College life is full of stressful moments that require major decisions. Almost every choice you make while in school affects both your academic and social life. With midterms coming up we decided to ask 11 young women how they deal with stressful situations in college. They offer healthy tips that you can use in your daily lives to overcome those big hurdles and keep your cool.
Natasha, 20: I’m a junior in college and I’m really feeling the weight from my classes. My teachers expect the best from me and I have homework due almost every day. Life can be pretty overwhelming. Luckily, I workout a lot. I feel like it’s a great way to lessen my stress and calm my nerves. At the end of each day I visit my campus’ recreation center and join their fitness classes. Yoga, Pilates, and power flow are great workout routines to strength my body. Each session has several breaks focused on breathing so my body can relax. I advise anyone wanting a healthy and fit way to lessen stress to go to their gym every day!
Roberta, 19: I love school but I’ll admit that it can be pretty stressful. I ease my stress by eating healthy meals and snacks. I’m one of those people that eat when I’m bored or stressed out. In fear that I’ll gain a lot of weight, I decided to concentrate on eating healthy snacks instead of junk food. Each day I chop apples, mangoes, and oranges into a fruit cup. I then add almonds or cashews. Sometimes I make my own trail mix with almonds, honey roasted nuts and cashews. I add chocolate chips or M&Ms to sweeten it up! What we eat affects how our bodies feel so putting healthy things in it will make it perform much better.
Camila, 21: Keeping yourself organized is definitely something that helps with stress. Being prepared for certain events ahead of time takes away from the stress. In college I’ve learned that if you manage your time well and make wise choices, you will end up stressing less.
Lauren, 18: Starting your first semester of college can be pretty stressful because you’re in a totally new environment. My university is an expensive plane ride home so I had to make the best of setting up an atmosphere that allowed me to relax from a long day of classes.
Kate, 20: This might be a little odd, but I paint my nails to de-stress. I like to select simple yet focused things to help me maintain my cool. I don’t walk around with a bottle of nail polish at hand, but a weekly self-manicure gives you a new perspective to match your mood.
Ijeoma, 21: I use to struggle a lot with anxiety because I felt like I had to micromanage and have everything go my way. I used my planner and made my schedule so tight I didn’t have room to breathe. One thing would go wrong and I would crack. You don’t have to let the ‘student life’ control you.
Olivia, 22: I deal with stress by working out and opening up about my feelings with someone close to me.
Kim, 19: Music is something I cannot live without. I found a local jazz club near my school and I make time to visit (and one day perform) because it helps me break away from everything college related.
Shaunee, 22: Creating a balance between alone time and time with friends is very important. You don’t want to have too much time off either. Priorities are also important. Make sure that whatever you major in, you do it for yourself. Taking a major because of parental or societal pressure can lead to ultimate stress issues because it could be something that doesn’t even bring you happiness.
Melissa, 23: I was very fortunate to have a great group of girlfriends to hang-out with and get advice from in the last four years. You have to be selective of who you have in your circle because you don’t want to end-up with that one friend who’s always causing drama – on purpose. Trust me this happens and it might be harder to walk away, but it’s a wise decision to make.
Sandra, 18: I seriously have no idea what I’m doing sometimes. I want to be a part of everything because it’s exciting and all new to me. About the third week of school my inbox was going crazy with invites to join all these different clubs. I really didn’t need all this extra stuff on top of my classes. I learned the best way to get rid of stress is to cut out the ‘extra stuff.’ In high school I could join all these different clubs because it just fit into my schedule perfectly, but college is a whole different world.
So there you have it! We are definitely loving the manicure tip for a fun de-stress activity. And of course staying organized and finding your clique goes a long way too. We want to know how you avoid stressful situations so drop a line in the comment box below. P.S. good luck on your exams!