by Emily Low
Staff Writer
It’s no secret that college life is exhausting these days.
But what college students go through is very often misunderstood by faculty and parents who reminisce about their own college experiences as a time with few worries and responsibilities: “The good old days.”
Things have changed.
College students are feeling more overwhelmed than 15 years ago, according to a recent UCLA survey of college freshman. More than 30 percent of male college freshman report feeling overwhelmed a great deal of the time.
The overwhelming factor is even higher among female students, 38 percent of whom reporting feeling frequently overwhelmed, according to the UCLA study.
There are so many things to worry about nowadays: the competition for grades, the fear of failure, relationships, career choices, career opportunities, finances, family: the list goes on.
“Yeah I’m tired,” said ULV junior Anthony Gibbs. “I don’t get any sleep, any nights. I am way too busy with school, classes, work and football. It’s so hard to balance it all.”
“I am very tired because of school,” said Melissa Hulecki, ULV senior.
“All of the different reports for all of the different classes. Every teacher thinks his class is the only one I have. But I have six teachers who think this way. It’s all too much,” she said.
There are four primary sources of stress leading to fatigue, according to Christina Carroll, a counselor at the University of Florida. Stress comes from the physiological factors, including illness, injury, unhealthy nutrition, and of course, inadequate sleep.
Secondly, the inner-being can cause stress; for example, negativity and perfectionism, which can put one’s body and mind into overdrive and lead ultimately to exhaustion. Thirdly, social stressors, such as financial problems, demanding class and work schedules, even the loss of a loved one can be stressful and lead to fatigue. Finally, the environment, which includes noise, the weather, pollution, and traffic and crowding are factors.
Does this mean commuters are more vulnerable to fatigue than are non-commuters whom are not exposed to this source of stress?
“Yes, indeed commuters are at a higher risk of developing severer exhaustion than say a student living on campus without a car. He is rarely exposed to the stress of everyday traffic. The smog, the loud horns, the extra hours spent on the road, and the general emotions that come along with being stuck in traffic are major inducers of fatigue that affect commuting students a profound amount more than non-commuters,” said Carroll.
There are many physical, emotional and cognitive symptoms connected with exhaustion, so severe at times they even have the potential to destroy relationships, said Carroll.
“These physical symptoms include muscular tension, colds, high blood pressure, indigestion, ulcers, headaches, backaches and insomnia.
“The emotional symptoms are irritability, anxiety, mood swings, feeling overwhelmed, fear, depression and anger. The cognitive symptoms are forgetfulness, difficulty concentrating and unwanted or repetitive thoughts,” said Carroll.
However, our constant battles with fatigue can be solved using simple time-management techniques, according to James Archer, also a counselor at the University of Florida.
“As a student, as an adult, as a successful member of society, you must develop a balanced lifestyle and effective personal organization to combat the exhaustion that accompanies the duties of daily life,” Archer said.
“Someone who is always feeling overwhelmed, eats poorly and doesn’t sleep enough because he is up doing homework, has a limited ability to cope and becomes fatigued. This is a description of many students. The right balance of sleep, food, exercise, class, work and recreation is crucial,” Archer said.
“There are some students in a constant state of trying to catch up. They find themselves rushing and hurrying from one activity to another, always racing the clock and never getting on top of things. This problem is being unorganized. Effective time management is the solution,” said Archer.
ULV’s health center director Cindy Denne agrees.
“Students do too many things at once. The solution to fatigue is no mystery. It’s just time management. You must be realistic with what you do and balance your tasks appropriately,” she said.
“People sometimes wind up living lifestyles and making choices that just don’t fit them. A student may be studying accounting when he really wants to be an artist, or may have a wide circle of friends, but no intimate relationships that feel fulfilling.
Clarifying your values and deciding what you really want out of life can help you feel better about yourself and give that sense of satisfaction and centeredness that helps you deal with life,” said Carroll.
Emily Low
