--Original published at Kaity Takes on Psychology

Kelly McGonigal talks about stress in a way most people do not. She considers stress as a motivator for resilience and courage. I have always envisioned stress as a wave of thoughts clouding my ability to function, which is likely why I often feel it. Finding a way to change my outlook on stress in my life is not easy, but I definitely liked what the TED talk speaker had to say.

I often relieve my own stress by talking to people, much like the psychologist said. As someone who has always been an extrovert (I’ve always had someone around to talk to growing up) I feel spending time with my friends has reduced my stress plenty, especially while at college. The studies McGonigal talks about were very fascinating, because I have felt most depressed and stressed while away from people, but spending time with friends when I am feeling overwhelmed benefits everyone.

College students tend to isolate themselves in the library for several hours a week, then go back to their rooms and nap until dinner. Waking up, going to class, studying, doing work online, attending extracurricular activities, and maintaining a social life seems like a lot for someone aged 18-21. Believing stress is bad for you while being immersed in stressful situations is pretty difficult for young adults, but it is inevitable. Being better at dealing with stress is the goal, and hopefully me and whoever else watched the TED talk can benefit from the message Kelly McGonigal was promoting.

I think the most important thing I learned from this video was the function oxytocin has with stress. I forget to take care of my mental health frequently, and my family is very prone to stress induced medical issues. I am excited to share what I learned with my mom in hopes she’ll gain more knowledge on cardiovascular health related to psychology.

--Original published at Maddy Vingom's PSY105 Blog

As most college students I experience stress quite often, although I do believe that I am able to manage it well. I typically use stress as a motivator to get work done, rather than waiting until the last minute I try to complete assignments on the day they are given to me. With tasks that will take more time, like studying for exams or writing papers, I like to do a little bit at a time, so I am not overwhelmed. This way I know that I won’t not need to rush last minute to get my work done and it helps me to keep my stress levels low. Another thing I tend to do when I am stressed out is clean. It helps me to focus my energy on something besides the stressor for a little while, I also feel as though I am able to focus better when my room is clean and organized. 

When I begin to feel overwhelmed with something I go for a walk around campus. The walks give me the opportunity to organize my thoughts and spend time outside, which I love. Then I am able to return to my work with a new perspective. Sometimes I will even go for a short drive with the windows down and the music up, to clear my head. 

These strategies have been very effective for me to manage my stress; however, the stress cleaning can take up quite a bit of time. To improve upon this, I will try to keep my room as clean as possible to not get distracted by the mess during stressful times. 

--Original published at WilliamsCollegeBlog

Stress comes at you in a whole new way once you enter college. Everyone is on the own for the first time their whole lives and do not have their parents in the other room to help console when a problem occurs. Most of my stress comes from getting ready for a big exam or when my professors decide to make everything due on the same day. One method that I use for relieving stress is through being on a sports team. Being on the cross country and track team here at E-town gives me great outlets for stress relief. Whether it be from just running and letting everything go blank in my mind, or just being around my teammates who are going through the same experiences. The exercising part is a big part of this because for the next few hours I am not worrying about what I wrote down in my notes for that section or a certain definition that still makes no sense in my head. Being around my teammates is also great because there never seems to be a dull moment with them. My other big source of dealing with stress is making sure I am always on top of my assignments. I have a big pet peeve with waiting until the last minute to get stuff done, so if I know I have multiple things due, I will figure out how to separate my time between everything. One activity that I would like to incorporate into my daily life is to do more reading when it gets later at night. I know a lot of people that like to wind down the day by reading a few pages of a book before going to bed. By doing this, my mind can start to relax and get ready to rest.

--Original published at Zach Nawrocki's Blog

College is a package deal, you get a good education, but stress also comes with that. It is normal for a college student to have at least a little stress or anxiety (if you don’t are you really going to college?). For me a lot of my stress about school work/tests comes right after spring break when all my classes are rushing to cram in all the material before finals, and this takes a major toll. Freshman year the one main thing I learned is that procrastinating in college is not an option. Procrastination causes my work to build up and subsequently causes my stress/anxiety to go through the roof, however I do have several ways I manage my stress. One way I manage my stress is my exercising, when I am working out I forget about everything else that is happening and my mind is clear. Another activity I do is when it is nice out I like to go for a little walk to calm myself down and get myself back into the right mindset and focus on what I am doing, this really helps me when I am studying for important tests. Lastly, I like to get most of my work done about two days before it is actually due, this helps prevent my work from piling up and it also makes it look like I really do not have that much homework to do. All three of these strategies really work and help me manage my stress. One stress management activity I would like to incorporate into my routine would be to meditate at night before I go to bed. I know several of my friends do this and they all say that it really helps calm them down and relieve some of the stress that has been building up.

--Original published at Jess Principe's Blog

By: Jess Principe

College can be very stressful, not only for managing school work, but also if you are involved in sports, clubs, or any other extracurricular activities on campus as well. My top methods of stress management is planning ahead when I feel I know multiple assignments are coming up, making lists and crossing things off the lists as I complete them, and using the reminders app on my phone. Planning ahead and managing my time, reduces my stress the most because I know what I have to get done on a day to day basis. This is most important when I am in season for lacrosse, because a large chunk of my day is devoted to practice, lifts, and games which makes time management crucial. Making notes is also very helpful to me for stress management because not only does it prevent stress by having a convenient way to see the assignments I need to get done, but it also reduces my stress when I can cross completed things off the list as I do them. An additional way to manage stress is with the reminders app on our iphones. I rely on this app to remember things  such as the exact times of a meeting or practice, setting alarms for the next morning, or when major upcoming events are too. This reduces my stress so I don’t have to remember dates, times, and the little things that are easy for us all to forget, especially when we are stressed. Lastly, my favorite stress management and reducer is playing sports and exercising because it clears my head of stress and makes it easier to focus on other stuff I need to get done.

These stress management techniques work very well for me, and I can see myself doing these habits all throughout my life, especially when I get my first real job. Additional techniques for stress management that I could try are yoga, meditation, and maybe using the calendar on my laptop more. All of these options would provide more methods to manage and reduce stress in order to help me succeed in college.

--Original published at Jessica K's College Blog

Stress in of itself is a finicky situation to tackle. Because while stress can be easily identified in certain situations, be it happening by random chance or by expectations, there are also many ways to manage a person’s stress.

For the occasional disturbance in personal space, the infuriating traffic jam, or even some kind of mild inconveniece; no matter what, don’t let your rage boil over. From a stranger’s perspective, the one thing they don’t want to see in a person is their bad side, so think ahead on first impressions.

However, there are also the uncontrolable situations. Deadlines for an important assignment, difficult jobs, or the one obstacle standing in their way with no other way around. Try to understand the situation in your own personal solution, working out the possible outcomes and the risks that may be made.

No matter what, if it’s proving too much, don’t be afraid to speak up about it. A great way to removing a stressor is to look at it from another angle, and get the support that you may need. Ask yourself the question of “How else can I solve it?” and decide on the most logical and efficient solution.

And no matter what life has for a person, there are many other ways to solve stress. No matter the methods, just step back from the problem and relax, the answer is sure to come to you.

--Original published at JanellesCollegeBlog

Stress management is an important skill to have as a college student. One of the best strategies I have developed for stress management is exercise. Being a part of the field hockey team during the fall, I found going to practice and being with my teammates cleared my head and allowed me to get away from school work for a while. I believe exercise betters my mood and allows me to be more productive. During the offseason I have continued to go to the gym as a strategy for stress management. Another stress management strategy I have developed since coming to college is taking breaks while I am doing work for extended periods of time. In high school it was much easier to work on homework for large amounts of time because the work did not require as much concentration or thinking. Now, I have developed a routine of doing work for about 30-45 minutes and then taking a 10-minute break.

I think my stress management strategies work well for me. I find I am more productive after going to the gym or practice each day because I can focus better. I find the same thing happens when I take breaks while I am doing homework. The breaks work especially well when I am studying for exams.

I believe a strategy I could incorporate into my life for stress management is to sleep more. I find I am more productive on days where I am more awake, making me feel less stressed as I get more work done. Another strategy I could incorporate into my life for stress management is to put an assignment away for a little bit if it is causing too much stress. Sometimes when I am stressed I spend too much time just thinking about an assignment and looking at it instead of coming back to it when my mind is clearer. I believe these two strategies would be effective for stress management.

--Original published at AlexisPattersonBlog

As any other normal college student, I find myself getting stressed maybe once or twice a week… every week. When I find myself in a stressful situation, one thing I like to do is isolate myself from everyone else and sit down with my planner and figure out what I am going to do from there. Another strategy I like to do is to talk to an outsider such as a parent or a friend and explain my situation and see what their opinions are. And lastly, sometimes when I’m stressed, I tend to watch my favorite show and pretend nothings wrong at least for the hour that its on.

These habits aren’t the worst, but they are probably not the best either. I know isolating myself probably would be the best out of the three of them. Sometimes outside opinions tend to sway you in a direction you might not want to go in and then you find yourself doing things because others want you to. And I know for a fact, pretending like the stress isn’t there and running away from it to watch tv definitely isn’t my best tactic.

Some other activities I could incorporate into my stress habits would be to be better at planning things out and not waiting until the last minute which causes the most stress. Even taking it one day at a time could show to help be more relaxed and focus more on the smaller victories.

--Original published at Emily's college blog

Stress is part of everyone’s life (especially in college) that cannot be avoided, but there are ways to cope and manage it. To manage my stress, I try to plan out my schedule and try to work ahead so that I will not fall behind. If something is stressing me out, I will put it down for a day or two and come back to it later. I would say that these strategies work pretty well. If I am not behind on work and just taking every task day by day then I do not have as much stress to weigh me down. Also, when I have everything that I have to do written down in front of me, it helps me to feel more control of the things that I can get done. I think this is because once it is written down, I mentally make a plan to get it finished before the end of the week.

            Some activities that help me manage and deal with my stress more effectively is participating in workout classes at Etown, like Pound, Strong, Yoga, etc. I also will go to the gym and run on the treadmill for fifteen or twenty minutes. I do not know the scientific reason for why these activities relieve stress, but I believe they help me to do better on my work and help me to release stress in effective ways. Some other stress management activities that I could realistically incorporate into my routine would be planning more time for friends and relaxing time for myself throughout the week instead of just on the weekend.