As summer comes to a close, it can be hard to dodge those “back-to-school” commercials and emails flooding our inboxes of purchasing school supplies. You get a daily reminder that your few months of a break is quickly coming to an end. You may have purchased your college textbooks or a new fall wardrobe, but are you really ready to go back? How do you mentally prepare yourself for a new semester or, perhaps, your first time stepping foot on campus as a freshman?
Even though you are registered for classes and have your bag packed with books, pencils, and other supplies, your preparation does not end there. You may feel stressed or anxious like your few months of freedom is coming to an end. Stress, deadlines, homework, and exams will quickly fill up your schedule.
While college can be a stressful experience at times, it can be equally as exciting. The college experience is unique. For some people, it is often regarded as the “best years of their life.” While looking forward to your next year at college, try to view it with as much excitement as you do with nervous anticipation.
Anchor Therapy is a counseling center in Hoboken, NJ with psychotherapists specialized in helping children, teens, adults, and couples with anxiety, depression, relationship issues, trauma, life transitions, and more. Anchor Therapy is accepting new clients and is now providing in-person sessions and teletherapy sessions to residents of New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, and Utah.
I’m feeling stressed about starting school again. Is this normal?
Absolutely! Life transitions can often bring about anxiety. When a major life change happens, your brain can often perceive it as a negative experience. We all experience change at one point or another. When things change, it can affect your mental health and your overall well-being. If the situation is completely unexpected, like changing a major, you may feel completely helpless and like you do not have control over your life.
When you learn how to properly deal with your emotions, you will learn that change, no matter how scary it may seem at first, can be for the positive. The stress of change can negatively impact your mental health.
If your stress goes unmanaged, it can cause:
Headaches
Digestive issues and stomach problems
Muscle tension and backaches
Irritability
Anxiety
Trouble sleeping or insomnia
High blood pressure and heart issues
Eating too little or eating too much
Since your brain automatically views change in a negative light, it can influence your decision-making skills, and enhance your anxious and depressive feelings. Luckily, learning healthy coping mechanisms can make your mental health better. When you can successfully deal with change, it will boost your mood and lower your stress levels.
When you have the right mindset and are flexible, you are properly equipped to deal with change.
If you are dealing with new things in your college life, you can try to:
Find something familiar:
Starting college, particularly if you are dorming, can be an enormous change in your life. So, even if it is small, try to focus on something that is stable. For instance, if you went for a run every morning while you were living at home with your family, continue that daily routine at college. Keeping your little daily traditions could even include making your favorite snack or rewatching a television show that you love.
Be flexible:
A large part of college is unpredictable, and that is what makes it so exciting! You never know what new opportunities will come your way or the amazing people that you will meet during your time at school. Let go of expectations and restrictions. When you keep an open mind about new experiences, you can experience them more fully and even give yourself room to better enjoy and appreciate them.
Find people who understand what you are going through:
As stated previously, you are not alone in how you feel. If you feel a certain way, it is very likely that another student has been in your shoes before. When you are going through a new transition, talking to someone who is going through the same thing can be helpful. Having other people to lean on and talk to can make the process less lonely for you, and can make the experience easier to handle. For example, let us say that you just transferred from a community college to a four-year university. It can be helpful to find a club or organization that connects transfer students together.
Understand your perspective on college:
Try to look outside of your situation, and witness the amazing things that college has to offer. The changes you are dealing with may or may not impact your life in the way you think they will.
I have major anxiety when I think about school. Do I have school anxiety?
If you feel anxious when you think about attending school, it is possible that you may have school anxiety. Maybe your anxiety is situational. For instance, you may feel anxious when you have to attend school after having an argument with your friend group or not studying for an upcoming test that day. On the other hand, you may feel like your anxiety is never-ending. No matter what does or does not happen, you feel anxious over the prospect of going to school.
From endless academic expectations to the impact of social media on your real-life interactions, school can breed a lot of anxiety.
There are a few types of anxiety that you may be experiencing. Many of these forms can translate into school anxiety. These forms of anxiety include:
Separation anxiety - A fear of being separated from your home or other close figures in your life, like your parents, siblings, or hometown friends for instance.
Generalized anxiety - Generalized anxiety disorder, also known as GAD, can impact many areas of your life, including school.
Social anxiety - Anxiety that includes all social interactions and environments, encompassing school.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) - OCD is characterized by a need for maximum order, rituals, and even perfectionism. This can contribute to your school anxiety, especially if you are afraid of people finding out about your OCD and your OCD habits.
Specific phobias - Specific phobias can vary, but they can include things such as enclosed spaces, heights, certain foods, and school.
Although it is common, school anxiety looks different to everyone. Generally, it can feel awful. Sometimes, it may disguise itself as an illness, like regular headaches, and other times it can express itself through behavior, like irritability. It can even manifest in ways that you would not expect or have a hard time identifying.
Signs of school anxiety include:
Having a hard time sitting still
Avoiding eye contact in class
Failing to turn in assignments
Keeping to yourself at college instead of socializing with other students
Struggling to pay attention during class
Becoming or feeling ill more frequently (Sometimes, people may view this as faking an illness)
Displaying behavioral problems
Freezing or panicking when the professor picks on you to answer a question during class
Struggling with schoolwork
If your anxiety has gone unmanaged and increased in seriousness, you can even have physical symptoms. Some physical symptoms encompass:
Headaches
Trouble sleeping or insomnia
Nausea
Loss of appetite
School anxiety can make you isolate yourself, leading to depression.
It is important to remember that your school anxiety is not a case of, “I will not do this.” Instead, it is, “I cannot do this.” You are not lazy. Your anxiety is a physiological response to a situation that your brain interprets as dangerous. Whether or not the danger is real does not matter as, sometimes, anxiety is not driven by anything specifically.
If you find that you are struggling to keep up with assignments after experiencing intense school anxiety, read our blog “How To Get Students Back On Track After Getting Behind In School Work.”
How can a school anxiety therapist help me?
Anxiety is a normal part of life, but if your anxiety is consistent, anxiety counseling can be the answer to your problems. If you need help coping with your situation, a school anxiety therapist is here to help. At Anchor Therapy, we have therapists for school anxiety who specialize in helping young adults.
If you are struggling, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for anxiety has been shown to be one of the most effective treatments. CBT focuses on the connection between negative, automatic thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. A CBT anxiety therapist helps you deal with your anxiety by introducing a new way of thinking.
CBT has proven to be effective in reducing symptoms of anxiety. Having anxiety is not your fault, but it can add stress to and complicate your life. Having support from your anxiety therapist can make it a little easier.
If you are interested in learning about how CBT can help you cope with your anxiety, check out our blog post “How Can CBT Help College Students Struggling With Anxiety?”.
You are not alone in your fears for college. You will not be the only freshman on campus or the only person who has anxiety over picking and sticking with a major. However, if you want to ease your mind before diving into the fall semester, keep reading!
Try out the following tips to be more relaxed during your first few weeks of college:
Establish a regular sleep schedule
Summer can easily be a time for us to get thrown off of our regular sleep schedule. No more early classes or trading in your hobbies for time-consuming study sessions. You are free to stay out with your friends or stay up later than usual to binge that new trending show that Netflix just released.
Especially in recent years, more and more college students have struggled with overstimulation. The rise of social media, video games, and other entertainment sources have interrupted our sleep. These sources of stimulation coupled with the everyday hustle and bustle of life can make it hard to keep a regular sleep schedule.
So, work on your sleep schedule sooner rather than later. Try to get your sleep routine under control within the first few weeks of the new semester rather than waiting until the big assignments and exams start to roll in and demand your undivided attention. Once you get back to college, you will need your regular sleep schedule. Establish good sleeping habits now so you do not stress and struggle down the road.
2. Practice self-care
Practicing self-care can sound redundant or even pointless at certain times, but it is essential to your overall welfare. When you are at college and trying to maintain numerous responsibilities, it can be easy to overlook self-care. Even when times get tough or stressful, it is important to take care of your body and mind as much as you possibly can.
You can mentally prepare for college by doing the following:
Try to incorporate a light workout session during your day. Whether it is a 10-minute yoga video on YouTube or a quick walk around campus, moving your body can do wonders for your mind.
Make sure that you eat well and regularly. Life is all about balance, and you should have the same approach when it comes to your food. No matter how chaotic and hectic college can be with the overwhelming responsibilities you may have, making time for food is important. It fuels your body, and can allow you to achieve even more in your day!
Limit your alcohol consumption. Binge-drinking in college is a real problem. While having one drink when you are of legal age is not bad, it is important that you do not overdo it. Consuming too much alcohol too often can cause mental confusion, trouble breathing, dulled responses, slow heart rate, and even more. Read our blog “The Connection Between Binge Drinking In College And Mental Health” to learn more about the topic.
3. Learn how to manage your time
Time management is an important skill to have, even as a college student. In college, you may feel like time is moving too fast and you are unable to balance all of your responsibilities. From attending classes and club meetings to working, when you learn how to organize your time, you can make the most out of each day.
You can use a physical planner, but there are also digital tools and planning apps that you may feel more comfortable using. You can also follow time-management techniques, like the Pomodoro method. In the Pomodoro method, you work with the time you have instead of working against it and focusing on the time you do not have.
Constructing a schedule and remaining consistent with it can be difficult, but it will help you in the long-run. You do not have to make a perfect schedule the first time around. Instead, just try out a schedule and see how it works for you. There does not have to be a commitment automatically.
You never know what the day may bring, but having a schedule can help you prioritize what is important to you and your professional goals.
Prioritizing your mental health in college can feel like a challenge but it does not always have to be. Read our blog “5 Ways I Prioritize My Mental Health In College” for more tips.
Recognizing your anxiety is the first step. From there, you can speak with an anxiety counselor who can help you learn how to manage your symptoms through effective, healthy coping mechanisms. Additionally, you can take some steps to lessen your stress and anxiety during your time at school.
Victoria Scala
is the Social Media Manager and Intake Coordinator at Anchor Therapy in Hoboken, New Jersey. She is a graduate of the Honors College of Rutgers University-Newark, planning to study Clinical Mental Health Counseling at the graduate level. As a Social Media Manager at Anchor Therapy, Victoria is committed to producing content for and managing the office’s social media presence and blog.
