THE MOST STRESSFUL TIME OF THE YEAR

By Angelica Hernandez 

The end of the semester is a time of great stress for college students. Before they can go home for the holidays and log out of their emails, students have to endure the stress of finals. With all that stress many students have to find creative ways to cope.

Alycia Johnston, a senior majoring in multimedia journalism, found herself dealing with a high level of stress while coordinating a group project for a final in one of her classes.

“I’m more than a little stressed out right now,” Alycia said. “Papers on top of regular school work, on top of classes and it’s all kind of bunching together.”

Alycia is not alone in her end of the year stress. According to the American College Health Association, 62 percent of undergraduates reported feeling “overwhelming anxiety” and high stress levels during the semester. And those feelings only seem to intensify during finals week.

Alycia’s group members also claimed to be experiencing high levels of stress and anxiety during finals season, with one group member sharing that he often gets high just to calm down.

According the an article from The New York Times, the most common ways that college students cope with stress can be incredibly harmful.

“When you’re handling two jobs, full time at school and plus you have to take extra time to do assignments it can be stressful,” said Alycia’s group member, who asked to remain anonymous.

    Alycia’s group members admitted to pulling all-nighters and having trouble staying awake while commuting home from school and work.

    In fact, a lack of sleep can negatively affect people with anxiety and mood disorders and to make matters worse, tired college students often misuse caffeine, alcohol and drugs to cope.

“I have A’s in all my classes,” Alycia said, “At the sacrifice of my mental sanity.”

Students are willing to sacrifice, sleep, sanity and health to succeed in college. But burnout is a real risk, but how can students cope with stress in a more positive way?

We share five helpful tips to survive the rest of the semester from Mental Health America. These include, creating a game plan for assignments, enjoying caffeine only in moderation, getting enough sleep, taking frequent breaks and remembering above all that your health and well being is more important than any grade.