Handling the Stress of Planning Your Future

Knowing what you want in your life can be stressful and downright scary. From choosing your degree to taking your first steps into your professional life, handling the unknown can put a stress on your mental health. Stress is a normal feeling in our lives, and the key is not to avoid it completely, rather how to handle it. A study found that 46% of Americans will meet the criteria for a diagnosable mental health condition sometime in their life, a number that might increase as the intricacies of life become trickier to navigate. There are different types of stress, a big one being anticipatory stress.

What is anticipatory stress? The definition by the University of Minnesota, anticipatory stress is “experiencing an increased stress response in anticipation of a difficult or unpredictable situation.” In other words, anticipatory stress is the anxiety you feel from the unknown, from a situation you can’t predict and are unsure of… of the future. Managing anticipatory stress will allow you to tackle whatever comes your way with grace and confidence. 

See the future as an opportunity, not a threat.

A 2012 study published in the International journal of methods in psychiatric research showed that anxiety is one of the most common mental illnesses in America. We want you to know that you can use some tools to keep it at bay. When you think about your future, you might see it as something you have little control over. Not only is that not true, but that will cause you to predispose yourself to anxiety and dread every step of the way. Don’t think of your future as a looming threat! It’s essential to shift your perspective and understand that you have more control over your future than you might think. The choices you make today will shape your path tomorrow, so empower yourself to make decisions that align with your aspirations.

Set realistic goals.

One effective way of avoiding anticipatory stress is by setting realistic goals. Break down your long-term objectives into smaller, manageable steps. This not only makes your path to the future more comprehensible, but also allows you to celebrate your achievements along the way. When you celebrate each objective you fulfill, it will be easier to stay motivated and focused. If you only set long-term and huge goals, you might feel like you are not getting closer to them, even though you are, and can lose motivation and effectiveness. Whether it’s related to your academic journey, professional career or personal life, creating a roadmap filled with achievable milestones can transform the daunting into the doable.

Do not compare yourself to others.

This is a piece of advice you will hear throughout life, and there’s a reason for it. Everyone is on a different and personal life path, and no lives are the same. When you compare yourself to others, you not only ignore your personal background and context, but you stop yourself from giving the credit you deserve. It’s natural to look at the accomplishments of others and wonder how you measure up, especially with the rise of social media, but constantly comparing yourself can fuel anxiety, self-doubt and lower your self esteem. An article by Nursing Times warns of the negative effects of social media on mental health with unhelpful social comparisons. If you decide on looking at others’ lives, do so to praise them and get inspired, not to tear yourself down. Instead of comparing your progress to that of someone else, compare your current self to your past versions. Celebrate yourself, how far you’ve come and get excited for how far you’ll go. Your future is yours and yours alone to shape. Besides, you never know when your friends look at you with admiration. Odds are, you are not the only one stressed about what’s coming in your future!

Reach out.

Don’t be afraid to reach out, you might be surprised by the support you receive. Did you know that, according to Mental Health America, around 59.8% of youth with major depression did not receive any medical treatment? Your school will have counselors available that can help you manage stress, plan your future or just unwind. You could talk to your favorite professor, they have been where you are and can have valuable advice that you didn’t realize before. Confide in your peers, they are most likely feeling stressed as well! Whether it’s friends, family, professors or trained professionals, you can always talk to someone. A third person’s opinion can come as valuable input, or can just make you feel heard. Either way, it will at least let you know that you are not alone in carrying the weight of managing school and personal life.

Resources:

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Kessler, R. C., Berglund, P., Demler, O., Jin, R., Merikangas, K. R., & Walters, E. E. (2005). Lifetime prevalence and age-of-onset distributions of DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Archives of general psychiatry, 62(6), 593–602. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.62.6.593

Kessler, R. C., Petukhova, M., Sampson, N. A., Zaslavsky, A. M., & Wittchen, H.-U. (2012). Twelve-month and lifetime prevalence and lifetime morbid risk of anxiety and mood disorders in the United States. International journal of methods in psychiatric research, 21(3), 169–184. https://doi.org/10.1002/mpr.1359

https://mhanational.org/issues/2023/mental-health-america-youth-data

Warrender D, Milne R (2020) How use of social media and social comparison affect mental health. Nursing Times [online]; 116: 3, 56-59. https://www.nursingtimes.net/news/mental-health/how-use-of-social-media-and-social-comparison-affect-mental-health-24-02-2020/

https://mhanational.org/how-handle-stress-planning-your-future

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