Don’t let stress ruin your semester back at school

Belen Sassone/Staff Writer

A new environment is difficult for anyone to get accustomed to. When high school is over, getting a fresh start may seem exciting, but with starting college comes a great deal of new responsibilities. Balancing everything can lead to stress in some students.

45 percent of college students who seek counseling report feeling high levels of stress, according to the American Psychological Association. This is not something that should be taken lightly.

While some levels of stress can be good for motivation, it’s important to realize when it’s getting out of control.

Here at FIU, there’s multiple resources for students to turn to when they’re feeling overwhelmed by common stressors such as schoolwork, pressure to socialize, etc.

Most students have heard of the Counseling and Psychological Services, which offers free counseling and other programs for students who are struggling.

However, there are also a number of different things I have found help me relieve stress brought on by school.

First, you should never feel afraid to ask for help from those around you. If you’re having trouble understanding course material, ask a classmate or your professor for help.

Although it may seem easy to everyone else, we all have different ways in which we learn. FIU also offers tutoring in many different fields.

Although my stubbornness has often prevented me from doing this, I have also learned that it’s necessary to admit when there’s too much on your plate. At one point, I balanced two jobs and full-time credit enrollment. Staying on top of assignments became difficult and as a result, I started performing poorly at work.

Not to mention, my personal relationships and time for myself had to take a backseat. It wasn’t until so many people that I cared about expressed concern that I realized how hard I was working myself.

I always thought that I would be a failure if I quit one of my jobs and took less classes, but it felt amazing once I actually did it.

Although we often want to say yes to everything, we may end up stretching ourselves too thin and failing.

Lastly, I stopped taking it all so seriously. If I do bad on one test, I don’t let it bring me down too much. There’s always a solution and a way to make things better.

Instead of acting like it’s the end of the world, I make sure to remind myself that it’ll get better. Although I probably won’t graduate with a perfect GPA, I’m happier with the fact that I didn’t let the pressure to be perfect get to me.

Of course, everyone is different. What works for me may not work for someone else and vice versa. Above all, it’s always crucial to speak out and seek help when you feel high levels of stress.

It’s never a good thing to suffer in silence and there’s always someone there to help.

 

DISCLAIMER:

The opinions presented within this page do not represent the views of PantherNOW Editorial Board. These views are separate from editorials and reflect individual perspectives of contributing writers and/or members of the University community.

 

Photo by Dardan on Unsplash.