University can be a stressful time, especially around exam season. You might be worrying about deadlines, exams, pressures in your social life, housing, money, or what comes next.
Understanding and managing stress
Stress is natural, and in some situations it can even help motivate us. But it can also make us freeze or panic, or struggle to find a way forwards – and long-term stress can have knock-on effects on our physical and mental health.
It can help to understand what stress is doing to you, and how to recognise when it’s become a problem. Read more about understanding stress here.
Everybody’s needs are different, so figuring out the best ways to manage stress can take some trial and error. You can find some general advice on managing and reducing stress on our resource page, and explore more specific NHS advice on stress management for students here.
Handling your workload
Often, the biggest stress in your life as a student is deadlines. Here are some simple ways to make work feel less overwhelming.
- Prioritise. When you have a long list of tasks, it can feel overwhelming. Figure out what’s most urgent – the soonest exam, the assignment that you’re going to need the most time on – and start there.
- Break it down. If you’re staring down a 20 page essay, you don’t have to take it all in one go. Break it down into smaller, more manageable tasks, and spread them out. If you’re struggling with a really involved task, try switching tracks for a while and working through some smaller pieces of work for a change of pace – just keep chipping away!
- Find ways past procrastination. Procrastination is a normal response to stress – but if it goes on too long, it can cause a ‘stress spiral’. Try asking a friend to hold you accountable, switching your phone off, or changing your environment – working from the library instead of your house, for example. Setting very achievable goals can help you get started – instead of saying, ‘I’m going to get this whole essay written,’ try saying, ‘I’m going to focus on writing this essay for at least 15 minutes and see how I go.’ You may find that once you’ve started working on it, you find your stride – and worst-case scenario, at least you’ve done some of it.
- Take breaks. Especially when things get to be a lot, it can be tempting to just power through, pull all-nighters and never stop. But your brain and your body aren’t designed to keep going forever, and if you don’t take breaks and step away, you’ll find it increasingly hard to think straight or hold ideas. Even if you can’t relax, it can be helpful to do something else for a while – if you feel like you’re banging your head off a brick wall, step away from your desk and go fold laundry or get lunch.
- Practise self-care. Especially when you’re already stressed, it can be hard to make time for things that help you relax and feel happy. But, just like taking breaks, it’s a vital ingredient to keep you going in the long run. What self-care means is different for everyone – it could be anything from going to the gym to taking a long bath to making a piece of art.
- Ask for help. You don’t have to figure everything out for yourself. Ask your friends how they’re coping with the pressure, and see if you can help each other out. If you’re really struggling, then talk to your tutors or Student Services and see whether you can get some advice, accommodations or extensions on work that’s overwhelming you.
Money worries
Money is an increasingly large source of stress for many students – in fact, an estimated 1 in 3 students in Scotland have at some point considered dropping out due to money worries. Luckily, there’s lots of help and advice available for students stressing about money.
Check out this page from National Debtline, talk to your Student Services for advice, or go to your local Citizen’s Advice Bureau. For advice on budgeting, check out this article from UCAS.
