Coping with Anxiety at University

Coping with anxiety at university is a common experience. But you’re not alone, and there are some simple things you can do to start feeling better right away.

It often happens that under the pressure of deadlines, international students, who already have a lot to deal with, are overtaken by anxiety and despair. I recently came across a student who missed one of his assignments and was so depressed that he had to acquire services of a student counselor who talked him through that phase.

The challenges he faced were the same that we all initially face when we study abroad. He had to adjust to a different culture, deal with an entirely new teaching methodology, overcome the language barrier, manage his time, and of course, nurture hopes of securing a distinction. Believe it or not, all these issues are interlinked and disturbance in just one can affect the harmony of your entire life.

Based on my conversation with him after he got out of that gloomy phase, here are some tips that can help when coping with anxiety at university.

If, for any reason, you are unable to focus or are regularly having thoughts that distract you from studies, try to find out what is going wrong. Easier said than done, but this can still be accomplished if you analyze your daily schedule. Remember we talked about making a study timetable? See if you are following it, and if not, ask yourself why? What’s getting in the way?