[skittytab]

I am diagnosed with anxiety. I am currently a college student and I have noticed as every semester goes by my anxiety gets worse and worse. This semester just started and my anxiety has been through the roof. I’ve been getting headaches everyday, feeling extremely sick, and so on. I’m really sure what to do to reduce my anxiety levels. Any time I try to relax my brain keeps screaming at me to do my homework (which I do) but I can’t seem to relax without feeling terrible for relaxing. 😥

[EFont]

I struggle with the same thing. Some of my days are busy (full of classes or work shifts) and I feel exhausted and stressed out. I look forward to my days off, but then I feel guilty when I'm not doing my homework on those days. My anxiety will rise, I'll get a headache, and I'll end up doing something dumb on the internet to distract myself because I can't think properly. When that happens, I don't get as much of my homework done as I'd like to and I don't get to enjoy my free time, which is frustrating. So I can definitely empathize!

Sometimes I set timers for myself, which helps when I stick to it (30m of homework, 15m relaxing, repeat). It's hard to hold myself to that all the time, though. Are there any little things that you do that help sometimes?

[Skeezyks]

Hello skittytab: I see this is your first post here on PC. Welcome to Psych Central. The School & Study Issues forum, here on PC, may also be of interest. Here's a link:

https://psychcentralforums.com/school-and-study-issues/

And then here are links to 8 articles, from Psych Central's archives, that may be of interest:

Mental Health & Coping Skills Guide for College Students | Psych Central

Depression and Anxiety Among College Students

Anxiety Disorders: Symptoms, Types & Treatments | Psych Central

10 Things People With Anxiety Need to Do Every Day

https://psychcentral.com/lib/9-ways-...dium=popular17

https://psychcentral.com/lib/15-smal...iety-symptoms/

https://psychcentral.com/lib/top-10-...s-for-anxiety/

https://psychcentral.com/blog/5-ways...what-if-cycle/

I hope you find PC to be of benefit.

[sarahsweets]

Hey @skittytab have you ever considered the student counseling center?
4

Originally Posted by skittytab

I am diagnosed with anxiety. I am currently a college student and I have noticed as every semester goes by my anxiety gets worse and worse. This semester just started and my anxiety has been through the roof. I’ve been getting headaches everyday, feeling extremely sick, and so on. I’m really sure what to do to reduce my anxiety levels. Any time I try to relax my brain keeps screaming at me to do my homework (which I do) but I can’t seem to relax without feeling terrible for relaxing. 😥

[Fuzzybear]

[skittytab]

It is hard to enjoy free time for me as well if I don't get done what I wanted to! There are little things that I do help such as taking a break or setting a goal. For example one of my goals is that I will not work on homework that isn't due for a good while.

[skittytab]

I have! I have yet to visit them, but if my anxiety stays as high as it is, I will be making a trip very soon.

[EFont]

That's a good idea- to not work on homework that isn't due for a long time. I do like to review what is coming up and make sure that I have enough time to complete it, but I also let upcoming things overwhelm me before I even start them. So maybe setting a conscious boundary like that would help me. Thanks!

[made08]

I am dealing with the same thing that i'm taking online classes instead. I hope next semester I get the courage to go, but my anxiety has not been good. If you have counselors in your campus it would be good to go.