Page 22 - Keys to College Success

Coping with Stress

Extreme situations demand more and different ways of coping. You cannot expect to
feel and function normally when you are handling unprecedented amounts of stress.
You may, as many people do, feel a collective grief on behalf of everyone who is suf-
fering, and a collective anxiety around the fear of COVID-19, the damage to the world
economy, and the tremendous loss of life worldwide.
Your feelings and challenges are real, and they can have real effects on how you func-
tion in school and out. Acknowledging your feelings is an important f rst step. How can
you cope with stress and preserve energy for coursework and personal responsibilities?

Exercise, diet, and rest. Some of the most effective remedies for stress are:
■ Regular physical motion
■ A varied diet, high in vegetables and fruits and whole grains and low in saturated
fat and sugar
■ Regular, sustained periods of sleep

Meditation and spirituality. Meditative and spiritual practices provide relief, as well
as the opportunity to be in the present moment. Native and indigenous people have
long drawn on these types of practices, and every religion has some type of prayer or
meditative practice. Seek out:

■ College-offered yoga, meditation, or mindfulness workshops online
■ Resources on YouTube
■ Apps designed to guide meditation practice

Managing home environment and relationships. Where you live and the people
with whom you share your life can present challenges. You may be living with many
people in a cramped space, or even temporarily couch surf ng. You can cope with home
and relationship stress in these ways:

■ Keep lines of communication open and check in regularly with others
■ Co-create helpful rules about cleaning, cooking, and sharing common spaces
■ If needed, consider signif cant changes such as ending a relationship or moving

Getting Support for Mental Health Issues

Like any other illness, mental illness requires attention, treatment, and support. Students
with existing mental health issues such as anxiety or depressive disorders, bipolar disor-
der, OCD, schizophrenia or other psychoses, or personality disorders may f nd that the
circumstances of the pandemic have made those conditions worse. Other students may
have newly developed anxiety, depression, or other mental health concerns as a result
of this crisis. Either way, mental health issues are nothing to be ashamed of, and many
people manage these conditions with some combination of support, coping strategies,
and/or medication. Here are some ways to get support and/or treatment.
Therapy and counseling. In addition to traditional in-person therapy, new modes
of interacting with a therapist or counselor have grown as a result of social distancing
rules. You may be able to connect with a therapist on the phone (tele-therapy), on a
video platform such as Doxy.me or FaceTime, or even over text.

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