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Even if you pride yourself on being calm, cool, and collected, stress is a fact of life. It happens to the best of us.

Simply put, stress is your reaction to something that is happening to you or something that affects you. An event or thought that is out of the ordinary鈥攆rom a phone call that causes you to learn bad news to studying for a big exam鈥攃an cause you to feel stressed out.

College Stress … EEK!

Going away to college and learning how to balance your classes, a social life, work, your finances, your family, and pretty much your entire life in general can be pretty stressful.

If you鈥檙e reading this, then chances are you鈥檙e feeling stressed out and want to know how to deal with it. That鈥檚 a step in the right direction. First things first, you need to understand the difference between good stress and bad stress.

What is Good Stress?

Stress is completely normal, and yes, it can actually be good for you in moderation. What? How?!

鈥淪tress is a burst of energy,鈥� is how psychiatrist Dr. Lynne Tan of Montefiore Medical Center in New York City explained it to 鈥淚t鈥檚 our body telling us what we need to do.鈥�

Here鈥檚 a perfect example. When you know that you鈥檝e got a big term paper to finish by the end of the week, you probably freak out a little bit at first, but then you buckle down and get it wrapped up on time. You probably feel pretty proud when you hand it in, and even better when you receive a good grade.

Janet DiPietro, a developmental psychologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, added to Dr. Tan鈥檚 explanation by saying 鈥淲hen you have a deadline, when you have to perform. You want some stress to help you do your best.鈥�

What is Bad Stress?

Unfortunately, though, far too many people wait until the last minute to meet their school or work deadlines. Or even worse, they start worrying about those deadlines once they have already passed. It鈥檚 completely normal to feel when you鈥檙e experiencing stress.

Starting college and dealing with schoolwork aren鈥檛 the only sources of bad stress. Starting a new job, losing a job, breaking up with a boyfriend or girlfriend, dealing with the 鈥� the list goes on. Many people experience one or more of the following:

• Increased heart rate
• Rapid breathing
• Sweating
• Trembling or dizziness
• Frequent need to use the bathroom
• Dry mouth or trouble swallowing

How to Deal with Stress in School

As the potential symptoms listed above show you, people deal with stress in different ways. Some turn to exercise for a physical rush. Meditation or prayer helps other people ease their anxieties. Some people turn to alcohol or drugs, which may seem like a good idea at the time but will only make matters worse in the long run.

For starters, pay attention to yourself and treat yourself with respect. This includes:

Adjust your attitude.

Look in the mirror. What do you see? Your outside is a reflection of your inside. Your attitude makes a difference in how you react to both good and bad stress. Do you curl up in a ball and cry when you have to do something you don鈥檛 want to? Or do you trudge forward simply because you know the consequences will be even worse if you don鈥檛?

Watch your diet.

As the saying goes, you are what you eat. Coffee, cookies, potato chips, and beer are not the four food groups. habits help keep you at the top of your physical and mental game.

Exercise.

Regular physical activity鈥攅ven if it鈥檚 just walking鈥攚ill help you stay in shape, boost your confidence, sleep more soundly at night, and reduce stress. Even the smallest college campuses have some type of gym or fitness equipment available. Take advantage.

Sleep!

You can鈥檛 function at your best if you are constantly tired. Most college students pull every now and then, but staying out until 4 AM and going to class at 8 AM most days of the week is going to catch up with you sooner than you think.

Avoid (or at least limit) the use of alcohol and tobacco.

No explanation necessary.

Clean your environment.

It鈥檚 easy to get discouraged or stressed if your room is piled with unnecessary junk, dirty clothes and half-eaten food. It鈥檚 hard to find things when you鈥檙e unorganized. It鈥檚 also tough to study or get things accomplished if the TV is blaring or iTunes is open.

Choose your friends wisely.

Just as a messy dorm or apartment can make it easy to get things done, so can a messy jumble of friends. You will spend time with a lot of new people during college, and don鈥檛 all necessarily have your best interests at heart. If you constantly find yourself being pressured into going out when you鈥檝e got schoolwork, drinking when you didn鈥檛 really want to, or 鈥渆xplaining鈥� yourself to someone鈥攊t might be time to unfriend them.

Manage your time wisely.

If you put the 鈥減ro鈥� in procrastination, it might be time to start improving your schedule. Rushing to get things done at the last minute鈥攐r running to class or work at the last minute because you didn鈥檛 give yourself enough time to get there鈥攃auses a lot of unnecessary mental stress that could very well have physical side effects.

Stress is an inevitable part of life鈥攚hen you鈥檙e in college, when you鈥檙e on your own and working at your first 鈥渞eal鈥� job, when you get married and start a family. It鈥檚 not going to go away. But if you learn how to deal with stress effectively, you鈥檒l be a lot better off than most people.

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Posted on 21 Oct

Melissa Rhone earned her Bachelor of Music in Education from the University of Tampa. She resides in the Tampa Bay area and enjoys writing about college, pop culture, and epilepsy awareness.