3 Tips To Cope With College Transition Anxiety For Students
Going away to college can be the most exhilarating and exciting experience as it marks your first venture into independent living. It can also be a challenging experience, as you are pushed out of your comfort zone and face an array of new challenges. No matter your outlook, it will likely be an adjustment period for anyone, even the most confident of students. Keep reading for three tips on how to cope with anxiety about going away to college.
How Adjusting to College Can Affect Your Mental Health
When you are adjusting to college, new challenges can include: making new friends and “finding your tribe”, settling into a brand-new routine, navigating a heavy workload, and figuring out how to live on your own or with roommates.
Numerous studies show that for young adults, the adjustment to college can lead to an increase in anxiety, depression, and avoidant behaviors - plus a decrease in self-esteem and emotional coping.
This transition can be even more complicated if you are a student with a history of general anxiety or other forms of suffering like social anxiety, panic, OCD, depression, substance abuse, body image/disordered eating, or ADHD.
This new environment can create a setting where new triggers arise. It is important to periodically tune in to your emotional experience & the ways you are coping during this transition so that you learn to recognize some signs of distress, such as:
Signs of College Distress
● Avoidance
● Procrastination
● Changes in sleep habits
● Changes in eating habits
● Psychosomatic issues (headaches, stomachaches, back, neck, and/or shoulder pain)
● Social isolation
● Increased feelings of anger or frustration
● Feeling overwhelmed
● Maladaptive coping strategies (alcohol use, overuse of technology)
Preparing In Advance For The Transition To College
If you worry that your anxiety may get in the way of your adjustment to college, preparing for the transition can really alleviate some of the stress around this change. Preparing in advance for factors that are within your control can help with feelings of uncertainty. The challenges that come with this change may also feel more doable if you have learned how to work through these scenarios in advance.
How To Cope With College Transition Anxiety
Below are three tips to consider when you have anxiety about your transition to college.
1. Reflect on changing expectations.
Think about how college will differ from high school in terms of academics, social scenes, daily routines, and self-care. Intentionally “play the tape through”. Ask yourself, “What is the best-case scenario and what is the worst-case scenario?”, “And what is the most likely scenario?”. Then think about how you would cope with or handle each outcome. You may realize, even if the worst-case scenario occurs, you can find ways to cope.
2. Practice some essential life skills.
Give yourself a crash course in doing basic, but important tasks like cooking, grocery shopping, managing your own appointments and schedule, laundry, etc. If you are learning to do these tasks for the first time when you are already living independently in your dorm or college environment, it can feel more daunting. Oftentimes, learning to do these tasks prior to the transition can help with feelings of competence and can make the change less overwhelming as you learn to live independently. Simple, but crucial!
3. Create a formal and informal support plan.
It is going to be important to figure out what supports are available to you in your college environment.
Most college campuses have short-term counseling available to students. However, there may be waitlists depending on the size of the university. Services are sometimes time-limited, perhaps 6-10 sessions total. If you require longer-term support, these counseling centers commonly refer out to other mental health professionals or clinics in the community.
Informally, it can be really helpful to check in periodically with your personal support system (i.e., friends from home and family). The best thing for you to do is to establish a weekly check-in with people you feel comfortable with and use that space to catch up and open up about how the adjustment is going.
If you are a young adult and you are worried or anxious about the transition to college, help is available. Finding a therapist trained in evidence-based therapies like cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is the first-line treatment of choice for anxiety.
The clinical team at CBT of Central and South Florida has partnered with a number of universities and colleges around the state of Florida to provide long-term services to students, offering both in-person and virtual therapy options. Our therapists specialize in CBT for anxiety, CBT for depression, CBT for addictions, and Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) for OCD. Learn more about our therapists or request a consultation to start feeling better today.
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