Coping with anxiety

Anxiety can feel like a rollercoaster of emotions. Photo courtesy: Adobe Stock

Anxiety is surprisingly common among college students. 

Most people deal with it on a day to day basis, and it can come in many forms, including social anxiety, PTSD, separation anxiety, OCD and more. 

According to health.harvard.edu, 63% of college students in the United States have felt overwhelming anxiety, and in the same survey, 23% reported being diagnosed or treated by a mental health professional for anxiety in the past year.

Anxiety in college students can affect the way that they live their lives, or how they react in certain situations. 

According to stress.org, “The illness can be debilitating, preventing students from completing their studies and affecting them longer after they have left school.”

Social anxiety is common among college students where everyone comes from different backgrounds and different cultures. There are people who are not used to being around others or have a weird feeling in public spaces. 

Social anxiety causes people to feel introverted or feel alone in a sense because they may stutter, overthink or say something wrong and not mean to, but their nerves get the best of them.

Stress can also cause anxiety. When people get stressed or overwhelmed, they tend to get nervous and sweat, or they freeze up. It can happen at any moment, and there are times where someone may feel their body tense up, they start to sweat, and they may stutter because they feel that anxiety in their body. 

When it comes to stress, people can stress over anything. For example, say that someone does not like to present to a crowd. They are going to feel nervous when presenting because of the lights and the eyes all staring at that one person, and the stress of preparing for that presentation. 

According to ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, “Stressful events may contribute to the development  of anxiety sensitivity by setting in motion a process similar to rumination that involves increased self-focused attention to bodily sensations and to physical and cognitive symptoms of anxiety, as well as increased thought about the causes and consequences of those symptoms.” 

When one feels stressed, their heart rate may rise, they may start shaking, stuttering over their words, and more. Some people may feel uneasy and may even feel the need to throw. 

There are ways to treat anxiety, but because it is a natural feeling, it can be hard at times to treat. For more information on anxiety and stress, head to https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/anxiety-treatment-options#.