Stress is common among college students, and it goes way up during exam season. But there are helpful ways to manage it and prioritize your mental health.
Dr. Kelly Greco is a licensed psychologist who works in counseling and mental health services in USC’s Student Health Department. She advises students to be mindful of their expectations, and to ask themselves questions to avoid disappointments.
“I think we have to be careful with a couple things,” she told Annenberg Media. “One, what are our expectations? And two, what are we doing about the stress in our lives? So the decisions that we make are really important. Am I proactive? Am I intentional? Am I putting my mental health as a priority? And so I think ... when students do that, they have a different experience.”
Greco emphasizes the importance of staying in control and grounded during stressful times, and to be aware of what one is striving for.
“No matter what’s going on in front of me or around me,” she said, “I should say, ‘If I’m grounded and anchored, no matter what’s happening to me, and I’ve got clarity, and I feel more in control, and I feel that I’m taking care of myself as a priority, then we can get through this in a way where we are thriving versus surviving.’”
She also has tips on how students can manage their stress levels: “I think one of the first two things that I look at are what we all know, and I think we tend to minimize them, but they are some things we’ve known for years, but may not practice because we take it off the table and we’re stressed, and that’s three things: sleep, eating, and enjoyable activities.”
Greco says it’s important to do things that brings us joy, makes us feel present, and which we’re passionate about.
Around campus, students also weighed in on how they manage stress. Digital media graduate student Anahita Mehra explained her unorthodox approach.
“I’m watching a murder mystery right now,” Mehra said. “That’s one way to manage my stress. And another way is that I am involved in something or the other in college, like, in some kind of an activity.”
Mehra said she’s involved with the Center for Climate Journalism and Communication, and “I sort of engage myself a little bit there. And yeah, I try to balance it out by getting good sleep, that’s really important.”
On the subject of sleep, communication management student Paola Portabales has a routine for winding down that helps her, like logging off social media for at least 30 minutes to an hour before bed.
“Try to avoid any like tech things,” Portabales said. “I also go to the gym, and I go on short walks, walks with my dog, and that really relieves my stress.”
If you’re looking for resources during these stressful times, you can visit the student health website, attend a workshop online, or reach out to the embedded therapist in your school if there is one. The USC Student Health help line is (213) 740-9355.