Campus experts provide strategies for avoiding stress

Alice McGuire

Editor

April is Stress Awareness and Counseling Awareness Month. 

Students commonly find themselves feeling more stress as the semester progresses, said Karolyn Lehn, professional counselor. 

“On an academic level, I just think a lot of times as the semester progresses, students sometimes just get inundated with rigorous classes,” said Lehn. “Maybe they feel like they’ve taken too many. Some classes are more of a challenge than they bargained for.”

One of the most common ways in which Lehn sees students cope with stress is avoidance. 

“The class doesn’t go away,” said Lehn.

Jim Bauer, licensed professional counselor and case manager for the Care team, described avoidance as rooted in fear. 

The overwhelming majority of students, Lehn said, admit avoidance doesn’t actually prevent their problems from weighing them down. 

“I love the saying ‘feel the fear and do it anyway,’” said Bauer. 

Mac Coffey, 19, a child development major, named time management as a primary stressor and suggested finding healthy coping mechanisms in order to “do what you’re trying to do without becoming an overloaded stress ball.”

“Often, there’s just not enough time in a student’s day to get everything done that they need to get done. So it feels like a never-ending to-do list in their head,” said Bauer. 

“If you look at it in smaller chunks, that can be an easier way to overcome the hurdle, rather than seeing the giant looming project that has to be completed,” said Lehn. “I usually tell students, sometimes it’s important to plan those breaks, plan those recharge moments.”

Bauer said that while stress was treated as something to blow off only a few decades ago, the “scientific process” has produced evidence that shows ignoring stress can lead to serious health concerns. Headaches, teeth grinding and even sensitivity to comments that are meant to be helpful critiques can all be signs of stress.

“It’s important that we have these conversations to help destigmatize getting actual help,” Bauer said. “Talk to your medical provider if the stress is causing an individual to not be able to do their daily functioning activities.” 

Lehn said she has also noticed more students seem to struggle with housing and finances this year than in the past and that this is compounded by the fact that many juggle both a job and classes. 

She noted that not all students have the same threshold for stress and that, while some students might not feel it’s a big deal to take a full load of classes while working, others might feel it is too much.  

“Listen to yourself. Check in with yourself,” said Lehn. “Look at your individual circumstances, your individual situation, your individual … circumstances, and your own individual threshold. We are all unique. We are all different. We all have different times where maybe we’re feeling stronger than others, and so that’s where I would say, try not to compare yourself to others.” 

Regardless of how a stressful semester ends, Lehn said she feels like she’s seen students get through them regardless of the outcome of whatever stressors students are facing.

“Not only are you learning the content of your classes, you’re learning to be a better student,” said Lehn. “I just think that developing those resiliency skills is really critical.” 

All currently enrolled students are entitled to short-term counseling at no cost. While counselors at the college are limited in their scope, students should not hesitate to reach out as they are always able to provide referrals to the many resources available to the Washtenaw community.  

“Take stress seriously. But don’t stress about it,” said Bauer.

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