Must Read: How Anxiety Fit Affect University Students

By: Mariam Ajayi

When School Pressure Too Much: Understanding Anxiety Among University Students

University life suppose be time to discover yourself, gain independence and prepare for life after school. But for plenty students, e fit also come with plenty pressure.

Lecture dey, assignment dey, exam dey, result dey to worry about. Apart from school work, students fit also dey face money problem, family expectations, relationship matter, pressure from friends and fear about wetin go happen after graduation.

All dis pressure fit cause normal stress. But when worry become too much, e continue for long and pesin no fit control am, e fit turn to anxiety.

Wetin Be Anxiety??

Anxiety na di way body and mind dey react when pesin feel say danger or uncertainty dey come.

E fit affect how person dey think, how e dey feel and how im body dey behave. Student wey get anxiety fit dey expect say something bad go happen, even when no immediate danger dey.

For some students, di main source of di fear na dia academic performance.

Ifeoluwa Adebisi understand dis feeling.

How Worry Turn  Everyday Routine

Ife na university student wey take her education serious.

She dey attend lectures, dey read for exam and she dey perform well for school. Like many students, she get plans for her life after university.

But sometimes, her worry about school go beyond normal preparation.

Before exam, she fit spend many hours dey read but still feel say she never ready. After she write di exam, instead make she feel relieved, she go start to dey think about di questions wey she fit don answer wrongly. Den di waiting period go start.

“What if my result bad”?

“What if my grade drop”?

What if my classmates do well pass me?

What if one bad result affect my future plans?

Di exam don finish, but for Ife, di worry never finish.

Na one way anxiety fit affect student, di actual problem don end, but di mind still dey treat am like something wey e must solve.

Difference Between Anxiety And Stress

Stress and anxiety dey close, but dem no always mean di same thing.

Stress normally happen when person face particular challenge or pressure. Student fit feel stressed because exam dey tomorrow or plenty assignments dey due at di same time.

Anxiety fit continue even after di immediate problem don pass.

For example, Ife get exam on Friday. E normal make she feel pressure as she dey prepare. But if after di exam she still dey worry seriously about failing, dey imagine di worst thing wey fit happen and she no fit control di thoughts, e fit be more than ordinary school stress.

Dis difference important because some students dey just dismiss serious anxiety as “school stress.”

Dem fit tell themselves say everybody dey stressed.

Dem fit think say dem just need to read more.

Some fit even feel ashamed to ask for help.

But when anxiety continue for long, e deserve attention.

How  Anxiety Fit Affect Student Body

Anxiety no dey only affect person mind.

Di body fit also react when person feel threatened. Person fit experience fast heartbeat, sweating, shaking, tight muscles, headache, stomach problem or difficulty sleeping.

Imagine Ife dey inside examination hall.

She don prepare, and she know some of di things wey dem teach.

But as dem put di exam paper for front of her, her heart begin beat fast.

Her palms begin sweat.

Her mind suddenly go blank.

She know say she read di topic.

But she no fit remember wetin she know.

Dis one fit create another level of anxiety.

She go begin fear say she don forget everything.

Di fear fit make am even harder for her to concentrate.

And di cycle continue.

When Your Mind Dey Always Expect Di Worst

One common way anxiety dey show na when person dey imagine di worst thing wey fit happen and begin treat am like say na sure thing.

For anxious student, one bad academic result fit suddenly look like prediction of im whole future.

Ife receive one disappointing grade.

Instead of seeing am as one bad result, she fit begin think:

“What if I graduate with bad result?”

“What if I no get di job wey I want?”

“What if I no gain admission for postgraduate school?”

“What if my future don spoil?”

Di original problem na one grade.

But her mind don turn am into problem about her whole life.

Dis kind thinking fit make small problem look very big.

Bad grade fit mean say she need to work harder and understand where she make mistake. E no automatically mean say her whole future don decide.

Social Media Fit Make Di Pressure Worse

University students dey live for environment where comparing yourself with other pipu almost dey unavoidable.

Social media dey show pipu achievements every day.

One student post say e get excellent result.

Another pesin post internship.

Another announce scholarship.

Another student celebrate first-class graduation.

For Ife, she fit genuinely happy for dem at first.

But after she close di app, she fit begin ask herself:

“Why I no dey do well like dis?”

“Am I falling behind?”

“Na only me never progress?”

Problem be say social media normally show selected parts of pipu life, not everything wey dey happen.

Students fit compare dia private struggles with another person public achievements.

And dat comparison fit add more pressure.

Perfectionism And Fear Of Failure

Some students dey put very high expectations on themselves.

Wanting to perform well no be bad thing. In fact, high standards fit push student to prepare well and work hard.

Problem start when pesin no allow himself or herself make mistake.

For perfectionist student, A fit feel like normal expectation.

B fit feel like failure.

One mistake for exam fit feel unbearable.

Ife fit spend hours checking assignment because she fear say even small mistake dey inside.

Eventually, she submit am.

But instead of feeling relieved, she begin wonder whether her lecturer go see something wrong.

Her school work don finish.

But her anxiety never finish.

Na so perfectionism fit turn achievement into another source of pressure.

Why Some Students Dey Hide Dia Anxiety

One problem with student anxiety be say e fit dey hidden.

Anxious student fit still laugh with friends.

E fit attend class.

E fit join social activities.

E fit even look confident.

Ife na good example.

Pesin wey meet her during di day fit see lively student wey look like everything dey under control.

Dem fit never know say she spend di previous night worrying about her grades.

Dis difference between how pesin look outside and wetin e dey experience inside fit make anxiety very lonely.

Student fit also fear say pipu go judge am.

E fit think say asking for help mean say e weak.

E fit worry say friends no go understand.

So e keep quiet.

Wetin Students Fit Do?

First step na to recognise say anxiety dey happen.

Student fit start by identifying wetin dey trigger di worry.

Na exam?

Na academic result?

Na money problem?

Na family expectations?

Na fear of disappointing people?

Na comparing yourself with other students?

Once student understand wetin dey cause di worry, e fit start finding better ways to handle am.

Good study planning fit reduce last-minute pressure. Breaking big assignment into smaller tasks fit make di work easier to handle.

Students fit also create realistic reading timetable wey include breaks, sleep and other responsibilities.

E also important to question thoughts wey dey always expect di worst.

If Ife think say, “One bad exam go destroy my future,” she fit stop and ask herself:

One exam fit affect my result, but e really mean say my whole future don spoil?

Probably not.

Di aim no be to pretend say failure no matter.

Di aim na to stop one setback from becoming di definition of your whole future.

Why Support Matter

Students no suppose manage serious or long-lasting anxiety alone.

Talking to trusted friend, family member, lecturer, student adviser or mental-health professional fit give person support.

Universities too get role to play by making counselling and mental-health services easy for students to find, confidential and accessible.

Friends get role too.

Sometimes, supporting pesin no require perfect words.

E fit start with simple question:

“How you really dey?”

For somebody like Ife, dat question fit give her chance to finally talk about di worries wey she don carry quietly.

Student No Be Only Results

Academic performance important.

For many students, grades fit affect postgraduate opportunities, scholarships and career plans.

But school result na only one part of student life.

Ife no be her GPA.

She no be failed exam.

She no be one disappointing semester.

She be human being wey dey learn, dey grow and dey try build better future.

Understanding dis no mean say students should become careless about school.

E mean say make dem pursue academic success without allowing fear of failure to take over dia whole identity.

University life fit hard.

Students go face difficult exams, bad results, uncertainty and moments when dem go question themselves.

All these things fit be part of di journey.

But when worry become too much, continue for long or begin affect sleep, concentration, relationships and everyday life, people no suppose just wave am away as “school stress.”

Behind di student wey dey always smile fit dey somebody wey dey struggle to breathe under di weight of expectations.

Behind di student wey dey always read fit dey somebody wey dey scared say all di effort no go be enough.

And behind students like Ife, thousands of other students fit dey face di same thing quietly.

Dem no dey only try pass exam.

Dem dey try build future.

And as dem dey work towards dat future, dem also need to learn something important:

Dia education deserve dia effort.

Dia future deserve dia ambition.

But dia wellbeing deserve attention too.