Students report feeling fatigued after midterms.
Students throughout the OCU community are expressing feelings of stress, exhaustion and being overwhelmed due to the semester not having any breaks until winter break.
Kat Shehan, design and production junior, said it was difficult moving directly from quarantine to non-stop work.
“I’m incredibly stressed out. I just closed ‘Spamalot,’ which we had been working on since the beginning of the semester, and I just started prep week for a new show,” Shehan said.
Shehan said she has noticed a change in her work quality, and she is using hobbies and social connection to help cope with stress.
“It’s not the usual quality that I like to turn in. It’s not bad, but I just don’t have the physical energy to spend on assignments like I used to,” Shehan said. “I’m doing puzzles now, I talk to my friends often, and that’s really all I got.”
Shehan said she hopes OCU will help students who feel fatigued.
“I just hope whoever makes the decisions on how breaks go actually sees how the students are doing and takes that into consideration,” she said.
Emily Fruendt, theatre and performance senior, said a semester without breaks is difficult.
“It feels more overwhelming than past semesters,” Fruendt said. “Even though it’s technically shorter and we have hybrid classes, it’s extremely stressful. It’s quite difficult to separate relaxation time from school because of the hybrid online aspect.”
Fruendt said she’s been trying to take time off from technology.
“Recently, I’ve been trying to have moments in the day where I don’t look at a screen, even if that means cleaning my room, just so I can relax my eyes for a bit. I have the meditation app ‘Headspace’, which has been helpful.”
Fruendt said the stress she’s feeling is a combination of multiple issues.
“Right now, it’s not only school stress, but the weight of the world,” Fruendt said. “I encourage people to go vote if they are upset about how they are feeling right now.”
Luis Sanchez, music education junior, said the fatigue of the semester has only recently affected him.
“It was fine at the beginning. Around midterms it was catching up to me: all of these essays and projects and tests to study for. I would not do as well on some things just so I could do other things,” Sanchez said. “I would do a crappy discussion post in order to study for a test in a different class.”
Sanchez said he thinks the emotional tension students feel is valid and could be remedied by a small break, even if it required a mandate to remain on campus.
“Breaks are necessary,” Sanchez said. “I understand they want to keep people from traveling and getting exposed to the virus, but it would be cool if the school offered some sort of break.”
Sanchez said he has looked for spiritual ways to relieve stress.
“I’ve been looking into meditation things. I started praying more, and it’s sort of helped,” Sanchez said. “Sometimes when I’m super stressed about work, I’ll stop for a second and just speak to whoever’s listening, whether it be God or anyone in the room. Talking about it helps.”
Mindy Windholz, director of university counseling, said she has noticed students’ attitudes have changed.
“I’ve noticed that the students are really starting to feel more tired and starting to feel less motivated,” Windholz said. “They still have good attitudes and are still doing what they need to do, but it’s getting more difficult for them to handle the workload they’ve had in the past.”
Windholz said she has advice for overwhelmed students.
“My recommendation is to pace yourself, especially for the upperclassmen and those who have had a break before in the past,” Windholz said. “That also includes communicating with your professors. If you’re struggling, it might be good to reach out to your professors to ask for a little more time. Even if they say no, at least you are advocating for yourself.”
Windholz said students should also make sure to sleep, eat, drink water and avoid excessive caffeine intake. Students can redefine their standards, she said.
“It is OK to change your definition of ‘best.’ In the past, you may have had an idea of what your best work looked like, and it’s OK to adjust that in this time and not compare yourself to what you’ve done in the past,” Windholz said. “It’s OK to be nice to yourself.”
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