5 Tips for Developing College Student Resilience

Recent years have seen a renewed focus on mental health and wellbeing. A wealth of mental health initiatives, along with the support and signal-boosting conducted by celebrities, policy-makers, and other influential personalities, have helped to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health issues. However, there’s no doubt that we as a country still need to improve the public’s consciousness about important psychological traits like resilience.

Developing and strengthening psychological resilience remains a significant challenge for many of us. This is especially true for those in high-pressure environments. Building resilience in college students, for example, has never been more important - coping with busy class schedules, endless extracurriculars, and an entirely new environment can be quite difficult. With a thorough understanding of resilience and how it can be reinforced, however, college students can navigate these stressors more easily and improve both their physical and mental health.

What is resilience?

Resilience is an individual’s capacity to adapt to situations and overcome obstacles. For college students, these obstacles can range from something as small as minor disagreements with a roommate to something as significant as failing grade on an important paper. With a healthy sense of resilience, students find it easier to tackle these obstacles and try new experiences. On the other hand, when college students lack resilience, they can develop depression, anxiety, or other mood disorders. They can even engage in dangerous behaviors or begin to abuse substances. Overall, resilience is critical to a college student’s success.

How can college students develop resilience?

Thanks to both natural and environmental factors, some college students will be more resilient than others. However, there’s hope - anyone can develop a stronger sense of resilience through practice. To cultivate resilience, try the following tips:

1. Identify negative thought patterns.

I’ll never finish this paper. No one on my floor wants to hang out with me. Almost everyone is familiar with negative self-talk. Some, however, are better at recognizing it than others. Being able to catch these thoughts and question their actual validity helps to nip these patterns in the bud, allowing you to form new, likely more accurate and positive interpretations of reality.

2. Pinpoint sources of stress.

Identifying your sources of stress and - perhaps even more significantly - how you react to these stressors is vital to developing resilience. Self-awareness is an ongoing theme with resilience. Once you know where your stress comes from and the unhealthy reactions or behaviors that it provokes in you, you can work on improving your coping strategies.

3. Manage your physical health.

Physical and mental health are inextricably linked. College students especially can fall into unhealthy habits. Failing to get proper nutrition, not getting enough sleep, and neglecting hygiene are all classic hallmarks of college life. Whether for recreation or performance, many college students also abuse substances. Improving your self-care is a simple yet vital part of cultivating resilience.

4. Develop and strengthen positive relationships.

Relationships - whether with friends, family, or with trusted advisors or professors - are crucial to resilience. Support from those close to you helps even the biggest challenges feel more manageable. Although college students often live and learn in close proximity, it’s all too easy to become isolated and disconnected from others.

5. Set and work towards concrete goals.

In college, students are presented with a vast range of opportunities. Without clear goals, you might find yourself feeling lost. Pursuing tangible, reasonable goals will give you a sense of purpose. As you inch closer to the finish line, your progress will further motivate you to move forward while increasing your sense of self-worth.

By Alpha Point