Spotlight
Post-Secondary
STRESS Management
A refresher of five coping strategies that are often overlooked. BY JACLYN DAWN
LIFE OUTSIDE the nest isn’t easy.
Post-secondary students are often on their own for the first time, balancing courses, jobs, loans, active social lives, and the neverending laundry. Stress can be a positive source of motivation, but if unmanaged, it can counteract and result in a range of mental and physical health problems. Without adding too much to the already long reading list, here are a few stress management strategies that promote a healthy balance now and long after graduation.
Get Organized The items on your to-do list buzzing around in your head add stress. Map out classes, assignments, exams, work shifts, and social events. Put it all into a 30 T8Nmagazine.com
calendar. Is your timeline manageable? This strategy will help you to problemsolve more efficiently, stay focussed, and optimize free time. A well-spent break between studying can improve creativity, productivity, and stress levels.
Eat Right Not eating right can lead to stress and vice-versa. The dreaded ‘Freshman 15’ —a term coined by Seventeen magazine in 1989—suggests that students inevitably pack on 15 pounds during first-year university or college. The good news is that, in fact, weight gain is not caused by post-secondary attendance. Most often, shifts in weight coincide with shifts in eating habits and physical activity, which can be controlled. Adult males typically burn 2,500 calories and females burn 2,000 calories daily. One Big Mac meal is 1,100 calories. Not all calories are created equal, either. A
