College Stress

Listening To Your Own Voice Can Often Relieve Stress
By Chris Mariarchi

“The library is closing is fifteen minutes!” those seven words are the cause of my stress right now. Being a full time college student, there really isn’t enough time in the day, to sometimes even finish a midterm. When you are working everyday, going to class everyday and have papers and tests and an unfriendly living environment, there is a lot on your plate.

According to University of Florida Counseling Center, the challenges of life tend to be stressful and an attempt to avoid stress completely would lead to a rather boring existence. This is true in my life right now. The first semester was pretty much a breeze, I had my classes and internship that I enjoyed and somewhat of a social life. This semester I decided to get a job, my classes got harder and my environment got stressful.

Now that I have that job, I will say that I also feel like I have more of a reason to exist. That may sound a little extreme because it is just a clothing store, but the fact that now I am on a daily schedule, I am not as bored. I now am learning how to use time management, and getting to bed at a decent hour and not staying up to 5 a.m., because by the time I get home I am exhausted after a fulfilling day.

My thoughts are also a big cause for my stress; I tend to take the smallest situation and analyze it to the point that it does not make sense anymore. I am now learning that this is somewhat stressful, but also it is a way that I can cope with the stress as well. When I am most stressed I realize that this is when I look back on my life and wonder if I made the right decisions, or if I am on the right path. This kind of thinking of course can sometimes lead to more stress, and that is when it is best to talk to someone about your issues.

I always find it great to be able to vent to someone about what is going on in my life. A lot of the time you don’t even need them to respond, just to listen to what you have to say. I can also do this by myself in a room. I think that sometimes just to talk to yourself about what you are stressed about helps as well. Just the fact that you are letting your voice be heard is soothing enough sometimes.

Spirituality is also a great way to ease the pain. It doesn’t matter what you believe in or what your religion may be, just to let yourself go and be one with your mind and share your thoughts. For me, I tend to have a conversation with my self and hopefully God is listening. Just that reassurance can help me get good nights’ sleep.