The new semester has begun and with it a tremendous crunch of pressure. It’s easy to freeze up and feel unable to manage or even chip away at the mountain of responsibilities you have.

“The body’s autonomic nervous system often does a poor job of distinguishing between daily stressors and life-threatening events,” says helpguide.org, a non-profit organization focused on mental health assistance. “If you’re stressed over an argument with a friend, a traffic jam on your commute to work or a mountain of bills, for example, your body can still react as if you’re facing a life-or-death situation.”

However, there are strategies that students can use in order to beat the stress. In my four semesters here at Moorpark College, I’ve come up with a few methods of keeping a clear head.

The most important and consistent of these is always having your end goal in mind.

The optimism of hopes and dreams that come with the prospects of a college education can quickly go from raging fire to fading ember when the host of prerequisite classes that may not have any direct relevance to your major begin to take over.

If you are a student caught up with required work rather than fulfilling work, it’s best to keep small projects or reminders of what you’re working towards on you all the time. I for one, wouldn’t be caught dead on campus without some form of video game. Even if I only get 2 or 3 minutes to play each day, it’s about keeping what I love close at all times. Remembering the reasons each of you as students have committed to higher education is paramount to finishing it.

Allison Barton, health educator at the Student Health Center, said that focusing on your goals and finding time for both work and time for yourself is critical.

“I think it’s important to develop balance,” she said. “A lot of younger students don’t get the point [of completing every class].”

How many times have you heard “sound body, sound mind?” If you already actively engage in at least 30 minutes of exercise, 5 days a week, as Barton says is recommended by the Student Health Center then you’re ahead of the game.

For those of us less inspired to work up a sweat, I suggest parking your car off campus or getting off the bus one stop early instead of arriving directly to campus each day. Plan for the extra 10-20 minutes it will take to arrive on time and the soothing effects of a music or nature guided walk will calm your nerves and let your thoughts wander off, giving a better head space to accept new and daily challenges.

I started parking at Campus View Park, just off of Collins Drive, 3 semesters ago and haven’t looked back. The 10-minute walk from the park to the AC building lets me visualize the day ahead to the rhythm of whichever video game soundtrack I’m currently obsessed with, “Undertale,” anyone? This route, part of the suggested walking circuits planned out by the Student Health Center, was given to me by Barton in the center.

It’s also worth noting that as you continue your journey down the arduous path of an undergraduate student, the task of kicking stress’s negative effects to the curb will become easier.

Depression and stress caused by time constraints can be balanced through education, according to a study done in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior in 2004, thereby lessening the burden via practicing to handle numerous tasks.

So don’t back down to what can be overwhelming intimidation when furthering your education. It may just be the thing that saves you from those fears in the future.

Enrolled students who are curious or in need of professional help are entitled to six free therapy sessions on campus. This is a tool I wish I had known about earlier as it may have provided me with tools for managing stress earlier in my career.

“A little preventative therapy is worth a pound of heavy therapy,” said Barton.

For more information on the Student Health Center and the services they offer, including twice weekly seminars on mindfulness and stress management, visit their special section of the Moorpark College website at www.moorparkcollege.edu/health or in their office located in the Administration building, just across from the Humanities/Social Science building.