Have you ever felt overwhelmed by having to read several novels each week? Or found it hard to manage your time between working towards assignment deadlines? If so, then you may find parts of my student experiences familiar.
I am currently in my fourth and final year at The University of Sheffield, and on the whole I have had a rather pleasant experience studying English Literature. However, during studying, there have been some rather difficult and stressful periods where I have felt an immense pressure to keep up with the other students around me.
In my own personal experience, I have noticed that studying does indeed make you vulnerable to high levels of stress, and as a consequence a pressure to exceed the expectations placed upon you. Stress can occur for many reasons, however my own reasons were due to not being able to always keep up with the reading and preparation week to week, and therefore simply just not finding the time to finish tasks
without becoming burnt out.
When I first started at University in 2022, I noticed that what everyone told me was true. There certainly was a big transition from A-Level studying to University studying. Everything felt longer, everything felt harder, everything felt more difficult. Alongside this, a lot of my friends had moved on to new cities for their own University experience, and consequently I felt as though my usual support network had vanished. I found it difficult being in an unfamiliar environment, and making new friends. Therefore, when combined with the increase in studying expectations I began to associate a feeling of anxiety with attending University. However, despite still feeling stressed, I was not the type of person to not attend so I attempted to navigate the situation as best I could, even when it was quite overwhelming.
As I am reflecting on my full University experience, these periods of stress are unfortunately not just singular, but are more frequent than I would have ever wished them to be. The build up to feeling this way often felt like a snow-ball effect.
Every week I was expected to read a core text, followed by secondary critical reading and then prepare notes for the upcoming class session. This doesn’t sound like a lot, and to begin with it wasn’t. However, when this is multiplied by three, it begins to feel hard to manage. During each semester, I had 3 classes which is why this expectation of study tripled. In parallel, the stress tripled, so what first appeared like a manageable work load, became unmanageable.
I can definitely say, at times, the amount expected of me was colossal. Especially, in my first year of study as I felt there was this expectation to have full knowledge of everything. With this came the pressure that I felt, and having not fully acquired the tools and tips for keeping on top of an intense workload, I felt myself running behind and then feeling shameful for not having the answers when my other classmates would. I began to compare myself, in terms of my capability as a student at Sheffield. I also, due to not being as knowledgeable, then found it hard to connect with the students outside the course.
As a result of the classroom pressure, I felt a distressing sense that I was failing, and I was continuously evaluating my progress. Tracking my progress initially seemed helpful, but it gradually became an unhealthy habit. When it wasn’t what I wanted it to be, my self-esteem and satisfaction with my development plummeted. I was consistently comparing myself with other students around me, and it felt like it became a competition. It was only later on in my years at University that I realised how inhibiting this was to my ability to achieve grades I was proud of and hindering my success.
The lowest point I felt during my degree was when I was given a grade for a final assignment that I was not particularly proud of. Following receiving this grade, at the next class, other students were discussing the grades they had received and how happy they were with their result. One of my peers asked me what grade I had achieved, I politely declined sharing. However, due to not sharing, I felt embarrassed and aware that it may show that I did not do as well as the rest of the class.
After this, I spent hours and hours going over my essay, trying to think why I had been given a low score and others had achieved better. In no way, am I suggesting that the fault lies with anyone else, as my own essay grade reflects what I had written.
Although, at this period, I did feel like I was being punished, I was already determined to work through a heavy work-load, and this essay had been the final thing to complete. So, when I achieved a grade I was not particularly proud of, I felt like I had failed, and I didn’t know how to prepare or manage the fear of it happening again. This was when I realised I needed to make some changes but also become more aware of what support there was for me, if I needed it in the future.
Following my lowest point, I realised I couldn’t manage everything on my own, and that support was available. That is when I looked into what support my University offered. I decided to try and use the self-help resources they offer. One of the ways to relax and destress was by following some of the tips suggested by Mind.
This website link shows the tips recommended by them, and I would turn to this site when I felt that I needed to destress from my studying. I began to enjoy using breathing exercises and listening to music as a way to make me feel relaxed. These resources were particularly helpful, being reminded that there were many different local green spaces in my area. In the morning before a busy day commenced, I made the effort to go for a walk, and this started off gradually and eventually turned into running. I now go running multiple times a week, as a way of switching off and taking the time away from studying for a healthy break.
At The University of Sheffield, student’s well-being and mental health is supported in many ways. Their services offer: emergency or crisis support, self-help resources, self-referral services, and they are able to recommend support if mental health affects your studying.
At the Sheffield Hallam University, they also offer continuous support to students who are navigating stressful periods in their studying. You are able to find support that works for you whether that be talking with a wellbeing advisor, accessing their supply of self-help resources or connecting with others through peer support. They also regularly update and draw attention to wellbeing events and groups within the community that may be beneficial to students struggling with their mental health and well-being.
Some of the things that I began to discover were ways to help stay on top of the colossal workload that I have mentioned and hope to have emphasised just how extensive it can become!
So, what did I do to manage the stress? Did it actually help? Here are 5 things that I did following these periods of high intensity:
Without fail I made a weekly checklist, with what work needed completing and
what was being expected to be prepared before each class that week. This certainly
helped as I was able to break down tasks into small segments, and if possible assign
a day to each task and how much time it would approximately take. This meant that
the workload that was unmanageable at first, shifted to a manageable approach.
I made sure to prioritise self-care and my own mental health. I began running, as
previously mentioned, which allowed me to not only have time outside in local green
areas and nature, but also to just take a break from studying, meaning when I did
study, I could do so with a clear head.
I sought support from my academic tutor, friends and family. I began to open up
about how I felt in periods of time where I felt stressed and when everything felt too
much. This insight often gave me good guidance and helped me adjust my way of
thinking. I felt reassured that if times ever got overly stressful, there was a strong
support system in place to help me manage.
In the evening, I would often focus on meditation or taking a few moments to just
reflect on the day that had passed. This allowed me to go to sleep at night, unworried
about my workload as at points previous I had been studying right up until the second
I went to sleep, and this made it harder for me to fall asleep quickly. Meditation made
my stress and chaotic thoughts ease, and made me relax ready for sleep.
As an extension of the previous point, I also made sure that no matter what I was
getting a minimum of 8 hours sleep each evening, as when I was stressed I found that
getting less sleep did not help much. It is certainly a lot harder to achieve tasks and
tick things off a daily checklist when you are feeling fatigued.
As previously mentioned these moments of stress weren’t confined to just one singular period. Some of the other times I remember feeling worried was when I felt very stressed and scared of ‘failure’ was in the period between finishing my final undergraduate year and attending my graduation. When I finished my course at the end of May, my assessment grades were still pending, and this made me feel paranoid that I would achieve the grades that I wanted to graduate with. I remember consistently dwelling on what I could have done better, what I could have changed. It wasn’t until I received my final grade, a few weeks prior to my graduation in July, that I began to feel more at ease. I didn’t feel like a failure anymore.
One of the other major factors that I feel contributed to the level of stress I was feeling was being uncertain about the future and what I ultimately wanted to do after my degree. At the time, many other students felt the same, however I think due to pressure not many people were open with feeling this pressure about the future. Whilst the University of Sheffield offers an extensive range of support in terms of future careers and opportunities beyond study, I still could not find anything that resonated with me. I began to get majorly stressed as my parents would always ask me, ‘’Why don’t you know what you want to do? Most people do!’’ To be honest, that made it worse, and it wasn’t until my final year of studying that I began to engage more with the opportunities that would be available after and feel more at ease in navigating a life after University.
Currently, I am a few weeks away from finishing my postgraduate degree in English Literature, and I could not be prouder of myself for getting through these past years of studying. If I had told undergraduate Harvey that he would have got the grades to graduate, let alone continue into a further advanced level of studying, he would never have believed me. I also leave University with the correct skills to be able to keep on top of stress and pressure and know what choices to make when it begins to feel overwhelming and disruptive to my own personal lifestyle.
If you ever feel overwhelmed by your studies, then I hope that my story and encouragement to familiarise yourself with the support services your University offers will help for any stressful periods of study, you may find yourself experiencing. Thank you for taking the time to read this story.
