• November 28, 2017
• By Homework Help Global
• In Blog
• No Comment
• Tagged: distress life events stress support system wellbeing

When a major life event occurs, it’s easy to begin to feel out of control since everything is going to change. There are several life-changing events that can have a domino effect on the rest of your life, such as: a health diagnosis, death, tumultuous break-ups or parents divorcing, and many other unpleasant circumstances. While major life events are sure to happen throughout the course of your life, it can be especially difficult to deal with them while also juggling school. Here are some ways that you can better manage coping with major life events that occur during school.

Allow Yourself to Feel

Ignoring your emotions may seem like a good idea in the moment since it helps you to concentrate on the task at hand, but, ignoring your emotions could lead to more issues later on. After all, if you bottle up the way you are feeling, you are bound to explode at some point. It’s better to feel horrible in the moment and take the proper steps to heal rather than suppressing your emotions and possibly experiencing more distress in the future.

Stay Busy – Or Don’t!

There’s no one way to cope since everyone experiences different levels of emotions, and has different ways of dealing with them. The main thing to keep in mind is to do what feels right. If you’re the type of person that needs to work and stay busy with activities in order to help regulate your feelings, that’s completely fine. With that being said, if you’re the kind of person that doesn’t want to do anything during this difficult time, that’s certainly fine as well! Take a break, lay down, and just take care of yourself.

Stick With Supportive People

Finding and sticking with a support system is a vital part of handling any major change you may experience. Whether you are feeling overwhelmed with sadness or extremely anxious about the unknown, your support system (be it friends, family, professional counsellors, etc.) should be there for you without judgement.

Speak With Your Professors

While you may be inclined to keep any issues in your life to yourself, it may be best to speak with your professors to make them aware. Waiting to say something until after you’ve missed a deadline will not help your case, but if you make your professors well-aware ahead of time that you are experiencing a major change that you’re trying to cope with, they will be more inclined to do whatever they can to help ease the stress and pressure (perhaps like moving a deadline or allowing you to miss a class but still receive the key notes for it). Who knows, they may even offer their own words of wisdom as a gesture of support. After all, professors are humans just like the rest of us and have likely experienced their own set of hardships over the years as well.

Move On

This is the most difficult part of overcoming any major life change as it involves the need to accept, feel your emotions, and let go. While you should certainly hold onto memories and look back to lessons learned, moving on will provide you with closure and the strength to just let things be.

Major life events can be overwhelming since they change everything you know. They can affect your thinking, emotions, physical well-being, and your day-to-day functioning. While you can and should find ways to cope that are best for you, the most important thing to keep in mind is that you are not alone. If you’re falling behind in school due to an unexpected major life event, contact us to find out what we can do to help alleviate some of the workload.

References:
Medlock, L. S. (2013, October 22). 7 Things You Need to Know to Deal With Major Life Changes. Retrieved August 27, 2017, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lisabeth-saunders-medlock-phd/seven-things-you-need-to-_b_4129918.html