Stressed with student life? Here are more things you can do to cope

Many of us leave home just to be able to go to good schools in bustling metropolises. Besides the independence that it brings, the move also delivers a good level of stress. Living alone has its own share of significant challenges, and on top of the list is socialising and budgeting whatever little cash we have.

When classes start, more problems start making themselves felt. Term papers here and there, educational movie reviews over the weekend, science experiments with a group of classmates, and the list goes on and on.

Fortunately, there are things (on top of what you already know about from this article) that you can do to deal with the stress that student life inevitably brings. Read on to find out what these are.

Break big tasks into smaller and more manageable ones
As our time to graduate nears, the complexity of the tasks that we handle also becomes greater and greater. Unlike the short term papers from our early college years, we now deal with full thesis work, complete with a thorough review of literature and a series of surveys or experiments.

Given the size and importance of the task, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and be anxious about the whole thing. But don’t let this bring you down. Bring your stress under control by breaking your big projects down into smaller and a-lot-easier-to-manage components. Either way, tasks have to be completed in chronological order according to their level of importance. The more important ones, of course, have to be done first.

Aside from ensuring the quality of the output of each task, breaking a big project down also allows you to feel some sense of achievement as you tick off items on your list.

Have a more confrontational approach to things, especially problems
Problems and challenges really make us feel disturbed and uncomfortable. But they are inevitable parts of life, so it’s important that we learn how to deal with them. One of the many responses that we have is avoidance.

Though it provides temporary relief, avoiding does not really solve anything. A person that you fear will remain as that – someone to be feared – if you keep on avoiding them. A big problem will always be a lingering annoyance as long as you keep on postponing dealing head-on with the situation.

There is reason to believe that avoiding problems is the main reason many people experience prolonged stress and anxiety. And this can have serious effects on not only our mental health but also our bodies.

It seems difficult to see on the surface, but many illnesses, even the common and easy-to-treat laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) cough, are linked to high stress levels.

Because of that, it really pays to be more confrontational with problems. This way, we get to resolve them once and for all. We are taking away from it the power to continually pester us even during our times of rest.

Keeping ourselves free from the debilitating effects of stress is necessary if we are to be successful in our studies and ultimately our careers. Because of this, it will work to our advantage if we know what to do when we experience too much stress and anxiety at school and at work.

Top image: © Andrew Neel