Sharon Fritz, a licensed psychologist at the University of Idaho Counseling and Testing Center, knows a thing or two about reducing stress.
She said for students, stress comes from a variety of places. Although stress levels are higher around finals week, Fritz said they’re present year-round.
“Certainly (stress comes from) academics, but also in from finances, relationships and work. It’s mostly in terms of trying to juggle everything and go to school,” Fritz said.
Emily Johnson, mental health program coordinator for Vandal Health Education, said stress can also come from social expectations as well.
Fritz said even things as distant as the presidential election can contribute to the stress-level on campus.
Johnson said stress levels are extremely high at UI when compared with the national average. Fritz said she guesses this could be because of many factors, including the fact that UI is in a rural community and is largely a resident campus. This causes students to be away from traditional support systems.
Fritz said managing stress successfully is something that should start on the first day of the semester — not just right before finals.
“You know that you’re experiencing stress, but you don’t have a plan,” she said.
Fritz said managing stress varies on an individual basis, and the first step is for the student to figure out what their goals and priorities are. She said this step can be difficult for some students.
“Sometimes we buy into we can have everything we want all the time. There are consequences to that, and one of those consequences is stress,” she said.
Fritz said often students are feeling overwhelmed by responsibilities and shouldn’t be afraid to let some things go.
“What happens is we just keep piling things on, we don’t take things off,” she said.
Fritz and Johnson said it is important for students to take care of themselves both mentally and physically. Fritz said it’s important to treat the body right and not to rely too much on caffeine or alcohol.
“Self-care is a big component, taking care of yourself both physically and mentally is important. It’s important to challenge yourself to do things because you want to — not because you have to,” Johnson said.
She said exercising, getting outside and improving nutrition can help combat stress.
Johnson said one of the biggest misconceptions from students is that they don’t need help and can handle it on their own. She said reaching out for help is one of the biggest ways to feel better about stress.
Johnson said the university also offers many programs to help students. One of the most popular programs is therapy dogs, she said.
“We know the health benefits that go along with therapy animals are proven and helpful,” Johnson said.
She said that not only is it easy to coordinate, but also it reduces stress levels and helps with homesickness.
“It’s nice to have a relief for a little while,” she said.
The therapy dogs are the next program offered to de-stress students starting Nov. 30.
Carly Scott can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @Idaho_Scotty