The ability to recognize signs of stress (or struggling) in yourself and your peers is an important one – particularly in college. Basically, these changes are in three areas: behavior, emotion and cognitive functioning.

·      Changes in sleep, mood, eating

·      Weight gain or loss

·      Change in hygiene (habits)

·      Sickness (duration of and recovery time)

·      Excessive rumination

·      Eye twitching or other nervous habits

·      Low frustration tolerance

·      Social habits – change or decrease

·      Over reliance or withdrawal from social situations or friends (no phone calls, talking)

·      Distracted, obsessive, overwhelmed

·      alcohol/drug usage

Workable strategies for decreasing stress are numerous and varied, and you need to pick something that works best for you. Try a couple of options and see what works best to decrease your stress level, but remember to “shake it up” every once in awhile!

Examples

·      Take a break, get some “ME” time

·      Exercise

·      Music

·      Focus on what to do NOW in the context of the FUTURE

·      Meditation

·      Write in a journal, or write letters to people (not to send)

·      Humor, laugh, cry

·      Break routine

The Wellness Model can prompt you to think of other ideas. The seven aspect of wellness include:

·      Social

·      Physical

·      Emotional

·      Career

·      Intellectual

·      Environmental

·      Spiritual

Obviously stress levels can vary from very low to very high (e.g. panic attack level). Learning the technique of deep breathing can be a valuable tool to reduce your stress level, whether it is just moderate or if you’re having a panic attack. During normal breathing, you inhale (during which you increase your O₂ exposure), and exhale (during which you increase your CO₂ exposure), and then there is a small pause after your exhale. The pause is crucial, as what is important here is keeping the ratio of O₂ to CO₂ exposure in favor of CO₂. During a panic attack, you skip the pause after you exhale and before your next inhale. Breathing is very fast and shallow (i.e. not belly breathing) and your ratio will shift to be 1:1 CO₂ to O₂, which will physically induce a panicked state.

Source: Dr. Drew Weis, TWC