When conducting each interview, it was not very long before the word “stress” flew out of each person’s mouth. From this assignment it seemed that the overwhelming detriment to the health of the students I talked to is the constant stress caused by the social and academic pressures of college. Each person I interviewed was a UD freshman with high hopes to succeed during the next four years of college. 

The first question I asked each of my friends was if they noticed a difference in their overall health from senior year of high school to freshman year of college. Besides the common homesickness and stresses of new found freedom, each one of my peers had a slightly different experience. Some found it fairly easy to adjust, while others found it more difficult to settle into their new college environment. Although my friend Olivia had a smooth transition, she still struggles with certain things such as, “…the dorm life, because going from life as an only child to living with six people has been very overwhelming.” One of her main stressors is seeing her roommates doing homework or feeling stressed about their work, in turn, causing her to worry about whether or not she should be as concerned as they are. On  the other hand, Jackie, a Delaware resident, thinks, “Living on campus is not too different than how life was while living fulltime at home. While schoolwork does stress me out,” she said, “I feel more grounded knowing that I am still in my home state.” 

A great point my roommate Brooke made was, “Mental and physical health go hand in hand for me, and the status of one can be either very helpful, or it can be detrimental”. She talked about how she feels better when she goes to the gym, and uses it to help calm her when she is stressed. In talking about that with her, I asked the other students in an environment where it is almost impossible to escape stress, how do they help relieve their stress. It relieved me to know that from listening to music to taking breaks for hobbies that make them happy, each person had a strategy to help calm their mind. 

I have been dealing with the ongoing struggle of my diagnosed anxiety and depression for quite some time, and I understand the effects that stress can have on someone’s mental and physical health. It is crucial to be aware of both, because stress on college students and adolescents can very easily take someone to a very harmful state of mind and being. As someone with memories of self struggles that to this day are difficult to revisit, I strongly suggest that anyone struggling use their loved ones and the people around them as a shoulder to lean on or a helping hand. As students all trying to better ourselves, no one is in this alone, and no one is expected to suffer alone.

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