Anxiety Among College Studetns

Social anxiety and all other anxiety conditions seem to catch people and disrupt their lives in all kinds of different situations. It seems as though there is no decent way to live life in the current environment, given its unique circumstances. One environment that can be particularly challenging, especially for those affected by social anxiety, is college. College epitomizes American society. People are always on the go, never really slow down to have relationships with others, and are constantly distracted or preoccupied by any number of mobile electronic devices. Such a society where people are always on the move does not cater well to those who have social anxiety.

Even very small one-on-one situations can be panic inducing for some social anxiety sufferers. Much of college involves a heavy amount of public speaking in the form of presentations, or having to answer questions in classrooms sometimes filled with a few hundred people. So how can one who struggles with even very miniscule social situations even begin to function in an environment that is not set up to help those with social anxiety?

The first thing to explore is whether or not one’s university has a counseling center. In many states, although this article cannot speak for every state, taxpayer money is used to fund colleges and very often the counselors there are provided at no cost. The one caveat is that the student will probably only be able to see the counselor for a period of around three months or so, and then the student will be referred out to a counselor in the community should further help be required. The campus counseling center may also run anxiety self-help groups that meet regularly throughout the semester, and these also can be quite beneficial. Finally, another option would be to check out the campus health clinic, as the doctors here can be low cost or no cost, and they often will know how to connect students to either free or low-cost medication, which may be necessary for some people just to function.

These are the main sources of help, and getting the right supports in place is very critical for someone affected by a difficult case of anxiety. With these supports, the student’s chances for success are maximized. The other common difficulty that many people seem to run into is making friends. As noted in the opening paragraph, college life is very much on-the-go, and this is a very difficult way for anxious students to make friends. One possible strategy is to join varying campus groups and organizations until one finds one that seems to be fun and interesting. One should join each and every organization that he or she can think of, even if it seems as though the organization might not be fun. If its not fun after a few meetings, simply leave the group and join another one; many different opportunities exist. If one simply continues to work at it, he or she will eventually find his or her group and everything after that will be just fine. If things do not work out, one is simply not yet ready to move out in life, or one has found a mismatch of a group. And, always keep this rule in mind: of at first one does not succeed, one should try, try, and try again.

Another point to keep in mind about making friends is that it is much easier to make friends once one is in his or her major. Once in his or her major, the student will find that he or she will see the same people on a regular basis, which makes it much easier to develop a friendship. A good tactic to try at this point is to ask people who are in one’s major to hang out and do something that may be mutually enjoyable. Again, the rule is that if one does not first succeed, he or she should try, try, and try again.

The strategy really is that simple – if at first one does not succeed, one should try, try, and try again. Another rule to keep in mind as one works through the college life attempting to form meaningful relationships is that if one can make one good friend (a person who knows many secret details about the student) during this whole time, then that is far more than what most people make in a lifetime. While life might seem lonely and boring at times, one can and will eventually find all the relationships he or she needs to live a happy life if he or she just keeps at it!

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