College students are living within their best years between the ages of their teenage years and young adult years. This is the time for students to learn how to process transitioning from a kid with no freedom, to a young adult who can balance their free time and daily tasks. Yes, college students do have more of an advantage when figuring out their identity and when managing their on and off campus activities, but that does not take away the fact they many college students still suffer from stress that usually lead full-time students to work on the side. Stress many have a toll on students’ as a whole, but managing stress can help reduce many negative symptoms when balancing their social life and work life.
Any kind of stress can have an impact mentally and physically. The challenges stress can bring about to a college student, can not only affect the student, but the student’s performance within college. A student’s performance is critical in college because students are supposed to complete all tasks on their on and within their own time before the due dates. College may sound pleasing to know how much freedom a student as, when in college, but that free time can turn into a “time crunch” if the student is not active to find their interests as an individual and learn what path they want to pursue once college is over.
Stress management as a college student is not only a key skill to develop, but a chance to learn how to overcome stress in general. For example, any college student who is able to plan accordingly and able to finish their tasks efficiently, then the better prepared and adapted the student will be during and after college. Therefore, if students are more prepared and adapted to their new environment away from home and mainly on their own, then the less stress students will have in college and will have more of a positive experience.
In Fall, back in 2010, New York Times did a study how college students balance school, additional activities, and their personal life. Even though college students may be on their own, but still depend upon their parents, these students still deal with stress, if not more compared to other adults. One of the main reasons students deal with stress, is because certain groups can be discriminated for who they are. A few examples are when African American students have troubling times when finding work outside of college, when LGBTQ students are turned down from other activities on campus, or even when foreign students are not given enough attention within the classroom.
Also back in 2017, American Psychological Association also did a study on college students’ stress chart. About 30% of students seek help when feeling a stressful toll, over 60% of students report to have reduced stress after seeking help, and almost 10% of students do nothing to manage their stress. Whether students seek help or constantly receive help, if students are able to recognize their stress and are able to ask for help, then that’s a start itself; however, any student or students who fall under the 10% will have a hard time for the rest of their college years, have a difficult transition out of college to adulthood, and lastly will become less diligent or proactive.