General Anxiety
Combating anxiety and staying relaxed in college
DID YOU KNOW:
In the past 12 months, 65.7% of nearly 68,000 college students felt "overwhelming anxiety" (American College Health Association, 2019).
What Is It?
Anxiety is completely normal. Everyone experiences anxiety throughout their lives; however, anxiety can become debilitating very quickly. Anxiety develops into an anxiety disorder when you experience "intense, excessive, and persistent worry and fear about everyday situations" (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2018). These feelings are more difficult to manage and last longer than regular anxiety (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2018). Any level of anxiety is draining and can cause you to avoid certain situations.
What Does It Look Like?
Symptoms of Anxiety
According to the Mayo Clinic Staff (2018), the following are the most common symptoms of anxiety:
Feeling nervous or tense
Feeling a sense of danger or panic
Increase in heart rate
Rapid breathing (even hyperventilating)
Sweating
Uncontrollable shaking
Feeling weak or tired
Trouble concentrating or thinking about anything else
Difficulty sleeping
Gastrointestinal problems
Different Types of Anxiety
There are many kinds of anxiety. The following are a few of the most common in college students (Meek, 2020):
Anticipatory Anxiety: occurs while you are waiting for something to happen. This can be any event, such as giving a presentation, going to class, or talking to a professor.
Separation Anxiety (homesickness): occurs after leaving home usually for the first time. Many will feel the urge to call home very frequently and is very common for students to experience during their first few weeks or months in college.
Social Anxiety: occurs around other people (peers, friends, classmates, etc.). This can be fear of starting conversations or participating in class.
Test Anxiety: occurs in the presence of a test. This is usually characterized by inability to focus on a test and poor test performance even when well-prepared.
Anxiety from Peer Pressure: occurs while being pressured to partake in something you don't want to do. This can be more serious situations, such as using drugs or drinking, or less serious situations, such as attending parties or hanging out with people.
What Can You Do?
Practice self-care (Mokrue, 2019). Make sure you are eating healthily, getting enough sleep, exercising, and maintaining your hygiene. Remember to step away from stressors for a bit if you are experiencing too much anxiety, and giving yourself breaks every now and then can be a good way to reset your mind and come back with fresh thoughts.
Find a support system (Mokrue, 2019). Sometimes just talking about situations that are making you anxious can help calm you down. And if it doesn't, friends or family can offer suggestions to handle a situation or support to help reduce anxiety.
Mediate (Mokrue, 2019). Meditation gives you the opportunity to focus on your thoughts and control your breathing. There a lot of different forms of mediation, but many are based on focused relaxation and breath control. Mediation can be a good way to reduce anxiety and clear your mind.
Make a list. Anxiety can occur when you have a lot going on and you're not sure where to start. Each day, make a to-do list of tasks, and break your assignments into small, attainable goals. Make sure to physically mark off your to-do list when you complete a task so you can watch your progress throughout the day. Additionally, visualizing due dates can make them seem more manageable.
Daily reflections. If you battle an excessively productive mindset, you may feel anxious because you believe you didn't accomplish enough in one day. At the end of each day, think back through everything you did and note all that you accomplished (Mokrue, 2019). It may be beneficial to write these down so you can see your progress, even if it is something small.
Exercise. Physical activity can release some pent-up anxiety in a positive way. It can also help you to feel more energized and ready to tackle new tasks. Physical active also gives you a chance to focus on something else for a little bit. Like meditation, activities like yoga can help control your breathing and give you a chance to clear your mind.
Confidence Quote:
"Please don't worry so much. Because in the end, none of us have very long on this Earth. Life is fleeting." -Jack Powell: Jack
References
American College Health Association. (2019). Reference group executive summary: Spring 2019. National College Health Assessment. https://www.acha.org/documents/ncha/NCHAII_SPRING_2019_US_REFERENCE_GROUP_EXECUTIVE_SUMMARY.pdf
Mayo Clinic Staff. (2018). Anxiety disorders. Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/anxiety/symptoms-causes/syc- 20350961
Meek, W. (2020). Common types of anxiety disorders college students experience. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/anxiety-and-college-1393080
Mokrue, K. (2019). 5 tips for navigating the stress and anxiety in college. Anxiety and Depression Association of America. https://adaa.org/learn-from-us/from-the-experts/blog-posts/consumer/5-tips-navigating-stress-and-anxiety-college