Spring Break
Stress, anxiety nothing new for college students.
Margaret Foran
Issue date: 10/23/08 Section: Campus Life
College, school, tests, procrastination, time, work, love, money, hobbies, worries. Everyday college students scrounge around school trying to get their priorities in check. Missed class once this week, can't find a computer to print for class that is in five minutes. Papers fall all over the floor, late to class, aaahhh!
Stress and anxiety can overwhelm and crowd your life, but there are several ways one can approach school differently.
College students begin to experience a stressful lifestyle due to new living environments. Moving away from home, becoming independent and experiencing new routines can put a lot of pressure on a student.
Megan Hall, a GSC Oconee student, experienced major changes once she began her college life. "My classes are so spread out during the day. I am not on a routine schedule like I was throughout grade school," stated Hall. "I am doing everyday things that I am used to my mom doing for me." Going to the grocery store and cooking dinner can take precious time away from homework and study time.
Ask any college student what they are most stressed about and you will hear everyone answer school. But what about school stresses each one of those students the most? According to M. Doc Hawley, GSC Oconee Counselor, "a large percent have anxiety; general, social, test, math."
Every person experiences a different level of stress, but according to Hawley, "the thoughts create anxiety; stress producing thoughts are the number one problem."
According to Hawley, telling yourself negative thoughts, such as "you have to get HOPE back," can create stress. The brain stores these thoughts in the Limbic system, emotional center. Your brain automatically tells the amygdala, "fear center," that you are afraid. The main cortisol sends out stress hormones. These negative thoughts turn off logical thinking, abstract thinking and problem solving. The result is a bad grade. Hawley stated, "The more emotion, the more it stays."
Stress and anxiety can overwhelm and crowd your life, but there are several ways one can approach school differently.
College students begin to experience a stressful lifestyle due to new living environments. Moving away from home, becoming independent and experiencing new routines can put a lot of pressure on a student.
Megan Hall, a GSC Oconee student, experienced major changes once she began her college life. "My classes are so spread out during the day. I am not on a routine schedule like I was throughout grade school," stated Hall. "I am doing everyday things that I am used to my mom doing for me." Going to the grocery store and cooking dinner can take precious time away from homework and study time.
Ask any college student what they are most stressed about and you will hear everyone answer school. But what about school stresses each one of those students the most? According to M. Doc Hawley, GSC Oconee Counselor, "a large percent have anxiety; general, social, test, math."
Every person experiences a different level of stress, but according to Hawley, "the thoughts create anxiety; stress producing thoughts are the number one problem."
According to Hawley, telling yourself negative thoughts, such as "you have to get HOPE back," can create stress. The brain stores these thoughts in the Limbic system, emotional center. Your brain automatically tells the amygdala, "fear center," that you are afraid. The main cortisol sends out stress hormones. These negative thoughts turn off logical thinking, abstract thinking and problem solving. The result is a bad grade. Hawley stated, "The more emotion, the more it stays."
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