Coping with Stress

As the school year begins to wind down, your stress may go up. There are exams looming ahead, you may be looking for a job this summer or perhaps you are graduating and planning for the next step in your life. Managing stress is important so that it doesn’t impact your emotional or physical health. The first step is to learn what is causing your stress as that can help you cope. Stress comes from many sources such as physical and psychological, past experiences, future deadlines and present experience. There are also positive and negative stressors. For example, graduating is a positive experience but with that comes new stress of trying something new. Other stressors can be those acute that happen right away – you have an exam tomorrow or one that is chronic such as not having enough money. Learn more about stressors and also a way to identify the source of your stress and severity with the Stress Scale.

So you know what is stressing you. What next? There are a ton of stress reduction techniques that can help you manage stress levels including practicing the “relaxation response” and similar techniques; writing about your stress; visualizing a calming or positive experience; or removing the stressors if possible. Managing your time is probably a challenge in school, but creating a “to do” list or setting priorities may help. Maintaining a healthy diet and exercising is good for your overall well-being, but it can also help manage stress. If things get to be too much and none of the stress techniques are helping it may be helpful to talk with a counselor. To learn more about how to manage stress review the following suggestions.

Stress-Reduction Techniques