Learning to balance a social life with an academic life is a struggle all students have to face at the beginning of each new semester. For some students, this comes easily, but for many this comes with high levels of stress.

Stress is defined as mental, emotional or physical strain or tension. It is a normal response to change, and it can come from many activities a college student has to deal with on a weekly or even daily basis.

“[Stress is] a collection of physiological and emotional responses to a situation. That situation is a stressor. [Stress is] something that causes someone to be more anxious or concerned about [a situation],” said Holly Lipsey, senior lecturer in kinesiology.

Stress can come from internal factors such as worrying about homework, exams, and time management or it can come from external factors: trying to adjust to a new dorm or apartment, being in new buildings and classrooms, and trying to find time to hang out with friends and still get homework done.

A common stress source for college students is fatigue and overwork. Students have to try to balance all the events of college and still have a social life.

“Academic demands, social life, relationships both with friends, romantic partners, family — all these are strained quite a bit and all of these are big exploration areas when someone comes to college,” said Dr. Carver Nebbe, psychiatrist at Thielen Student Health Center.

Many college students like to go out on the weekends. “Blowing off steam” for some might include hanging out with friends and having a few drinks. What those students might not realize, is that alcohol is not a healthy way to deal with stress.

“Alcohol is a very bad form of coping,” said Nebbe. “A lot of people will revert to it. It’s a slippery slope. One drink might make you feel relaxed and make you sleep, but after a while you may feel like you need two or three, and you may end up doing it every night. Once you start to do it as a habitual pattern, it can really be a problem.”

Having a drink after a stressful week might seem like a relaxing activity. However, once stress rises and if alcohol consumption increases as well, it may only bring more stress. It will start to effect work ethic, time management skills and even a students’ GPA.

Students who drink up to four drinks a week can still manage an A average. Students who drink six drinks a week average a B. Students who drink eight drinks a week will on average get Cs in their classes. And students who drink 11 or more drinks a week will have a D or F average.

Don’t let stress get to the point of affecting time that would be spent on school work. There are plenty of healthy ways to deal with the stresses of college life: Take a few deep breaths, imagine a relaxing location and escape to it for a few minutes, take a walk, do some yoga, make a to-do list and practice time management, leave time to do something fun, and remember to sleep.

“[I would suggest] regular sleep, regular diet, regular exercise, and in addition to that I suggest regular study times. … Set aside time during the day to study. … If you put aside at least three hours throughout the day to study and then do that on the weekend and you really adhere to that, you are probably going to get most of your work done and you’re probably going to do reasonably well grade wise,” Nebbe said.

One of the best things a student can do is to plan ahead for stress. Know how to deal with stress before it becomes a problem.

“Establish tools or strategies to help during stressful situations. As a student, come midterms or finals, you’re going to be in those situations. So how are you going to handle that?” Lipsey said.

Iowa State has many resources to help students reduce stress. The Academic Success Center has handouts addressing stress and healthy ways to handle stress. It also has an online “Stress Quiz” to alert students about stress in their life and if they need to look for help in reducing stress.

Recreation Services on campus gives students access to gyms and exercise opportunities. There is a calendar of group exercise classes, including Wellness Yoga and Mindful Meditation, on the Recreation Services website.

“Exercise is a great option [to reduce stress], from running to yoga. It doesn’t have to be one type,” Lipsey said.

Student Counseling Services and Thielen Student Health Center can also help students with stress reduction strategies.

“Thielen Student Health Center can see people and can help with medication although I would probably recommend first of all Student Counseling Services. They have biofeedback there. Biofeedback is a very good resource to learn to physiologically cope with stress,” Nebbe said.