As a student, you may feel excited to get out of bed, put on your uniform and make your way out of your door towards school but for many others, this situation is quite the opposite.

To many, the thought of going through this process, of getting to school, is not what brightens up their morning but what makes them want to stay asleep just that little bit longer. Whether this be due to yet another piece of work needing to be handed in or the thought of seeing a former friend who you no longer get along with. No matter who we are, I can almost guarantee that there has been at least one day for every student, that they wish to hit the alarm clock and roll over to the side of the pillow. However, if this was the case for every student on every day, there would be no school and it is therefore, knowingly possible that the stress of a student and the dread of going to school can be overcome, but how?

Causes of stress in A-level students

Arguably, one of the best ways to stop the stress that you experience as a student is to defeat it at its source and the University of St Andrews has just some of the most common causes of stress for students:

• Examinations
• Deadlines
• Parents or problems at home
• Difficulties with personal relationships (e.g. splitting up)
• Pressure of combining paid work and study

Although there are only a few causes here, there are many more, from which a large majority is out of your control, such as when you are struggling with deadlines due to other factors taking a hold on your life that you cannot possibly relieve yourself from.

However, this is not to say that there is nothing you are able to do in order to limit the amount of stress, as a student, that you are so tightly forced through.

Stress relief

As we all know, everybody wishes to cope with different situations in different ways and listed below are just some of the ways that you may be able to put a hold onto these events…

• Exercise: Whilst some may look at the word and simply wish to avoid it at all costs, for others, exercise is one of the most effective, inexpensive ways of reducing stress levels. This is for numerous reasons, such as its use to release hormones which can greatly improve our mood and at the same time, improving your sleep quality. With sleep, not only is your mental wellbeing improved but also your ability to start school the next day, without the need for 20 cups of coffee.

• Journal: Although it’s 2020 and you may be thinking that writing in a journal is just another way of ruining your school life if someone found out, it is actually one of the easiest ways to clear your mind of any negative thoughts. Whether it through a journal, song, poem or even a short story, writing down what’s in your mind is just as if you’re passing the negative energy from you, into what it is that you’re writing. You never know, from the passing of the negative, you may have time to highlight on the positive aspects of your life at this moment in time.

• Connecting with friends: I wish to think of friends as a walking, talking journal in some sort of sense. By connecting with friends, you are able to pass on the negative energy that is causing you stress and as I said in the point above, even possibly be able to highlight on the positivity that fills your life. As a student, making friends with those outside of the subjects you study may also be a great idea. This is due to ‘change of scenery’ and something else to talk about rather than spending time with people talking about how great the homework was, when it was actually the source of all of your stress.

There are so many ways that you are able to relieve your stress as a student, from picking up a new hobby or listening to relaxing, instrumental music. As I previously stated, not every form of stress relief is actually a relief for every person, sometimes it’s just about searching until you find what is right for you.

Sometimes stress can be quite dangerous to your mental and physical health and being a student plays no part in soothing this. However, there are always ways people able to support you, whether a teacher, a school nurse, a friend or even taking some time for yourself, you are not alone.

Please, if you find time as a student to be extremely stressful to the degree that your health is deteriorating, do reach out to someone. And if you don’t wish to talk to someone face to face, the NHS website is full of useful information for you as a student.