Rachel Forst – Special to the Southern News –
The beginning of the semester for students can mean stress and large amounts of it. Both full-time students, who work to put themselves through school, and those who just attend school and don’t work, have all kinds of stressors going on. Different students manage their stress in different ways.
“Every student’s stressors are slightly different, but the leading cause in these cases is multi-layered stressors, time management, and financial worries,” said Julie Liefeld, director of Counseling Services.
Many students who work and take on a full course load have difficulty managing this, whether it’s having a set schedule or time in between to study. Same can be said for students who don’t work and just have a full class load, even with extracurriculars.
Amanda Schneider, junior philosophy major, who does not work and is taking a full class schedule as a full-time student said, “Having a spread out schedule to manage band practice and classes [makes time] during the day to do homework and study. Then at night is band practice and [my] time to relax.”
Some ways to manage one’s stress levels could be by sleeping, painting, reading a book or listening to music; finding anything to take your mind off of what has to be done.
Lauren Czernota, sophomore social work major, finds sleep as a way to de-stress her four classes and her full-time job.
“You have to balance out your study schedule and work schedule to make time to get work done,” said Czernota.
Job-hunting can be an issue all on its own for any student who has to make it flexible with their class schedule.
Czernota recently had some worries about finding a job, which put more stress on her immensely because of bills and paying for insurance; everyday things that most college students who work have to worry about.
“I have no way to manage my stress. I’m stressed from the beginning to the end of the semester.” If she had the choice to not work and just take classes full-time to reduce her stress, she said she would just attend full-time.
There are ways one can reduce their stress even if it’s for 20 minutes a day, according to the Julie Liefeld. Setting boundaries, not doing things that you don’t really have to do, positive self-talk, getting at least seven hours of sleep, eating well, staying hydrated and doing something calming for at least 20 minutes a day are good ways to greatly reduce one’s stress whether you have a full day of classes and work, or just classes.
What most college students do is create the stress themselves, they perpetuate it to try and have a solution to whatever problem they’re facing.
“Two people can have the same schedule and one is stressed and the other isn’t,” said Schneider. “It’s all about managing it.”
One needs to keep in mind that stress causes a chemical response in the body that can become anxiety, which may require medical treatment, said Liefeld.
The mind can be powerful in many ways; it can reduce and cause stress on any level. It just needs to be maintained whether you’re both a full-time student and working or not working.
