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3 Coping Skills for College Students Living Away from Home

Moving away from home to attend college is a mixed bag of emotions. It is not uncommon to feel excited, empowered, and scared all at the same time during this stage of life. While you cannot control events that elicit these emotions in you, what you can control is how to prepare for them and how you will respond.

For many students, going away to college is their first away from home experience, that alone can be overwhelming and to then pair that with the demands of coursework and schedule management has the potential to become really stressful, really fast.

Create a Reliable Network

One of the biggest fears of moving away from home is the loss of the familiar and the need to create a brand-new network of support.

The global pandemic adds in an additional layer of difficulty with rules and restrictions varying based on location, as well as constantly changing as we learn more about the virus itself.

There is an all-in-one telehealth provider created for universities and college focusing on the unique needs of students to customize a complete care solution. Telehealth options are a foundational piece in creating a reliable network for yourself because they are not limited by logistics.

If you already have a trusted network of medical professionals you turn to, to help you cope with the ups and downs of life, these programs help mitigate having the constant fear of the unknown by allowing you to maintain that established network.

Determine Stress Management Tools

Everybody responds to stress differently, and typically once you have accumulated a certain amount of stress that it shuts you down, your ability to determine and utilize tools to manage it is subpar.

One way to get in front of this is to identify tips to help you avoid stress when you feel it starting to come on. The buzzword related to things that can cause one stress is triggered. If you do not know your triggers, then blocking stress from your life is going to be especially challenging.

Keeping a journal is a great coping skill to help you learn about your own personal brand of stressors and triggers. Having the practice of writing down your feelings, what started them, and what you did to turn them around means that you are essentially creating a roadmap for yourself to reduce your rebound time in the future.

Take Care of Your Body

Your body is your machine, and if you do not take care of it, it will not perform for you.

Figuring out how to properly fuel your body while living away from home for the first time is a common challenge for college students. Making dietary choices based off convenience, budget, and social situations can quickly turn your overall health on its head.

Creating a plan for your own personal wellness is essential to preventing a system shutdown. Proper rest, physical activity, responsible social choices, and schedule management are all examples of ways to take care of your body.

Jeff Campbell