Stress and College Students
By: Tyler Wong
Tags: Stress, College, Stress Relief, College Students

How Stressed Are College Students?

Summer is gone and the start of the semester has begun and now you have to go through the struggle of finding reasonably priced textbooks and the perfect seat in class and make it known that seat is yours and yours only for the duration of the semester. You tell yourself that this semester will be different from the last and that you are better able to manage your social and academic life. Things become apparently clear when you have papers, tests, and class presentations to do all around the same time. You begin to feel stressed to the point where you think about ways of committing suicide but you’re not alone according to USA Today “more than half of all college students have had suicidal thoughts” in one way or another. The sad truth is that “suicide is the leading cause of death among college students” (WebMD). We may view stress as a personal struggle but in reality, it is a public struggle because “more than 85% of students reported feeling stressed on a daily basis” (College Stress and Mental Health Poll). Stress has become a national pandemic that has taken over many college student’s lives to the point where “six out of ten students have reported feeling so stressed to the point where they could not get their work done” (College Stress and Mental Health Poll).

My Stress Experience

I am no different from the regular college student and nor am I exempt from being stressed and the toll it takes on my life. It seems that I am always feeling stressed about things currently happening or things in the near future that has yet to happen. I work part-time and attend school full-time as well as partake in no more than four hours of community service weekly as a requirement for other classes. When I realize that I have multiple important assignments and things due during the same week it makes me stressed to the point where I cannot fully relax until I know that I have taken care of one of the assignments that I have to do. It has occasionally gotten to the point where I get so stressed that I am nervous to even start the assignments which makes me even more stressed as the day gets closer to the assignment due date. Sometimes I get so used to being stressed that stress has felt like it is part of my characteristics and part of who I am it seems that if I am not stressed something is wrong or about to go wrong like the saying “the calm before the storm.” In addition, my stress levels vary from manageable to I don’t have control over anything. Usually when it comes to papers and projects my mind always gets in a state of I cannot do this it is too difficult but every time I finish the assignment I always think to myself that I did it and it was not that bad.

Viewing Stress In a New Light

I am no expert in stress management and it is nearly impossible to not feel stressed so I have learned to view stress in a different light. A light that I can use to my benefit as opposed to it becoming my kryptonite. I use stress as a driving force to accomplish and complete tasks and assignments. The feeling of stress helps me to come up with various ways of tackling projects, tasks, and life events. My point is stress is what you make it, even though that may sound cheesy. As humans in a new era of ever-advancing technology and resources, we have been able to adapt and over various obstacles and challenges. So why is stress any different?