Im All Grown Up

But
I Want My Recess:
Stress Management Techniques for
College Students

Stress Warning Signs and Symptoms

Think about your reaction to stress. In the chart below mark your typical reactions:
Cognitive Symptoms
Memory problems
Inability to concentrate
Poor judgment
Seeing only the negative
Anxious or racing thoughts
Constant worrying
Physical Symptoms
Aches and pains
Diarrhea or constipation
Nausea, dizziness
Chest pain, rapid heartbeat
Loss of sex drive
Frequent colds

Emotional Symptoms
Moodiness
Irritability or short temper
Agitation, inability to relax
Feeling overwhelmed
Sense of loneliness and isolation
Depression or general
unhappiness
Behavioral Symptoms
Eating more or less
Sleeping too much or too little
Isolating yourself from others
Procrastinating or neglecting
responsibilities
Using alcohol, cigarettes, or drugs
to relax
Nervous habits (e.g. nail biting,
pacing)

Management Techniques
In the space below, list as many techniques as you can think of for managing stress.
Put them in the appropriate category:
Good

Bad

Ugly

Techniques which are healthy and help you deal with

the causes and symptoms of stress
Ex: breathing exercises

Techniques which are unhealthy or cause more

problems than they solve
Ex: Overeating

Techniques which present long-term consequences and

are life threatening
Ex: Substance abuse

*Now star the techniques you currently use or would like to try in the future*

Turn, Turn, Turn

Stress Scale: Before beginning this exercise, please indicate your level of stress on the
scale below with 0 being not at all stressed and 5 being maximum stress level.
0

This is a good exercise for when you cant get away from your desk. It helps loosen
your neck and shoulder muscles which often carry a lot of tension.
Sit in a relaxed position breathing easily and close eyes

Tilt head forward slowly toward chest, pause, and slowly return to upright
position
Repeat 3 times
Tilt head back slowly so nose is pointed at ceiling, pause, and slowly
return to upright position
Repeat 3 times
Tilt head slowly to the right toward the shoulder, pause, and slowly return
to upright position
Repeat 3 times
Tilt the head slowly to the left toward the shoulder, pause, and slowly
return to upright position
Repeat 3 times
Tilt the head forward to the chest, slowly rotate upward to right shoulder,
then toward the back, then toward the left shoulder and back to the chest
Pause and repeat 3 times but alternate which shoulder starts

Stress Scale: After completing this exercise, please indicate your level of stress on the
scale below with 0 being not at all stressed and 5 being maximum stress level.
(Hopefully youll notice a difference!)
0

Its In The Air

Stress Scale: Before beginning this exercise, please indicate your level of stress on the
scale below with 0 being not at all stressed and 5 being maximum stress level.
0

A powerful technique for managing negative emotions and allowing time to consider
our reactions to such emotions is breathing. Deep breathing has long been touted as a
way to relax and with good reason. This breathing technique can be used to step back
and gain perspective, allowing you to think carefully about a situation.

Sit in a comfortable position

Close your mouth
While counting to eight, draw in a long, slow, deep breath through nose
using your diaphragm (your stomach should expand)
Use your diaphragm to exhale (your stomach should shrink) through
mouth slowly and gently
Repeat

Stress Scale: After completing this exercise, please indicate your level of stress on the
scale below with 0 being not at all stressed and 5 being maximum stress level.
(Hopefully youll notice a difference!)
0

The Stress-Busting Notebook

People who keep a stress notebook often find areas they thought most stressful are not
as bad as other areas that they had hardly considered a problem. For example,
you may think that school is the problem, but find its your overloaded
weekends that are the highest-stress times. Once you recognize when you
feel the most stress and what causes it, you can put steps in place, such as
staggering chores or internet grocery shopping, to reduce the pressure.
In order to do this you need a notebook you can carry with you at all times. Record your
stressful moments-whats happening when you start to feel stressed. Then create the
following chart:
How I am Feeling

What I am Thinking

More Rational Beliefs

Record three things: 1) the feelings you are experiencing (usually you can name
more than one), 2) any thoughts you are having or internal dialog (basically what
you are saying to yourself) and 3) more rational thoughts or ideas about the
situation. The table below includes an example:
How I am Feeling
Overwhelmed
Frustrated
Scared
Anxious

What I am Thinking
I will never get all this
work done. Ill be here all
night. I just cant do it all.

More Rational Beliefs

I will do what I can and
leave it behind at 11:00. No
one is going to die if it has
to wait until tomorrow.

A Variation:

If recording your anxiety just makes you more anxious, try a gratitude journal
instead. This can be a notebook, blog, Word document, etc. At the beginning or
end of each day (or both), record at least three things for which you are grateful.
Studies have shown that gratitude makes us happier, healthier, more popular,
more optimistic, and less self-centered and thinking of three things will increase
the results.

Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale For College Students

The Holmes-Rahe Stress Scale was created to analyze your level of stress and potential for
developing an illness. Simply check off any of the events that have happened in the last 12 months
and add up your score. An explanation follows.
Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale For College Students
Stressor

Event Value

Death of a close family member

100

Death of a close friend

73

Divorce or break-up between parents

65

Jail term

63

Major personal injury or illness

63

Marriage

58

Being fired from job

50

Failing an important course

47

Change in health of a family member

45

Pregnancy

45

Sexual problems

44

Serious argument with a close friend

40

Change in financial status

39

Change of major

39

Trouble with parents

38

New romantic partner

38

Increased academic workload

37

Outstanding personal achievement

36

First quarter/semester of college

35

Change in living conditions

31

Serious argument with instructor

30

Lower grades than expected

29

Change in sleeping habits

29

Change in social activities

29

Change in eating habits

28

Chronic car trouble

26

Change in number of family get-togethers

26

Too many missed classes

25

Change of college

24

Dropping of more than 1 class

23

Minor traffic violations

20
Total Score

We have asked you to look at the last twelve months of changes in your life. This may surprise
you. It is crucial to understand, however, that a major change in your life has effects that carry
over for long periods of time. It is like dropping a rock into a pond. After the initial splash, you
will experience ripples of stress. And these ripples may continue in your life for at least a year.
So, if you have experienced total stress within the last twelve months of 250 or greater, even
with normal stress tolerance, you may be OVERSTRESSED. Persons with Low Stress
Tolerance may be OVERSTRESSED at levels as low as 150.
OVERSTRESS will make you sick. Carrying too heavy a stress load is like running your car
engine past the red line; or leaving your toaster stuck in the "on" position; or running a nuclear
reactor past maximum permissible power. Sooner or later, something will break, burn up, or
melt down.
What breaks depends on where the weak links are in your physical body. And this is largely an
inherited characteristic.

101 More Stress-Busting Techniques

1.
2.
3.
4.

Laugh out loud

Tell a joke
Get or give a massage
Beat your pillow to
smithereens
5. Massage your face
6. Schedule 5 minute
breaks throughout the
day and take them
7. Go to a playground and
swing or slide!
8. Talk with people you care
about
9. Write down your
frustrations
10. Spend some time alone
11. Listen to your favorite
music
12. Organize your closet
13. Read a book of
inspirational quotes
14. Climb a tree
15. Write down your
schedule
16. Pray
17. Draw something
18. Plant flowers
19. Go fly a kite
20. Have a bubblegum
bubble blowing contest
21. Exercise
22. Cry if you need to
23. Sing at the top of your
lungs
24. Keep a journal
25. Take a luxurious bath
26. Make a to-do list
27. Put make to-do list at
the top of your to-do list
and cross it off
28. Light some candles
29. Take a different route
home
30. Get some Play-Doh and
create a masterpiece
(then squish it!)
31. Eat breakfast
32. Give yourself a manicure
33. Give yourself a pedicure
34. Go dancing
35. Dance around your
space
36. Make cookies and lick
the spoon

37. Grab a camera and take

some crazy shots
38. Be early to your
appointments
39. Take 5 slow, deep
breaths
40. Try something new
41. Sit in a quiet place where
you feel spiritual
42. Get enough sleep
43. Call an old friend
44. Play the kazoo-or any
instrument
45. Go yoga
46. Skip to your next
appointment
47. Rent a funny movie
48. Stand on your head
49. Read a childrens book
50. Learn to speak Pig-Latin
51. Rinse your face with cool
water
52. Write a long letter
53. Play with an animal
54. Kick a ball-hard!
55. Watch cartoons
56. Play cards
57. Stand still for 2 min
58. Email a friend
59. Swim
60. Do some really messy
finger painting
61. Play tag
62. Go for a walk
63. Look in the mirror and
state 3 things you like
about yourself
64. Start a collection
65. Take a leisurely bicycle
ride
66. Hit a punching bag
67. Make something for a
friend
68. Be honest and respectful
to yourself and others
69. Do cartwheels
70. Go to a sporting event
71. Dye your hair (use
temporary dye if unsure
about a permanent
change)
72. Express your
appreciation to someone

73. Allow yourself some free

time
74. Buy a new pen
75. Blow bubbles
76. Play hopscotch
77. Use a calendar or
planner
78. Chop wood or do some
other strenuous activity
79. Clean your home
80. Ask for help when you
need it
81. Get a stress ball and
squeeze it
82. Imagine sitting by a
stream and each problem
you have is a leaf floating
away
83. Volunteer
84. Eat some chocolate
85. Avoid caffeine
86. Drink some green tea
87. Take a nature walk or
hike
88. Sit in the sun for 15
minutes
89. Take a short nap
90. Turn off all florescent
lights
91. Write a love note-to
yourself
92. Learn to knit, crochet,
cross-stitch, etc.
93. Try a creative writing
exercise
94. Bring a new plant or
flowers into your home or
office
95. Go to park and swing
96. Eat fish (or take fish oil)
97. Meditate
98. Find a visualization web
video and watch it
99. Learn a new hobby
100. Learn Tai Chi
101. Write your own list of
ways to relieve stress