How can I survive University while having anxiety?

Hi Maddy, 

First year of university can be quite challenging for many different reasons. The workload itself can be quite challenging as can getting used to a whole new set of people, teachers, and sometimes even living arrangements.

The first thing is to know that this is all perfectly normal! Most students who begin studying at university have an adjustment period as they get used to classes, the workload, and the new opportunities and challenges that they are facing. The second thing is to be gentle with yourself as you work your way through the adjustment period. There is no set time for how long it will take so it will take as long as it takes.

There are also resources that you can use to help manage the overwhelmingness of the workload. Reach out to your instructors and let them know that you are struggling. They are there to support you and to help you succeed. I know this for a fact as I have taught at university myself. Whenever a student reached out to me to let me know they were struggling I would be more than happy to work with them one on one. Sometimes they had questions or needed clarification. Sometimes we would come up with a plan that helped to stay on top of their work.

Another thing that may be helpful is breaking down assignments into SMART goals. The acronym SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely. If you have a 10 page essay due in a month, what are specific ways that you can break it up so that it will be done in time. A SMART goal example would be "I will write 2 pages of the essay by x date". Eventually you will have the whole thing done! This will also help with the use of time so to that you are not just working on assignments all the time but also have time for self care which is extremely important.

Taking care of ourselves is critical to helping to manage anxiety. Making sure that you are getting proper nutrition and sleep are huge parts of managing anxiety. If we are sleep deprived or not eating properly, any other coping skills that we may have in managing things pretty much goes out the window. 

Another technique that is helpful is diaphragmatic or "belly breathing". To do this. place one hand on your belly and one hand on your chest. Breathe in and notice what is rising. If only your chest is rising then the breathing is not considered diaphragmatic breathing. Take a deep breath in until you feel your belly rise. then exhale through your nose.

The reason that this form is breathing is so critical is because of the physiological response that activates the Vagus nerve in our body. The Vagus nerve is the largest cranio-sacral nerve in the body responsible for activating the parasympathetic nervous system. Our nervous system is divided into 2 parts: sympathetic and parasympathetic. 

The sympathetic nervous system is what gets activated when we are in fight/flight/ or freeze. Our digestion slows down, our heart starts to beat faster as blood gets pumped to our extremities, we feel sweaty, and our breathing becomes more rapid.

The parasympathetic nervous system is the counterpart and is responsible for our system relaxing. One of the ways to activate this relaxation response is to activate the Vagus nerve. When we breathe in deeply and our lungs expand, it actually presses on the Vagus nerve thereby activating the relaxation response. This sends the message to our brain that our body can start revving down. 

Other exercises that can be helpful are the 5 Senses as well as Rainbow Grounding. Both of these mindfulness exercises help the brain to let go of the thoughts that are contributing to our anxiety as well as connecting with our environment to reinforce that we are in a safe space. 

The 5 Senses exercise involves naming either out loud or silently to yourself 5 things you can see, 4 things you can hear, 3 things you can feel (touch), 2 things you can smell, and one thing you can taste.

Rainbow grounding focuses on the sight sense and has you look around and ground with colors by identifying 1 red object, 1 orange object, 1 yellow object, 1 green object, 1 blue object, and 1 purple object. 

Combining grounding techniques, breathing, and resources that can help with the workload will start to help easing the struggles that you have been experiencing.