Generally speaking, summer vacation is the time for relaxation. A break from all the stresses and anxieties that college life can bring. But maybe that break isn’t always that simple. After all, there are many of us who feel like that stress of theirs is a routine, that it just becomes something they’re used to. Whatever the reason, it can be hard to enjoy a vacation with anxiety taking a staycation in your mind. So, let’s tackle that. See if this article can’t give you the help you need to make summer feel like the break that it’s supposed to be.
Why am I so stressed during Summer?
It goes without saying that if you were already a particularly anxious and stressed person while in college, that a summer vacation isn’t going to leave you be. Certain things that you’ll have to worry about once you need to go back may linger in your head: Your grades, your obligations, what your courses next semester are going to be. Still, there can be more to why you’re not able to take advantage of your newfound leisure time. A common reason for college students feeling more anxiety and stress during the summer is that it’s a sudden break from the structure of Campus Life. Going to College provides routine. A schedule to go about your day in. Work to do. It’s orderly, and it’s conditioned into you for most of the year. When summer vacation comes into the picture, however, suddenly that order is taken away from you. You’re dealing with the chaos of regular life now. Chaos that you’ll have to deal with once you eventually graduate. You’ve got a lot of free time on your plate that now you might not know what to do with. It can be hard to cope with not having an established structure to go by anymore.
It could also be as simple as how hot it is. Heat can increase Cortisol, a hormone that triggers your stress response, and there’s no hotter time of the year than Summer. So, as if the scorching hot sun on its own wasn’t already making you sweat enough, it’s also going the extra mile in regards to your mental state.
Managing Your Summer Stress
So what can we do about these summertime troubles? Well, first off, let’s deal with the problems that relate to when you go back. If you’re worried about how the school year might go when you return, you might be able to manage this while you still have the time. If you’re worried about getting good grades in the next semester, consider getting yourself a tutor, particularly for areas you tend to struggle in. If you’re twisting yourself into a knot about what course to sign up for next semester, take your time and distance yourself from the process. Think about what it is that you’d thrive the most in or what mandated courses you haven’t tackled yet. You still have plenty of time to make your decision.
These can also help with those feel stressed from the lack of structure in your life during your vacation. Construct a structure for yourself. Occupy yourself with something like a part-time job or simply a list of activities for you to get done every day. Just be careful to not put too much on your plate. This is meant to be a break after all.
Finally, and this is here last because you probably would be trying to do this regardless of stress problems, manage the heat. Keep that AC on, wear less baggy clothes, and open some of your windows. Cooling down can go a long way in helping you, well, cool down.
With all that being said, enjoy your summer, with the time you have. Want one last piece of advice for how to manage your stress during the summer? Cause this one might be the most important… Spend some time with loved ones. Hang out with the people you didn’t have enough time to spend with, or that you were too far away from. Anxiety’s causes can often be as simple as too much isolation, and vacation is supposed to be the time where people are free to come together.
