Most adults say that the best times of your life is during your time at college and claim you need to savour your experience before you head out in to the big wide world and attempt to find a job.
Well at the start of my second of college it was a living hell. The transition from AS to A2 seemed a massive step. Coinciding with the fact I was applying for University and just dropped Film Studies to return to IT. The pressure just grew and before I knew it I was suffering with mild forms of Insomnia and started panicking every time I stepped in to college. Rather then challenging the stress head on. I tried to run away with it via trying to pull all nighters so college seemed longer away. In extreme cases I attempted to leave college without telling my parents or teachers the reason behind my decision.
I only decided to something about it when speaking to my Mum’s friend about the situation which relieved a wait off my shoulders. I discussed why I wanted to leave college due to the stress and she helped me conquer it. She said to speak to my Tutor about it and speak to my teachers. I talked to them about my problem and they were very reasonable. I also spoke to a college counsellor which helped a lot. I learnt different techniques to handle stress and learnt that overall everything will be fine at the end of the day if I get my head down and challenge the problem and speak to people.
Speaking to anyone can help, especially family and friends. My Mum and Dad were excellent help, they provided me with support when it was needed. Friends are also a superb outlet to relieve your stress as they helped me via getting my mind off the situation by speaking to them about the problem and also helping me forget about it through going out. All together speaking to someone is always the best option, I was a bit reluctant at first and was quite frankly embarrassed with the situation, but with the help and support offered I have now successfully got my Uni placements and now preparing for my exams. If it wasn’t from the help I would have quit college and then had nothing to fall back on.
Top 3 ways to handle stress:
1. Speaking: Talking to anyone is the perfect platform to relieve stress. Especially family members and friends. They provide you with support when needed and give you a constant reminder that at the end of the day everything will be fine.
2. Exercise: I didn’t do this as a way to handle my problem but when speaking to people it can really help. While exercising dopamine and serotonin are also released in the brain offering a state of security. Exercise also helps give you a feeling of completion and is also a perfect platform in helping you get a good nights sleep.
3. Entertainment: I found watching TV or playing X box as very good remedies to help. It supplies you with a distraction from College life while at the same time keeping you entertained in the process.