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Dealing With Anxiety Over College Classes? Try These Tactics

Guest Post • Nov 26, 2018

Being a student is stressful. You have so much riding on your grades and overall GPA. Future employers might be looking at how well you've done in your classes, and if you want to get into a graduate program, your grades will definitely determine which programs you're able to get into. This can lead to a lot of anxiety. If you want to have a healthy lifestyle and maintain good grades, you need to have a plan on how you're going to deal with t he stress. Here are a couple of tips.

Take a Break

As much as studying is important, it's also important to take some time off. When you work all of the time, you can begin to feel stressed, and it can take over your entire life. No matter how much you enjoy what you are studying, if you never take a break, you will burn out. Take a couple of hours off every week to spend time with friends and family or do a hobby that you enjoy , and you'll actually have more energy when you're studying. If you are worried that taking a break will put you behind where you need to be, it can be helpful to prioritize and schedule both your studying and free time. Going for a walk or spending time with friends won't be any less relaxing just because you put it on your calendar. This might actually help you get more out of it.

Take Care of Your Body

When you don't take care of your body, it's easier to feel overwhelmed by the everyday stress of college life. Doing homework and having a social life is important, but so is eating a balanced diet and getting enough sleep — two things that are commonly neglected by college students. Taking supplements like vitamin D, vitamin B complex, CBD, and kava kava can also be helpful for balancing your emotions. If you find that you are regularly eating out or just snacking instead of eating real food, set aside some time to prepare a few meals that you can keep on hand for your busy days. It is so much easier and better for you if you can just reheat a pre-made healthy meal than going to Taco Bell again.

Learn and Implement Specific Strategies

There are a variety of assignments you will have to do in college covering many topics, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a strategy to help tackle a certain type. Take for example, an essay. You might not be writing about the same thing, but you will most likely be writing the same kind of structure. Everyone has a different approach to writing an essay, but there are some writing strategies that will make it easier. Write an outline, write a loose first draft, refer to your notes, look for sources, and have it proofread. This way, essay writing doesn’t have to seem daunting or a pain. You can do something similar with math homework, group projects, etc.

Watch Your GPA and Ask for Help

You're probably already keeping a close eye on your grades in your individual classes and your overall GPA, and this is a good thing. Kee p an eye on your GPA to see if it is trending upward or downward. It's better to keep a close watch on how you're doing than to have a bad semester that brings your entire GPA down.

It takes a lot to pull things up after you've slipped, but watching your GPA and grades in individual classes can give you advanced warning of when you need to ask for help. If you see that you're not doing as well as you would like to in a particular class, you can ask a TA or your professor for help with explaining things. You can also form a study group or ask a fellow student if they understand the material. When you get things back on track, you'll feel better.

Talk With a Counselor

University campuses have on-site counselors who are trained to help people with a variety of problems that often affect students. Anxiety over grades is one of the areas that they are used to helping people with. Keep in mind there’s a difference between an academic counselor and a full time mental health counselor. Many campuses have both, and if you feel it’s necessary to talk to both, then it’s probably a good idea. Sometimes students feel better and more at peace by simply speakin g with their a cademic counselor and figuring out a plan for academic success. They can help you come up with strategies to cope with the pressure. If you need more help than that, a mental health counselor can help you find the treatment options you need to deal with your struggles.

Being a student may be stressful, but it can also be a very rewarding experience. If you find effective ways of dealing with anxiety and stress, you'll be able to experience more of the rewarding times.


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