Managing Stress as a Student by Marie Miguel offers sound advice for students of all ages about how to better manage and avoid stress. In addition to tips that anyone can follow on their own, she also lets you know that seeking professional help can be the right thing to do. There are links here where you can find some first-rate counseling near where you live.

Students Are Stressed Out Sometimes

• It’s natural to experience stress when you’re in an academic setting, whether that’s high school, college, or graduate school. Some of the stressors you may experience are having short deadlines or deadlines in general, challenges in organization, and balancing your social life with studying. You may procrastinate and wait until the last minute to finish a paper and then feel the stress of having to complete things quickly. Here are some tips to help you manage your stress levels and complete your coursework.

Combat Procrastination

• People might tell you, “stop procrastinating,” but that’s not a helpful statement for those who engage in procrastination. You need to figure out the source of why you’re procrastinating and fight against it. Some people procrastinate because they’re scared that the end product won’t be perfect. If you’re delaying your work due to perfectionism, remember that not every paper or project needs to be the best thing ever. It would help if you started, and all you can do is your best. If you’re in college or graduate school, you got into this school for a reason, and you can complete this goal. Remember that all you need to do is start, and once you start, things will be easier to achieve than you think. One of the hardest parts of beating procrastination is opening your laptop or computer and getting things going. Once you’ve done that, it can become a whole lot easier.

Managing Time

• One of the things that stress people out in school is time management. Something that you can do to help yourself is to figure out how much time something takes to complete. You may have an inaccurate perception of people; people with ADHD, for example, sometimes can’t gauge how long something will take. Setting a timer when completing homework can be an incredibly useful action for you. Once you know that it takes you three hours to write a paper, for example, you can set aside that block of time to start writing. It’s important to remember that almost any task can be broken up into smaller tasks. Knowing this makes things much less overwhelming for a lot of people, so next time you get an assignment, manage your time by deciding what piece of an assignment you’ll do at what date and time. Maybe, you’ll write the outline of a paper the night that you get the assignment, and the next day, you’ll start a draft. Make sure that you’ll have a realistic sense of how long something will take so that you don’t put the unnecessary pressure on yourself to complete things in a time crunch.

Student Loans

• The idea that we have to pay back a massive amount of student debt stresses a lot of people out. Some people pay loans back while they’re in school, and others wait until they graduate. If you’re paying off loans, remember that having a budget can help. Organization is a big part of this. If you need help creating a budget that’s okay. Maybe you aren’t the kind of person that manages finances efficiently; it’s okay to ask for help. You can find it from someone on campus or an individual in your life that understands the process of paying back loans and can give you advice on how to manage money as you pay back your loans. Having the ability to manage finances is a vital life skill that’ll help you pay off your student debt, whether you choose to do it during or after school.

Leaving Work Until the Last Minute

• Leaving things for the last minute goes along with procrastination, but sometimes, people wait until there’s not a lot of time left for a particular reason. Some students say that they thrive off of the adrenaline of leaving an assignment until right before it’s due, but remember that this kind of behavior is a pattern and that it fuels itself. Eventually, you’ll get burnt out from leaving things until the last minute. Learn to get your adrenaline elsewhere, like through sports or engaging in social activities like playing games with friends. Planning is crucial when it comes to academics.

Managing Stress is Possible in Therapy

• If you’re feeling stressed out, one place that you can talk about it is in therapy. You might see a counselor on campus, or you might search “counseling near me” online to find someone in your local area. Whether you see someone online or in person, a mental health professional will be able to help you manage life stressors both inside and outside of school. If you’re struggling to cope with stress and feel like you’re breaking underneath it, it’s essential to ask for help. There are solutions to this issue, and managing stress as a student is possible. It may take some time, but seeing a therapist or counselor can help you combat stress and develop coping strategies to use when you feel overwhelmed.

Marie Miguel

• Marie has been a writing and research expert for nearly a decade, covering a variety of health-related topics. Currently, she is contributing to the expansion and growth of a free online mental health resource with BetterHelp.com. With an interest and dedication to addressing stigmas associated with mental health, she continues to specifically target subjects related to anxiety and depression.

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