Kyle,
I am so stressed out right now, I feel like I’m not getting enough done and I’m worrying that my work load won’t lighten up until the end of the semester. What advice do you have for me?
Sincerely,
Serious Stressed Sophomore
Seriously Stressed Sophomore,
Unfortunately, stress is a common symptom that is associated with college, fortunately (or maybe another unfortunately) everyone else is with you at this point in the semester. It feels like you’re going from meeting, to class, to meeting, to working on a group project, to writing paper after paper, am I right? That’s not uncommon at this point in the semester, and fortunately this chaos that we call the end of the semester is manageable. You may be running all over the place these next few weeks, but it’s important to keep some things in mind when you are going about your day.
First off, go about your DAY, don’t worry about what meetings or things you need to get done tomorrow, focus on the tasks that are scheduled for TODAY, this makes the whole process of getting things done more manageable because you’re not constantly worried about the future, and can really focus on the goal at hand. 2. Make sure you make time for yourself each day, even if that’s eating a meal by yourself, or an extra long shower, that time for you to relax and take a couple of deep breaths to gather yourself is extremely important if you’re wanting to survive until second semester and do good work for the rest of this semester. 3. Find time to talk to friends. A lot of what you’re going through they are more than likely going through as well. By talking to them, you might be able to help each other out and further release the stress that you both are undoubtedly feeling. 4. If you are way too stressed and feel like you can’t handle things talk to your professors and get some guidance on some assignments, or talk to Mandy Boothby, the school counselor, who can help you with some techniques to help relieve stress.
Believe me, stress does not skip over me, so I understand that what you’re going through feels like a never ending tunnel, but it does end and the stress does go away. Take a couple of deep breaths, stare down those textbooks, and tell yourself. “I got this”, because you do. You are awesome and you will get through this.
Wishing you the best,
Kyle
