How To Manage Stress- Especially Into Finals Week

With the semester heating up with assignments, as well as football games and student activities finally on the rise, this can be an overwhelming end to the year. Especially with the transition back to in-person classes due to COVID, many students are finding this adjustment to be quite difficult. 

“I find myself under stress when I have piled too many things on my plate. I like to say “yes” to a lot of things and follow through on them. When I come up short on my responsibilities and begin to get disconnected from my daily life I know something is up” shares Senior Grace Channel. “I also know that I am stressed out when I get frustrated. Naturally, I am pretty balanced in my relationships, but once I get a little testy with someone I love, I know I am too stressed out and have to let something go” said Channel

College students often find themselves being under stress especially during midterm week and finals weeks, along with internships and the opportunities that come with being a college student. Students should find ways to manage the stress that helps them in times of exams, projects and college life itself.

Although saying “yes” to these things is exciting, it is when students come up short of these responsibilities that lead to stress and even frustration. It is a hard realization, but with the business of college and life sometimes it’s best to let something go in order for students to continue to thrive. Grace Channel, a senior at CU, shares her experience with stress and how to deal with it. 

 “I am quite a perfectionist and that comes with letting lots of things go because not anyone can be perfect. So one thing that really frustrates me is when a recurring problem keeps coming up,” said Channel. “This reoccurring problem can be in a friendship or in school or really anywhere that has interpersonal relationships working off of one another.”  

It can be hard for students to find an escape from stressful situations. I find my way out of a tough week by going for a run and playing my favorite playlist or podcast. With the cold season coming up, I find the gym to be a perfect way for me to let it all out and start my day stress-free. 

Like many other students Channel said, “Working out has really saved me from a lot of stressed feelings. There is nothing like going on an angry run to release all that tense built-up. Something I recommend to anyone when they feel stressed is to put the problem into perspective. Sometimes I even play the game of “worst-case scenario” to imagine what it would be like if everything went wrong, not just the matters of that day or week.”

Another thing Channel says she does is to look at her schedule by day or by week. “If I can plan for the future and plan for future problems I am much better equipped to tackle them in real-time.” 

“Life is hard, and things at this point in history are radically changing. Planning for what is to come in the next day, week, month, or semester is a good way to control what you can control and let go of the things not planned,” said Channel.

Stephanie Sturges, Counseling and Psychiatric Services (Health and Wellness Services) at CU Boulder gives insight into reasons students can get stressed and anxious. “I think this time in young people’s lives when they’re going to school there are so many things that students are balancing at once via school work, social life extracurricular, people living away from home for the first time, and a lot of first experiences”, says Sturges. “So a time where most people are going to experience some anxiety or mental health concerns at some point in time trying to balance all of these things. Just from lack of experience in life and having to do all this at once leads to stress”.

She also says that another factor of stress is not yet knowing what coping mechanisms will work for them as students. As they are supposed to be trying out a lot of new things at this point in their lives, so it is a process of eliminating and learning more about individualization and what you need.

Sturges gives insight for students in order to manage stressful times, “The first key is probably noticing for yourself what the symptoms are when you’re starting to be stressed so you can catch it before it builds up to something that’s less manageable. And then an individualized approach to what’s going to help with that stress. For some people, it’s taking things away, not having as many things to commit to or complete”. 

Finding what works for you and is your escape is a great way to manage stress. Talk to your friends and those close to you for support. If you need to clear some things off your schedule for the week, get coffee with friends, or even go for a run. Finding your way to deal with stressful times, especially with the busyness of our lives that we get caught up in.