How to deal with anxiety at university

Being an anxiety sufferer is something I’ve had to deal with for a long time. At first, I just thought I was shy, but I soon started to realise it was more than that.

It took until I was 17 to get the guts to go to the doctors and ask what was wrong with me. I was diagnosed with anxiety disorder and was left confused, but soon found lots of forum posts and helpful information.

After reading up on it, all of my symptoms made sense. From the not being able to breathe and avoiding places to struggling to go out anywhere. I was tearing myself apart all the time and it wasn’t until I got the diagnosis that it started to make sense again.

So, if you struggle with anxiety I know exactly what you’re going through and how tough it can be. Here’s how to deal with common university situations when you’ve got anxiety.

Lectures

These are one of the scarier things anxiety suffers have to deal with when they start university.

It was honestly my worst nightmare to walk into a room full of strangers, try to find a seat and not have people staring at me. It took a good few attempts to even get past the door as most times I just freaked out and ran back home. The times I did go I was pretty much in puddles of sweats and could hardly breathe.

My advice to deal with this anxiety would be to take lectures as they come. When you don’t have lectures, practise arriving at the place, and if you can enter the room before your first lecture, pick your future seat too. I picked a few possible seats which I felt safe in and then when I arrived for real I knew where to sit.

It helps to explain to your tutors what you’re suffering with too, as the more they know the more help they can give you. One of my tutors even waited outside for me and walked in with me so I could manage it a bit easier.

If speaking with your lecturer seems too daunting, why not confide with a course friend and ask them to walk in with you. It makes the process a little bit easier to have someone you trust beside you.

Talking to new people

When you’re at university meeting new people can be incredibly scary, whether it’s introducing yourself to a flatmate for the first time or somebody in your lectures, it can be an overwhelming experience.

I’d recommend talking to people one-on-one in an environment you’re comfortable with, whether it’s your favourite coffee shop, in the SU bar or outside your lecture hall, whatever makes you most relaxed.

If you start to panic, think about how proud of yourself you can be when you get through the conversation. When I started to make new friends it felt amazing, I felt like I could be me and talk to these people and I wasn’t going to have a breakdown.

Learning your way around university

The thought of having to find a new place all by myself is enough to give me a panic attack, but similar to the lectures situation it’s easiest to seek that place out before you have to be there.

My boyfriend was already a student at the university, so he filmed a video of where all of my classes would be to help me on my first day. If you don’t know anyone already at the university to do something like this for you, I cannot recommend attending an open day enough to help you get an idea of where you’ll be going.

Of course, I’ve still gotten lost (even in my third year!) and it freaked me out big time. But it’s important to remember there will always be someone around you can ask for help, honestly, it’s not as scary as you probably think it is!

Just like anywhere else, when you’re at university it’s always okay to ask for help. Everyone was once new somewhere and people will always be willing to help. And if all else fails, take a minute, take a deep breath and don’t go back to what you were doing until you feel completely calm again.