What to Do When You Feel Like You Are Drowning

This article is not going to be a quick 1-2-3 fix for when you feel overwhelmed. There is no easy cure to the stress that college brings, and often it is difficult to cope with and handle day to day. Sometimes it’s not a deep breathing exercise or a bubble bath that fix the anxiety that comes along with balancing life, but rather a whole mindset shift.

A mindset shift is when you sit down and list out the things that are making your life seemingly miserable, and decided whether or not the things are important enough to keep on your weekly to do list. Along with this list, make a list of things that you love to do, like hobbies.  So, I guess step 1 is to make your list.

Step 2 would then be to eliminate the things you do not enjoy. This has exceptions, like assignments you might not particularly love, but still have to do. You might find one or two things that you can mark off of your list to open up time for yourself and the things that you love.

Step 3 is to decide that you are going to start enjoying your life, and find healthier ways to live the stress college provides endlessly.

These steps are going to take time and effort and maybe a little help from your friends, but in the end finding a life that you enjoy is worth the hard work.

I find myself dreading class, extracurricular activities, and especially assignments, but at the end of the day, these are all things I signed up for. It is really easy to fall into the cycle of wondering why you have to be so busy when other people seem to have all of the time in the world. I balance work, school, clubs, and hanging out with my friends, and a lot of the time it overwhelms me. However, it gets better, and with hard work your stressful life can become a bit more manageable, while also making your college experience all the more enjoyable. 

• drowning
• feeling better
• mental health
• self-care