As a first year student at the University of Waterloo, my time here so far has been anything but relaxing. Transitioning from secondary school to university, living away from home, and receiving great amounts of homework of even greater complexities has been extremely difficult and stressful to deal with. I have found myself constantly worrying about assignment deadlines, lack of sleep, no social life, my health, my performance in my courses in terms of my grades, and meeting my parents' expectations of succeeding in school. To date, there have only been three to four days where I have had time for myself to do activities that I enjoy, as the majority of my time has been spent studying and completing assignments.
When I am under stress, my current habits involve eating poorly, as I often miss major meals to do work, and sleeping very late at night. This has been having negative impacts on my grades as I have been unable to concentrate and focus in class. I have also felt extremely tired throughout those days where I did not receive enough rest, and I have been experiencing more coughs and aches as well. Furthermore, I have spent a lot of time distressing over what the consequences may be if I do not do well in school as opposed to using this time more effectively.
In my case, the stress that I experience is short-termed. As deadlines and tests approach, I begin to feel tensed and worried. Once they pass, I feel extremely relieved; but only until the next set of due dates approach. Although short-termed stress is healthy and advantageous at times, I often wish I knew how to manage the stress that I feel in a positive way. In doing so, I would be able to perform tasks more efficiently while maintaining my health at the same time. .
In this essay, I will be providing a psychological analysis of why I experience stress and what factors contribute to this emotion. I will also be discussing strategies that could help me manage my stress.
