Coping With Stress at Midterm

By: Fedney Delphonse

School and work life can be stressful for a college student especially around midterm. Understanding and utilizing some of these helpful tips can help you defeat feeling stressed or overwhelmed.

• Regular exercise
• Regular exercise should be a part of your stress management plan. Physical activity helps refresh your mind, improves your mood, increases self-esteem, and can act as a form of meditation. Leave your tension and problems at the gym!
• Reduce alcohol and drug use
• Alcohol is a depressant and slows down the brain and central nervous system. The use of alcohol and other substances can decrease your mood, ability to cope, and ability to retain information. Alcohol and drug use can also create new problems like illness and legal trouble. 
• Create a healthy sleep cycle and sleep environment
• Set a time you would like to go to bed, and go to sleep within an hour of that time each night.  You should strive to wake up within an hour of the same time each morning. Students should aim for 7-9 hours of sleep a night.
• In order to create a healthy sleep environment, remove electronic devices from your bedside, create a bed time ritual, and use your bed for only sleep and sex. If you are not tired, go do something until you are.

• Plan Ahead!
• Procrastination is the #1 cause of preventable stress so try your best to avoid procrastination.
• Make “To-Do” Lists.
• Plan ahead.
• Prioritize your assignments.
• Dedicate time for your social life
• Try to do things with others to curb your midterm homesickness.
• Team up with your classmates to have study session to prepare for exams, get dinner with a friend, and take a study break.
• You may feel like there is not enough time in the day, but dedicating even a small amount of time to a friend, classmate, or teammate can help reduce your stress. 
• Talk to someone
• Talk to a trusted friend, family member, teammate, colleague or a counselor to express your feelings and explain your stressors. Having a conversation may help you gain perspective and provide an outlet to start prioritizing tasks and reduce stress.
• Visit the counseling center on campus! They are a great resource and can provide you with helpful, informative, and confidential feedback to what may be creating stress in your life.
• Here at the HERC, we provide students with information on stress, time management, and sleep. We also provide one-on-one consultations as well as group programming to classes, teams, and RSOs.

If you would like more information on stress and other programs offered by the Health Education Resource Center (“The HERC”), please contact us at (217)581-7786, or by email at
herc@eiu.edu.