With finals and the holidays coming up, stress is starting to become a major concern for students at SDSU. Students emphasize that they want to finish strong in their academics, but the distractions dealing with friends, family and the surplus amount of schoolwork creates insurmountable tension. 

Jon Westhoff, a sophomore exploratory studies major, said that the workload in school contributes to the majority of the stress that he feels.

 “Balancing the work from all of my classes is my biggest problem. I want to be able to hang out with my friends but I have to focus on school first. The end of the day keeping up with the due dates from multiple classes can be quite overwhelming”, Westhoff said.

According to Anxiety and Depression Association of America, 80 percent of college students say they frequently or sometimes experience stress.   

Davis Carson, a freshman civil engineering major, said that college adds stress because the responsibility is entirely your own.

”College is totally different than high school. In high school I had my parents always guiding me but now I have to take more initiative. The preparation that goes into studying for tests is what I find the most stressful.” Carson said.

Even though school can be stressful, students on campus try to find multiple ways to cope with the stress that comes their way. Gema Gutierrez, a freshman biology major, said music can relieve stress. 

“Listening to music while I do homework relaxes me. It helps me concentrate and helps the time feel like it’s going by faster.” Gutierrez said.

 The Wellness Center, located on the eastern portion of campus, has a variety of different activities and organizations that helps the students deal with stress. Counseling is a service that the Wellness Center offers.  SDSU provides free, confidential and personal counseling services to students that want the help.  Students that feel they need someone to talk to or just need a little extra support could find the counseling office useful. 

The Wellness Center is also home to the student organization HEROH. HEROH stands for Helping Everyone Reach Optimal Health. It is a campus organization that promotes healthy ideas and concepts to the students, staff and community members at SDSU.  Sarah Ericson, a senior dietetics/pre-med major, is the Social and Mental Health Committee Chair for HEROH.  

“It is important for college students to learn how to cope with stress in a positive way. Some tips are obvious like eating healthy, having a healthy sleep schedule and exercising regularly. Other tips are to make time for leisurely activities, find ways to laugh more, start a journal, be mindful of your negative thoughts and try to change them into positive ones.” Ericson said. HEROH promotes healthy ideas and concepts to the Brookings community and can be an organization a student could consult with when dealing with stress. The Wellness Center also holds the gym for the Brookings community. This is where students can lift weights, work on cardio, play basketball, volleyball, participate in intramurals and much more. 

“In my opinion, working out is the best way to relieve stress. When I’m doing cardio at the gym, I feel the stress leave my body with my sweat.” said freshman pharmacy major Theo Teah. 

So the next time you’re feeling stressed out, know there are many different ways you can relieve the tension from your body.  If you need help dealing with stress visit the Wellness Center website and see what services you feel are applicable to your needs.