. 

If you’re looking for a sense of familiarity, it might help to fill your new space—whether it’s a dorm room, apartment, or a common house—with mementos from home. You can decorate your bed with your favorite blanket, cover your walls with photos of friends and family, and spray a fragrance that promotes nostalgia. This way, your surroundings might not feel as unfamiliar. 

Working a part-time or full-time job to pay for tuition 

The cost of college in the US has been on the rise for the last 20 years, according to recent details. While some college students are able to receive financial help from family, many students face tuition costs and costs of living alone. This can mean they need to pick up a part-time or full-time job on top of their classes, which can be stressful.  

Time management skills can be crucial when juggling both a job and college courses. Organizational skills can also help you as you navigate this transition. You might use a wall calendar and a daily planner to organize your weekly schedule. You could begin by color coding, noting the due dates of essential assignments and exams. You can then plan your work schedule around the extra time needed to fulfill those duties and pivot your time management flow as each item comes due.  

The pressure of receiving good grades 

One of the most common sources of stress for college students is the pressure to succeed in terms of academic performance. Here are some tips that may help you reduce stress if you are experiencing academic concerns:  

• Get extra studying in. Even if you don't have hours to commit to studying on a given day, you can try to refresh your knowledge after every class for five or ten minutes to commit the material to memory. You can do this by making flashcards and viewing them as you walk or travel, wait for an appointment, or have a few spare moments. 

• Practice healthy habits. Living off a few hours of sleep and flooding your nervous system with caffeine can exacerbate stress symptoms. You might consider paying special attention to your sleep and eating patterns, which may help you be more resilient to stress. 

• Familiarize yourself with testing environments. If possible, you might study in the same room where you will take your next important test so it doesn’t feel overwhelming or different on exam day. 

Relationships 

Generally speaking, you're often surrounded by hundreds, possibly thousands of new people at college. There can be so much potential to make new friends, develop romantic relationships, and connect with professors and mentors that may help you further your career down the road.  

However, many leave deep, meaningful friendships at home to go to college. It may also seem like too much of an effort to start meeting new people, engaging in small talk, and slowly developing a more profound friendship.  

If you’re feeling reluctant toward new connections at this time, you might avoid putting too much pressure on yourself to make tons of friends quickly. You may meet someone you instantly connect with tomorrow, or it may take a whole semester or two to find someone you truly feel comfortable around.  

As you go through the process of forging new connections, you might consider focusing on yourself first: taking courses that interest you, picking up a new hobby, or spending time in common areas on campus like the recreation room or basketball courts. If you start focusing on your interests, there may be a higher chance that you will meet others who have those same interests and form friendships naturally.  

Seeking support for stress as a college student 

Regardless of what your stressors may be, there’s no shame in seeking support. Meeting with a licensed mental health professional can offer you a safe space to express your emotions and learn healthy coping mechanisms for stress. If you’re interested in in-person care, you might make use of on-campus health services. Many universities now offer mental health services for students to take advantage of. 

If you’re looking for a potentially more convenient way to receive mental health care, you might also consider exploring online therapy. With a platform like BetterHelp, you can get matched with and meet with a licensed therapist from anywhere you have an internet connection. This format may allow you to engage in sessions from wherever you feel most comfortable. 

A 2022 study published in BMC Psychiatry suggests that online therapy can be highly effective in reducing the psychological distress in college students. Quantifiably measured gains were noted to be the same across in-person and online therapeutic methods, indicating that online therapy may be just as effective as in-person therapy in many cases.