How to reduce anxiety and stress

It is normal to feel anxious when starting something new, like a university course. All students can feel stress at difficult times of the year, such as during exam periods or when there is a lot happening in their lives. It can sometimes be hard to relax. This article is about helping you to manage these feelings and includes tips from other autistic students.

Background

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Students in the Autism&Uni surveys said they found these things stressful at university:

  • Choosing the right subject to study
  • Group work
  • Sudden changes to timetables and assignments
  • Exams
  • Not getting the support they needed
  • Noisy classrooms and lecture theatres
  • Not liking where they live
  • Sensory issues
  • Getting lower marks than they hoped for
  • Travelling to and from university
  • Fitting in
  • Making presentations and talking in public

 

How could this affect me?

Other people on your course will probably be struggling with many of the same issues. As autistic people tend to have higher levels of anxiety than other adults, it’s important to know how to deal with these feelings (alongside other forms of support like therapy, counselling and medication where appropriate) so that they don’t become overwhelming.

If you choose to, you can access support at university from Disability Advice (including your Disability Adviser and Specialist Mentor if you have one), the Student Wellbeing team, the Students’ Union and your tutors. There may be other people you trust to talk to when you are finding things difficult, like friends or family members. However, it’s a good idea to have strategies, places where you can go and activities you feel comfortable doing yourself when you feel overloaded and stressed.

What to do next?

Try out some of the activities below

Practical tips

These activities were popular with the students and graduates in our surveys for reducing stress:

  • Exercise/sport
  • Music
  • Art
  • Meditation and mindfulness
  • Favourite food and drink
  • Chatting with family and friends
  • Mentoring
  • Talking to lecturers and tutors
  • Students’ Union clubs and societies

 

Here’s what some of the students and graduates had to say about other things that helped them:

  1. “Craft is relaxing, also being prepared for situations.”
  2. “My support worker helps me calm down.”
  3. “Drawing in my notebooks.”
  4. “Chatting in an online forum with other neurodiverse students.”
  5. “Focusing on the causes of the situation.”
  6. “Some friends…were incredibly supportive.”
  7. “Throwing myself into union activities: attending meetings, planning events, helping with campaigns.”
  8. “Email contact with my tutor. Face to face I would have been reluctant to arrange or attend.”
  9. “Getting away from horrible food in the residences.”
  10. “Clubbing :-)”

 

It’s also really useful to have places where you can go if you feel overloaded or need to relax – several students said quiet places were really important to them. Here’s where they say they go:

  • The library (Leeds Beckett library is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week)
  • The gym or pool
  • Students’ Union
  • Outside for a walk
  • Green space around campus
  • Quiet study rooms
  • Coffee shop
  • Computer rooms
  • Back to their room
  • Drinks machine

Questions to think about

  1. What do you like to do at home that makes you feel relaxed?
  2. What food and drink makes you feel better? Is it possible to carry some with you?
  3. Who can you talk to?
  4. What do your lecturers and tutors know about how your autism affects you?
  5. Where can you go if you feel stressed out? Make a list of places.
  6. What is your favourite form of exercise? Even non-sporty people can usually find something they enjoy.

About the author

Marc Fabri and Penny Andrews, lead researchers and including contibutions from the Autism&Uni research