College stress manifests through academic pressure, homesickness, and financial challenges, but licensed clinical social workers deliver evidence-based therapeutic interventions that effectively reduce stress symptoms and build personalized coping strategies via accessible telehealth therapy.

Feeling overwhelmed instead of living your "best years"? College stress affects millions of students, but you don't have to navigate academic pressure, homesickness, and financial worries alone—discover proven therapeutic strategies that actually work.

College Students And Stress: Learning To Cope With Licensed Clinical Social Workers

Some people might tell you that college can be the best years of your life, but that might not be a realistic expectation for everyone. College students and stress are frequently associated, so if you’re feeling stressed in school, you aren’t alone; it can be an incredibly overwhelming experience. While this transition can be challenging, there are ways to manage your stress in college and help yourself find enjoyment and friendship in these years. Read on to learn more about common stressors and different strategies that may help you with stress management in college, including how telehealth therapy with licensed clinical social workers can provide support during this challenging time.

What are the physical and emotional symptoms of stress?

Stress is the body’s fight-or-flight reaction to external stimuli. It’s a natural response when faced with situations that feel challenging, threatening, or overwhelming. While stress can affect people differently, there are a handful of common physical and emotional symptoms to look out for:

Common physical symptoms of stress include:

• Twitching or shaking
• Chest pain
• Trouble sleeping
• Heartburn
• Nausea or other gastrointestinal distress
• Irregular bowel movements
• Irregular periods
• Headaches
• Fatigue
• Unusual weight gain or loss

Common emotional symptoms of stress include:

• Restlessness
• A lack of patience; irritability
• Feeling sad
• Feeling overwhelmed
• A reduced desire to participate in hobbies or activities you once enjoyed

Understanding your stress triggers

Understanding the underlying causes of your stress is often one of the first steps in alleviating or better coping with it. Working with a licensed clinical social worker through ReachLink’s telehealth platform can help you identify these triggers and develop personalized coping strategies. You might be able to reduce stress in some areas by addressing the root cause, or you may be able to learn more effective ways of coping with these challenges once you’ve clearly identified what they are.

To start, you might consider taking some time to think about your past week and the times you felt stressed or overwhelmed. Or, consider these common stress-related triggers that could affect your experience in higher education.

Being away from friends, family, and a familiar home

For many college students, going to university is the first time they are living away from friends, family, and the home that has been familiar to them for so long. Everything might feel new: the food, the environment, the people, and the living arrangements.

When stress or the newness of it all overwhelms you, you may want to go to a close friend or family member for support. If those people are no longer near you, you might consider calling them on the phone or speaking via video chat. While this physical separation can be tough during the first few months, having someone available to you virtually may help the transition feel more manageable.

If you’re looking for a sense of familiarity, it might help to fill your new space—whether it’s a dorm room, apartment, or a common house—with mementos from home. You can decorate your bed with your favorite blanket, cover your walls with photos of friends and family, and spray a fragrance that promotes nostalgia. This way, your surroundings might not feel as unfamiliar.

Working a part-time or full-time job to pay for tuition

The cost of college in the US has been on the rise for the last 20 years, according to recent details. While some college students are able to receive financial help from family, many students face tuition costs and costs of living alone. This can mean they need to pick up a part-time or full-time job on top of their classes, which can be stressful.

Time management skills can be crucial when juggling both a job and college courses. Organizational skills can also help you as you navigate this transition. You might use a wall calendar and a daily planner to organize your weekly schedule. You could begin by color coding, noting the due dates of essential assignments and exams. You can then plan your work schedule around the extra time needed to fulfill those duties and pivot your time management flow as each item comes due.

ReachLink’s licensed clinical social workers can work with you to develop customized time management strategies that fit your specific situation and help reduce financial stress through evidence-based therapeutic approaches.

The pressure of receiving good grades

One of the most common sources of stress for college students is the pressure to succeed in terms of academic performance. Here are some tips that may help you reduce stress if you are experiencing academic concerns:

• Get extra studying in. Even if you don’t have hours to commit to studying on a given day, you can try to refresh your knowledge after every class for five or ten minutes to commit the material to memory. You can do this by making flashcards and viewing them as you walk or travel, wait for an appointment, or have a few spare moments.
• Practice healthy habits. Living off a few hours of sleep and flooding your nervous system with caffeine can exacerbate stress symptoms. You might consider paying special attention to your sleep and eating patterns, which may help you be more resilient to stress.
• Familiarize yourself with testing environments. If possible, you might study in the same room where you will take your next important test so it doesn’t feel overwhelming or different on exam day.

Navigating relationships in college

Generally speaking, you’re often surrounded by hundreds, possibly thousands of new people at college. There can be so much potential to make new friends, develop romantic relationships, and connect with professors and mentors that may help you further your career down the road.

However, many leave deep, meaningful friendships at home to go to college. It may also seem like too much of an effort to start meeting new people, engaging in small talk, and slowly developing a more profound friendship.

If you’re feeling reluctant toward new connections at this time, you might avoid putting too much pressure on yourself to make tons of friends quickly. You may meet someone you instantly connect with tomorrow, or it may take a whole semester or two to find someone you truly feel comfortable around.

As you go through the process of forging new connections, you might consider focusing on yourself first: taking courses that interest you, picking up a new hobby, or spending time in common areas on campus like the recreation room or basketball courts. If you start focusing on your interests, there may be a higher chance that you will meet others who have those same interests and form friendships naturally.

Seeking telehealth support for stress as a college student

Regardless of what your stressors may be, there’s no shame in seeking support. Meeting with a licensed clinical social worker can offer you a safe space to express your emotions and learn healthy coping mechanisms for stress. If you’re interested in in-person care, you might make use of on-campus health services. Many universities now offer mental health services for students to take advantage of.

If you’re looking for a potentially more convenient way to receive mental health care, you might also consider exploring online therapy through ReachLink. Our platform connects you with licensed clinical social workers who specialize in helping college students manage stress and navigate this challenging transition period. The telehealth format allows you to engage in sessions from wherever you feel most comfortable—your dorm room, a quiet spot on campus, or even when you’re home on break.

A 2022 study published in BMC Psychiatry suggests that online therapy can be highly effective in reducing the psychological distress in college students. Quantifiably measured gains were noted to be the same across in-person and online therapeutic methods, indicating that online therapy may be just as effective as in-person therapy in many cases.

ReachLink’s licensed clinical social workers are experienced in working with college students and understand the unique pressures you face. Through our secure video sessions, you can develop personalized strategies to manage academic pressure, homesickness, relationship challenges, and financial stress—all on a schedule that works around your classes and other commitments.

Takeaway

College students face many potential stressors, from time management challenges to finances and relationships to homesickness to academic pressures. If you’re feeling stressed as a student, engaging in healthy habits and leaning on social support can be helpful. Meeting with a licensed clinical social worker through ReachLink’s telehealth platform can provide you with professional guidance and evidence-based strategies to manage stress effectively during this significant life transition. Remember that seeking help is a sign of strength, and with the right support, you can develop the resilience and coping skills to thrive during your college years.