Classes, jobs, parents, even a social life can cause stress among students. But besides using personal remedies, students can seek out assistance from University stress-reducing programs.

Most every student has been in situations where it’s the night before a test and they’re struggling to get all their notes together and organized and trying to read 10 chapters of text – but instead just want to crawl into bed and forget about it all.

“Teachers assigning too many papers at the end of the semester because they don’t have any other grades for us is something that’s very stressful,” said Patrick Hughes, senior. “Being close to graduation is also very stressful because there is a lot of extra work involved.”

Dealing with stress can be, well, stressful. But to make it through college, students need to learn effective techniques to deal with it.

Time management is one of the most effective ways to deal with stress, according to the University’s Wellness Connection, a part of Student Health Services, through which students learn self-help techniques.

The Wellness Connection highly recommends scheduling priorities and goals as a way to effectively manage time. They also suggest using a planner or calendar to write down important events and keep track of assignments and deciding what is most important and needs to be done first.

However, for those students who just can’t seem to shake stress no matter how efficiently they budget their time, there is still hope.

The Wellness Connection recommends students under a large amount of stress seek out the Counseling Center. The Counseling Center, located at 320 Saddlemire, offers a wide range of help for students feeling the pressures of school, work and even social life.

“The top three stress-related things we help students with is depression, anxiety and relationships,” said Mark Krautheim, the associate director at the Counseling Center.

The Counseling Center’s big anti-stress program is the Stress Clinic. The clinic is conducted almost like a class in which students talk about what is causing tension for them, according to Krautheim. They discuss thoughts, emotions and behavior as factors that can lead to a stressful lifestyle. The sessions however aren’t group therapy, Krautheim assures.

“We teach about why thoughts occur and teach them how to change these thoughts ” an anxious mind cannot exist in a relaxed body,” he said.

The Counseling Center also has individual therapy programs with themes such as “We said Good-bye.”

“[We Said Good-bye] is for moving on after a break-up,” Krautheim said. “Having a romantic relationship can be stressful.”

Krautheim recommends rest, proper diet, exercise and having a strong sense of spirituality to live a less stressful lifestyle. Krautheim is also a fan of meditation and emphasis on relaxation techniques.

“Several members of the football team are really into the meditation to relax their muscles,” Krautheim said.

The Counseling Center also sponsors the Stress-Free Zone, consisting of fun activities and games during finals week to help students calm down.

Students also have their own personal ways of relieving stress.

“Spending time away from school work like TV, a walk or hanging out with friends helps me de-stress,” Hughes said.

Despite school being a huge stress for many students, they still find ways to manage.

“I think the biggest thing that stresses me out is teachers who aren’t helpful when it comes to assignments,” said Jacqueline Simpkins, senior. “Just driving around is a good way to de-stress, and shopping.”