Maintaining Balance

Pursuing a Graduate Degree opens the door to a wealth of opportunities for personal and professional development, allowing motivated and passionate students the ability to elevate the practical skills they already possess and attain specialized technical skills relevant to their course of study.

However, choosing to pursue a graduate program also requires the acceptance of several more years of schooling and the familiar associated stresses. While those students who have chosen to further their education may feel well prepared and eager to tackle the next step in their paths to success and security, they may still find themselves overwhelmed by the ensuing difficulty of balancing graduate studies and independence.

The Modern Graduate

It is appropriate to assume that many graduate students are not free to focus the entirety of their time and effort on their studies. The modern graduate population is increasingly diverse, consisting of a myriad of individuals from differing cultural, economic, and social backgrounds. While this makes for an engaging and inspiring campus, it also implies that each and every student brings their own unique struggle to the community at large, and may find themselves tasked with delegating a limited amount of time and financial resources to responsibilities such as ancillary jobs, family commitments, rigorous course loads, etc. 

But, what should be one of the most prominent responsibilities of a graduate student often gets pushed to the wayside. With such a heavy workload,  it can be frustratingly difficult to find the time necessary to maintain your physical and mental health. This can mean any number of things, from forgetting to eat the appropriate number of meals throughout the day to continuing on without setting time aside to rest, effectively overworking your body and mind to exhaustion. It is also important to remember that maintaining your health also includes maintaining healthy social relationships with friends, family, and acquaintances. 

To address each and every possible source of stress is difficult, but there are several generalized and proven methods you can adopt to ensure that you are succeeding in your academic careers and enjoying life to the best of your ability.

Proven Methods

While some of the sources of stress both on and off campus are difficult to address or to offer solutions to, there are still some stress management techniques and methods that can be utilized by the campus population as a whole.

Exercise

There exist numerous studies into the benefits of exercise regarding physical and mental health, and thankfully, there are many resources on campus for those who are seeking an active and rewarding method to managing their stress levels. Within the Rutgers–Camden Fitness Center alone, graduate and undergraduate students are given access to a renovated, state-of-the-art recreation center teeming with possibilities. And, if independent practice using any number of the many available cardio machines and treadmills, ellipticals and strength training equipment does not appeal to you, the Fitness Center offers a variety of Group Exercise Classes each semester.

One of the group exercise classes our campus routinely offers is Yoga. The practice of yoga has been a popular focus of study in regards to benefiting those who suffer from anxiety, depression, and chronic stress. The practice is also closely linked to concepts of meditation and mindfulness, two common methods implemented to aide in the management of high stress levels.

The evidence is growing that yoga practice is a relatively low-risk, high-yield approach to improving overall health.

Harvard Mental Health Letter.

Counseling

One of the most effective methods for alleviating or reducing stress lies within counseling and therapy. Not only is the process itself an outlet in which you can share and consider your struggles with another, professionally qualified individual, but the goal of most counseling sessions is to provide you with coping strategies and techniques that you can implement in your day-to-day life.

It has become increasingly difficult to request appointments with mental health providers, but thankfully, our campus does offer these unique health services for little to no cost. Within the RU-C Student Wellness Center, both graduate and undergraduate students are more than welcome to take advantage of services such as psychological counseling, substance counseling and assistance, and wellness programs.

Additionally, the Student Wellness Center also houses the Office for Violence Prevention and Victim Assistance as well as the Rutgers–Camden Food Pantry. 

Social Support

As mentioned before, one of the most important elements to maintaining your health involves maintaining social relationships with family, friends, and the community around you. The support of your social circle makes an incredible difference in how you are able to react to and cope with stress. With the support of those around you, and the understanding of those who have been in a similar situation or are able to see from a like-minded perspective, you are more likely to rely on others for help in times of great distress, and may be able to reorient or reorganize your goals and intentions to better suit your current ability.

A peer support group, possibly unlike anywhere else for the participants, is a judgment- and stigma-free zone.

National alliance on mental illness (NAMI)

In more specific, academic terms, social support can also be found in study groups and the like. Not only do these groups offer a chance to interact with friends and peers in the community, but they also remain productive in the context of coursework, which may alleviate multiple sources of stress at once.

Additional Resources On Campus

If your stresses lie primarily in coursework, or perhaps time management, academic support services and learning assistance are likely of highest value to you. Within the division of Student Academic Success, both graduate and undergraduates have access to services tailored to ensure that they are able to exhibit their full potential and take advantage of all their academic career has to offer. Here, students can speak to and make appointments with Student Success Coaches, the Learning Center, and the Office of Disability Services. The division of Student Academic Success also offers information on the Leadership Institute, which provides the guidance and strong connections that helps students to participate in experiential learning opportunities such as internships, digitally-enhanced courses, and learning beyond the classroom. 

It can be difficult to seek help when striving to prove that you are capable and independent. However, it is important to remember that knowing how and when to care for yourself is integral to leading a long and successful life. In order to juggle the many responsibilities of life as a graduate student, you have to ensure that you are able to function to the best of your ability, and that you feel empowered to reach out for help when it is necessary.

If you’d like, tell us more about how you cope with stress as a graduate student in the comments below. Otherwise, I wish you success and happiness in the new year!