College can be a very stressful time. Learning to recognize stress and dealing with college related stress positively will have a profound impact on your college experience. Some students wait until it is too late. Their grades begin to fall by performing poor on test, turning assignments in late, not attending or being able to wake- up for class. Furthermore, relationships with friends suffer, students begin to distant themselves from family for various reasons, their health deteriorates, some wind up on academic probation or even get kick out of the university for good. This sounds like a nightmare but all this can be avoided by positive dealing with stress.

College Stress Statistics

1. Stress often makes a college student sick because it has a negative impact on the immune system (Source: Dr. Drew.com).

2. College stress can cause fatigue, hair loss, acid reflux, and many other conditions (Source: The Princeton Review).

3. 75 to 90 percent of college students who saw a doctor regarding college stress (Source: American Institute of Stress).

4. The five biggest causes of college stress related disorders are: peer pressure, competition, separation from family, freedom, and choosing a major/career (Source: The University of Wisconsin-Plainville).

Every one to include college students knows college is stressful. The stress of college begins in the admissions process where you have to fill out the perfect application and flawless application essay.

Attending college defiantly introduces new stressors. A student might work or be involved with extracurricular activities. This forces a student to balance activities and homework. The student might even have problems with roommates and living arrangement on top of other stressors. Identify and Beat the Source of Stress

A student must first identify the source of stress. Identifying what is bothering a student combats in solving the problem with effective solutions.

Once you have identified the source of stress in your life a student should developed a plan to resolve the stress. Talking with a counselor or friend will help a lot. Here are some other ways a student might find helpful in combating stress:

1. Make a list the night before on what needs to be done the next day. This will help reduce stress, help you to get a good night’s rest, and it will keep you organized.

2. Put only things on the list that can be accomplished. If the list is unreasonable it will end up making you feel unproductive.

3. Try spacing out assignments over a period of time. Don’t try to doing everything at once.

4. Get help on stressful assignments. Speak to a professor, other students, or a tutor. This will boost your confidence.

5. Make sure you have some alone time and time with friends. This will recharge you.

6. Try deep breathing exercises or yoga.

7. Make sure the student stays in close contact with their family.

Other Helpful Tips for Dealing with Stress

If the stress continues you should consider speaking to a health professional to give you some much need advice on how to deal with college stress. Many colleges have health clinics on campus dealing with this very issue. The clinic might have group or individual counseling. The most important things is that students get help.