Let’s face it: college is stressful.
Sometimes balancing school, friends, boys, exercise, sleep, and eating right seems like an impossible task. It is super easy to feel overwhelmed, but is it healthy to be stressed all the time?
Her Campus asked 6 women questions about how they deal with the stress of life, what causes their stress, and ways they stay healthy mentally:
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What are triggers that make you feel stressed about academics/life/boys/internships/etc.?
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How do you identify when you’re stressed?
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What is one way you take care of yourself and your mental health?
Erin Scandell, First-Year
Triggers: Having a big assignment like a paper or a project looming over me can make me pretty irritable and stressed. Also, if a friend fails to follow through with something or says something that hurts my feelings, that tends to make me feel stressed and the stress weaves itself into other things like my schoolwork.
Identify: I identify myself as being stressed as when I get easily annoyed by other people and when I can’t get myself to work-out.
Treat Yo (Mental) Self: I take care of myself emotionally and mentally by going on walks, having a good healthy “cry,” journaling, meditating, and engaging in flow activities like playing an instrument or drawing.
Jennifer Craft, Sophomore
Triggers: Looming deadlines, and the perception that I cannot finish all assignments to the best of my ability in the time frame given is stressful. When I compare myself to others, see or hear others talk about their summer internship plans or other plans, I feel stressed about it.
Identify: When I’m stressed I identify as a struggling college student.
Treat Yo (Mental) Self: I run.
Taylor Abele, First-Year
Triggers: Having multiple deadlines, feeling like I’m not meeting expectations (mine and others), feeling like I don’t know what I’m doing or feeling like I’m doing it wrong, feeling like I’m disappointing others, or not treating them right are all stress triggers for me.
Identify: My secret is I’m always stressed (sorry couldn’t resist Hulk reference). I really do operate at low-level stress almost constantly. There are times when the stress is really high and other times when it’s lower but it’s almost always there. I can tell when my stress is really bad when it starts to trigger my anxiety.
Treat Yo (Mental) Self: I’ve done a lot to take care of myself and my mental health in the past few years. Talking with God in prayer and telling myself it’s okay to not be perfect, and that I’m good as I am, and talking with friends and taking breaks to do things that make me happy (mainly reading) in between working have all helped me to deal with my stress and anxiety. But most importantly I always keep fighting and I never give up.
Marjorie Primm, Sophomore
Triggers: When more than one aspect in my life (ex: boy and school stress) increases at once, it is so overwhelming to deal with.
Identify: I just feel like I’m behind and struggling to keep up with everyone who has it “all together.” It’s so easy to compare.
Treat Yo (Mental) Self: Exercise. Nature. Restful time by myself.
Sarah Kowalski, Junior
Triggers: Other people being successful at the things I’m struggling with, or when my parents and professionals ask me about them.
Identify: The pounding in my heart. Not being able to focus on one thing. Nausea sometimes.
Treat Yo (Mental) Self: Run. Pray. Nature. Sleep.
Alana Koontz, Sophomore
Triggers: Comparing myself to others, procrastinating on big tasks, not getting enough sleep, spending too much time on social media like Instagram (because it makes me feel like others are having more fun than me).
Identify: If I’m stressed it’s typically because I’m feeling incapable of completing the tasks I have at hand. Stress can make me feel unworthy, incompetent, and defeated.
Treat Yo (Mental) Self: Deleting social media apps from my phone can sometimes be a good temporary stress reliever. It allows me to focus on getting things done, and frees me from the beast of comparison.
We all get stressed at times, and we all have different ways of dealing with our stress. But the most important thing is identifying how you take care of your mental self. As finals season approaches, don’t forget to take time for yourself to do the things you love, because you are worth it, and your mind will thank you!