Help! How can I Manage College Anxiety and Panic? Tips from an Evanston Anxiety Therapist

You knew that college life would be tough. But you didn’t know it would kick in week two of the first semester! How could you possibly already have exams and papers due? The drive for good grades stresses you out. You’ve begun to live your life in a constant state of panic. Our therapeutic approaches can help you get a handle on the anxiety and panic before you burn out your mental health. Check out our tips for easing and managing anxiety and feeling good vibes.

Evanston Anxiety Therapist Tip #1 – Reach Out for Help

You’re used to working hard and pushing through when life hands you challenges. Yet, we encourage you to reach out for help before you’re at the end of your rope. At Evanston Counseling, we can work together to put goals, strategies, and boundaries into place. They will help you to lower the level of tension and anxiety. We’ll partner to find ways to manage the heavy workload or the stress of finding friends and fitting in at college.

Also, working with students is one of our specialties. We understand the difficulties you are facing. Read our therapists’ bios here. Contact us at (773)983-8444. During a free, 15-minute chat we’ll listen and see how we might work together to help you feel better. We’ll match you with a therapist who is the best fit for you.

We are here for you when the student mental health services on campus aren’t enough.

Evanston Anxiety Therapist Tip #2 Get a Go-to Playlist

With its easy access, music is a go-to tool for reducing and managing your anxiety and stress.

This recent research took a look at a series of studies showing the positive effects of music in battling stress. Music can influence the following outcomes:

• lower our heart rate and cortisol levels
• release endorphins and improve our sense of well-being
• distract us, reducing physical and emotional stress levels
• reduce stress-related symptoms, whether used in a clinical environment or in daily life
• Helps you fall asleep.

Music reduces anxiety and stress by decreasing the biological stress responses like heart rate and cortisol levels. Your body is not receiving the signals to ramp up the fight or flight response. You can calm down, and your mood can shift. If you want a more in-depth explanation of this process, read here.

This article lists music in several genres that might send you into a zen state. This list includes Native American, Indian stringed instruments, nature sounds, and classical and light jazz. You might discover a new genre of music and feel better in the process.

Evanston Anxiety Therapist Tip #3 – Practice Mindfulness Meditation

If anxiety occupies your life, you may have trouble getting the high-speed train of thoughts to slow down or stop. Mindfulness meditation might take some time to master. Yet, training yourself to focus (usually on your breath) can help your thoughts hop off of the hamster wheel and create deep calm over time.

Psychologist Kristoffer Rhoads describes mindfulness meditation as a “very intentional awareness of the present moment in a nonjudgmental fashion.” Here is an encouraging takeaway. He adds, “It’s simple but not easy.” Hang in there. Meditation brings multiple benefits.

It’s frustrating when your attempt at focus gets short-circuited by the long list of things to do. Building a meditation practice (a short 20 minutes a day) can increase “learning, cognition, and memory, resulting in better retention of facts and more mindful behavior.” So, you’ll reduce your stress and possibly boost your GPA, too.

Evanston Anxiety Therapist Tip #4 Work at Regulating your Nervous System

College life is the perfect cocktail for sending your nervous system into a tailspin. Lack of sleep, heightened stress, new relationships, constant pressure to perform, and consistently high levels of anxiety all contribute to wrecking the harmony in your nervous system.

Neuroscientist Dr. Caroline Leaf explains how we can end up in a mental mishmash.

“…when these stressors happen over a long time and become repeated events and are not managed, this can lead to a dysregulation in the mind, brain, and body.”

Here are a few ways to work at regulating your nervous system and lowering your stress levels:

• Practice deep breathing – Deep breathing signals your nervous system that there is no real danger and that you can calm down.

• Visualize your emotions – Seeing your emotions as separate from you helps you better control them.

• Think more positive thoughts – Positive thoughts will interrupt the train of negative thoughts sending your nervous system into dysregulation.

• Find time to spend with friends, pets, and loved ones – Investing energy into healthy relationships can help to bring more peace, love, and fun into your life. These positive emotions work to regulate your nervous system.

• Get outside – Sun exposure helps your body to build more serotonin, the feel-good hormone.

Evanston Anxiety Therapist Tip #5 I like to move it, move it….: Add Exercise to your Day

Creating a habit of exercise can help you take your mind off of your worries. If you get lost in the motion of cycling, your focus has shifted to something more positive. You’ve probably heard of the “high” runners get. Many other types of aerobic activity can also increase the production of endorphins (neurotransmitters responsible for good vibes).

Mayo Clinic staff state in this article, that consistently exercising can help to improve your mood. Anxiety and mild depression seem to take a hit when you move regularly.

Moving regularly benefits you in your battle against stress. The beautiful thing is that it doesn’t really matter what you do. So, pick something you love! This way you’ll stay motivated through the hard days and the busy times.

Evanston Anxiety Therapist Tip #6 Keep in touch: Facetime with friends back home

Those first few weeks on campus at the start of the year are a blur of activity. You’re trying to get yourself set up and into a new routine. Yet, everything and almost everyone is so new. Just getting through the day takes a lot of mental focus and energy.

All of these pieces can make you feel a little off-center. Connecting with close friends may be just what you need to feel grounded again.

You might want to Facetime them. You already feel comfortable with them and don’t have to spend any extra energy to impress them. They get your jokes. You can relive the good times you had hangin’ out.

They can remind you how much fun you are and why anyone wouldn’t love to be your new best friend.

Manage Anxiety with Evanston Counseling in Evanston, IL

It would be unrealistic to think that you would never have stress as a college student. Healthy levels of stress can motivate you to perform at your best. The goal, then, is to have some tools to help you manage anxiety that constantly overwhelms you. Practicing any one of these 6 tips will most likely begin to bring comfort to your mind. Here at Evanston Counseling, we are also available to work with you to go deeper into creating more calm in the chaos of college life. Reach out to us today. If you’re feeling anxious and stressed about college life, call us at (773) 983-8444 for a free, 15-minute phone conversation with one of our Evanston Therapists. We will listen and direct you to the right person to help you with your anxiety. Follow the steps below to get started:

1. Reach out for a free 15-minute consultation.
2. Speak with an experienced anxiety therapist.
3. Live a less stressful life.

Other Therapy Services Offered at Evanston Counseling in Evanston, IL

Are you looking for therapy for school stress, anxiety, life transitions, or relationships? At Evanston Counseling, we understand that you may be struggling with more than just anxiety. We specialize in Therapy for Chronic Pain, Couples Therapy, Therapy for Moms, and Therapy for Depression. To learn more about our therapeutic approaches or our skilled therapists at Evanston Counseling, read our FAQs, and check out our Blogs! We look forward to meeting you!