College is typically viewed as a time of exciting new experiences. Making new friends, living in a new atmosphere, and developing your identities. Yet, despite this optimistic portrayal, many college students find themselves overwhelmed with stress and anxiety. Trying to manage these feelings on your own while being away from your biggest support system and navigating a new environment is one of many sets of challenges you might face in college.
If you have felt this way, you are not alone. In a recent study, 63% of college students reported feeling overwhelmed in the past year and 23% reported being “diagnosed or treated by a mental health professional for anxiety in the past year” (American College Health Association, 2018).
There are many reasons you may be feeling stressed, overwhelmed, or just not yourself. You may even be encountering these feelings for the first time, leaving you confused about what to do. Whether it is the stress of being in a new environment, overwhelmed with work or social responsibilities, being far from your support system, or just that college is not how you imagined, these all can impact your anxiety and overall mental health. Many students and young adults experience stress, anxiety, and depression even though it may not be commonly talked about or acknowledged.
So what are the next steps?
It can be important to recognize some initial physical and emotional signs of anxiety in order to seek help when necessary.
1. Worry that interferes with daily life.
2. Feelings of apprehension or dread.
3. Restlessness or irritability
4. Anticipating the worst and being extremely alert to signs of danger.
5. Pounding or racing heart, or shortness of breath.
6. Excessive sweating.
7. Headaches, fatigue, insomnia.
8. Upset stomach.
(NAMI, 2017)
These are just a few of the warning signs that can appear when anxiety enters your life. The biggest highlights of the anxiety signs mentioned above are that anxiety can interfere with your daily functioning or your ability to effectively engage in school, relationships, work, and personal needs like you otherwise would. It can be persistent, uncontrollable, and overwhelming. You may be feeling a mix of physical and emotional symptoms. These symptoms can change and intensify based on your stress level the environment around you. Some of them might have been more manageable at another time in your life, but now they feel like they are taking over.
These experiences can at times feel impossible to manage, but you do not need to do it alone. Together we can work through the stressors, triggers, and symptoms of your anxiety and allow you to take back control. Through talk therapy, you can become more aware of how your stress and anxiety affect you and what steps you can take to manage your emotional and physical symptoms. If you want to develop a plan to manage your stress and anxiety give us a call today and together we can work toward feeling better.