It’s 2am. You’re lying in bed with a pounding heart and thoughts racing through your head. Your mind keeps jumping from the unread articles scattered across your desk, to the conversation you had with your mother about flying home for Thanksgiving, to the mounting pile of student loan debt that awaits you when you graduate. Sound familiar? You’re not alone. Anxiety disorders are some of the most common psychiatric conditions that bring people to mental health treatment, and many more experience sub-clinical levels of anxiety and stress. It makes sense if you think about the way that anxiety develops and is maintained. We develop anxiety when we perceive a situation to be dangerous, and don’t believe that we have much control over the situation. With so many competing demands for your time, personally, academically and professionally, it’s no wonder that graduate students may experience a sense of lack of control in these areas. Oftentimes, when the anxiety mounts, people seek to control it by avoiding the situation that evokes the anxiety in the first place. While this strategy provides short-term relief, you will find that over time, avoidance will increase the anxiety surrounding the situation and you will not have the opportunity to learn skills to cope. However, there are things you can do!

• Learn to recognize when you’re feeling anxious and stressed! Make it a practice to check in with yourself every hour or so. Do your muscles feel sore and tense? Have you been jumping from item to item on your to do list without getting anything done? Is your heart pounding? You certainly may be anxious. Now that you recognize it, take a moment out of your day to relax and do something nice for yourself.
• Just breathe! Anna Nalick had it right; deep breathing benefits both your mind and your body. Practicing deep breathing for five minutes a day can have a demonstrable impact on your mental and physical health. Make sure to take those breaths in for a slow count of 4, hold for 1 second and then breathe out for a slow count of 5.
• Schedule, schedule, schedule! Now that you’re in graduate school, it’s likely that you’re juggling the demands of academia, a personal life, and a job or two (or four), scheduling can help to keep you on track. They key to scheduling is to find what works for you. If you’re a techno-savvy computer science guru, a Blackberry might be just the ticket to keep your busy life on track. For the less technically-inclined, a paper planner and a pencil work just as well. They key is to schedule your time before- hand. You’ll feel less stressed knowing where you have to be and when, and you’ll be able to judge at a glance whether you have time to take on additional responsibilities.
• Break larger tasks into smaller ones! Anything might seem insurmountable if you tell yourself you have to do it all at once. Mount Everest cannot be scaled in one shot, nor can theses be written in one all-nighter. Make small, manageable goals that are specific and reasonable. For example, writing 5 pages of your lit review is a manageable and specific goal that is much more reasonable then sitting down to write the entire thing! After you’re finished, pat yourself on the back for a job well-done.
• Learn to say no! As a newly minted graduate student, it will probably feel simultaneously flattering and daunting that so many people are asking for your time. Learning to prioritize the important things and saying no to things that you do not have the time or energy to manage is an important skill that will serve you well both personally and professionally.
• Exercise! Research studies have demonstrated time and again that exercising has many of the same effects in the brain as certain anti-depressant and anti-anxiety medications. So, start training for that marathon now! Wait! That’s not small and manageable! Did you catch that? It’s not necessary to run 10 miles or hit the gym for an hour; simply taking a brisk, 20 minute walk can do wonders for your mood.
• Avoid the avoidance trap! The more anxiety provoking something is, the stronger our natural inclination to avoid it is. The longer you avoid it, the stronger your belief that you will not be able to cope with the situation becomes, and the scarier it feels. Take baby steps to break the avoidance cycle. Walk down that hallway that you’ve been avoiding because you’re afraid of running into your advisor, pay one bill from the stack, then push yourself a little further next time, maybe even duck your head into your advisor’s office and say hello!
• Don’t go it alone! The long hours of often solitary work that are part of graduate school can feel very isolating. Connecting with others is important to maintaining a balance in your life and will also improve your mood. Join an on-campus activity, organize a weekly lunch or dinner for your lab or even just pick up the phone to say hi to a friend.

It’s also important to realize that some anxiety and stress related symptoms may require professional attention. If your anxiety and stress are significantly interfering in your life, if you’re having significant difficulty sleeping or eating or if you believe you would benefit from talking to a professional, Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) at UCSD is available to you. CAPS offers groups for students who are interested in learning to cope with anxiety, to set and meet goals and many more. Call 858-534-3755 for information about scheduling an individual appointment or visit http://caps.ucsd.edu/#students to find out information about groups that are being offered this quarter.