Congratulations on graduating from college! It is undeniably an exciting time in your life. You worked hard for four years and now your dedication has paid off. It is a major accomplishment, and you should be proud of yourself. However, once that diploma is in your hand, you may feel a mixture of emotions- feeling anxious, excited, scared, nervous about your future. If you feel this way, please know that you are not alone and it is completely normal to have these feelings.
Many college students are not prepared for the transition after graduation. Some graduates wish that they would have been more engaged on campus or taken part in different academic and professional opportunities. Other students wish that they would have prepared themselves more for the workforce by participating in an internship or externship. While it is easy to look back and think of what you could have done better, it is important to ground yourself in the present moment and know that you accomplished the ultimate goal- graduating from college.
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, and life transitions. Anchor Therapy is accepting new clients and is now providing in-person sessions and telehealth (video/phone) sessions to residents of New Jersey and New York.
Whether or not you are a planner, it is important to have a game plan prepared. It can be a frightening and intimidating task, but it is an essential building block for success. You should always keep in mind that you should strive to do what you love for a living. If you are genuinely happy with your career choice, there may be less fearful and anxious thoughts regarding your job.
When you transition from college to a career, there is a lot of change that occurs in your life. You are no longer seeing your friends every day and, more generally, your priorities massively shift. You may have felt that college was a safe boundary or zone whereas working is the “real world.” Post-grad life is your chance to take the training wheels off, and attempt your first independent ride! While it may be scary initially, it is also an amazing advancement in your life.
Transitioning Out of College
To transition into your career, you need to transition out of college. Moving on after graduation may feel uncomfortable and odd. You are used to the environment that you have been in for the past four years.
It is crucial to realize that, while you are graduating from an academic standpoint, you are also graduating from a social stance. You are no longer going to be surrounded by underclassmen and the same college institutions and traditions.
You may even feel like you have outgrown college. University gives you a great opportunity to develop certain skills and capabilities; however, if you stay in the same place, you may not have a chance to employ those proficiencies.
It is normal to feel overwhelmed by this choice, but try to understand that this is moving up the ladder of success and preparing yourself for the next phase of your life.
Dealing with Post-Graduation Anxiety and Depression
While “post-graduation anxiety” or “post-graduation depression” are not official diagnoses, the terms are used to describe the concern, sadness, and impaired functioning of recent college graduates. You are leaving behind a world you created to take on a new, unknown setting.
Some symptoms of post-graduation anxiety include:
Feeling worried about your future constantly
Feeling like you have no support system after graduation
Experiencing shallow breathing and/or rapid heartbeat while resting
Not wanting to socialize/withdrawing from social activities
Feeling like you have no power or control over your life
Sleeplessness
Irritability
Feeling like a failure if you cannot find a job within a specific time frame
Using alcohol, drugs, and/or food as a coping mechanism for deeper emotional problems
Some symptoms of post-graduation depression include:
Loneliness
Sadness
General sense of hopelessness
Feeling disorganized
Having little to no motivation
Losing pleasure in previously enjoyable activities
Having an abnormally negative perspective on things
Substance abuse
If you think you are struggling with post-graduation anxiety or post-graduation depression, it is highly recommended to seek the help of a licensed mental health counselor who specializes in young adults and life transitions. By speaking to an anxiety therapist or a depression counselor, you will be able to narrow in on your specific needs and create a plan for managing your anxiety or depression.
How Do I Move On After Graduation?
A helpful tip when you are worrying how you will move on after graduation is to remember that you were in a similar spot when you transitioned from high school to college. Most likely, you had the same feelings. You probably felt a mixture of nervousness and excitement as you thought about being a freshman in college.
At the time, college was a massive and scary change, but you adjusted. You got through that transition just as you will get through this next major life change!
Preparing for Life After College
If you are looking for a smooth transition from college to working, here are some helpful tips.
Welcome Your New Identity:
After graduating from college and entering the workforce, you are no longer a student. You have been a student for the past 16 years so it is understandably a huge component of your identity. Now, you are swapping that part of yourself out for the progression- a working professional.
Find A Job :
One of the most nerve-wracking components of graduating is finding a job. You may want to use your last few months of college to soak up every moment with your friends and applying to jobs may be an anxiety-inducing task, therefore you may push it off. However, this will only cause more anxiety down the road. You will be stressed because you are unsure of how you will support yourself.
Prioritize The Things That Make You Happy:
While there was hard work involved in college, there were probably also moments filled with fun and social interaction. When you get a job, your life does not have to become overly serious. You will have new responsibilities, but there also needs to be a work-life balance so you have time to enjoy yourself and ward off burnout. Whether it’s going out with friends or on a date, it is important to make time for activities that bring you joy.
The transition into post-grad life can be intimidating, but you are not alone. Efficient planning and speaking to a licensed therapist are great tools to help you in this major life transition.
Victoria Scala
is the Social Media Manager at Anchor Therapy in Hoboken, New Jersey. She is currently an undergraduate student at the Honors College of Rutgers University-Newark, looking 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.
