Many students deal with stress and anxiety. Due to that, students have different ways to manage it. With the passing of midterms, students’ anxiety may be rising as finals slowly approach. Anxiety is the feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, and studies done last July by the Mayo Clinic state, “Up to 44% of college students reported having symptoms of depression and anxiety”.
Additional studies show that if anxiety is not kept under control, it can lead to depression as well as loss of sleep and productivity. In addition, high levels of stress contribute to higher blood pressure, headaches, and low energy. By managing stress and anxiety, one can preserve both their short and long term health. As mentioned earlier students have a high rate of anxiety, so what can be done? How do they deal with it?
A common way to manage stress is to take a break from the thing that is causing stress. Snow College provides many ways to do this, from school dances, performances, and craft nights; there are plenty of ways to socialize. This is important because socializing boosts the brain, keeping anxiety at bay. Besides school events, how do students manage their anxiety? When a group of students were asked what they do to lower their anxiety the most common answers were doing hobbies and interests (like reading and watching tv) and socializing, with meditation and exercise not far behind. One of the students stated, “[I do] games with friends, [it’s] hard to stress when you’re too busy laughing.” Another confessed, “When I’m feeling anxious I make sure to take a nap or go to bed earlier, because everything is worse when I’m tired.”
Students manage stress in a variety of ways, from socializing to taking time for themselves. From school events or just hanging out with friends, when students start feeling anxious, solutions are everywhere.