Tips to Manage End-of-Semester and Holiday Stress

Time is flying by for fall 2025, and midterms are already behind us. We’ve reached the time of the semester when students need to bear down for the final push of their studies. Not only must they finish final projects, papers and exams, but they need to decide how to spend their time during holiday and semester breaks. This will go smoothly for many; but for some, it can be challenging.

Some of the difficulties students may face include:

• Feeling like they are running out of time to complete their work or dealing with the consequences of ongoing procrastination.
• Cramming behaviors, which can disrupt normal routines, leading to poor sleep and impaired cognitive functioning. This can contribute to last-minute panic and problematic communication patterns.
• Realizing they may not recover from earlier-in-the-semester poor academic performance before they visit home.
• Feeling anxious about maintaining high or unrealistic academic standards.
• Experiencing parental pressure to live responsibly, along with possible rewards or consequences.
• Preparing themselves (or not) to manage stressful situations at home and/or with friends.
• Making conscious choices about healthy behaviors during school breaks.

Here are some healthy ways to help prepare for the end of the semester:

• Know your signs of stress. These can include fatigue, agitation, feeling jittery or shaky, muscle tension, headaches, feeling drained or overwhelmed, restlessness, racing thoughts, and poor concentration. 
• Use effective stress management skills.
• Find ways to balance and navigate your obligations to the best of your abilities. Visit Health Promotion and Wellness for information concerning many health and health-related behavior issues. 
• Reach out for support when needed. Helpful resources include the Counseling Center,  Camellia Center, Collegiate Recovery and Intervention Services and the Student Health Center.
• Faculty and staff support: if you notice a student seems distressed or is struggling to function (for college students this can look like not eating, not sleeping, missing classes or work), refer them to supportive resources, like the ones listed in the previous bullet and/or Student Care and Well-Being.

For students facing difficult situations at home, here are some helpful tips for how to navigate time away from school:

• Keep a good routine. Give yourself a few days to rest and recover but then get back into a consistent schedule. This will help maintain a positive mood and energy.
• Get some sunlight. Make sure you get up and outside every day, even for a short period of time.
• Practice self-care. Exercising, eating healthily, getting plenty of sleep and maintaining balance is just as important during breaks as during the busy semester.
• Set limits and boundaries. It is ok to say no to things or to be picky about what you do with your time. Planning makes it easier to set boundaries.
• Give yourself a break. It is ok to unplug for a while, even from celebrations.
• Acknowledge difficult feelings. If the holidays are a difficult time for you, allow yourself the space and permission to feel those emotions. It is normal to feel grief or sadness. Don’t feel like you must force yourself to feel a certain way during the holidays.

As always, consult with the Counseling Center (205-348-3863) with any questions you may have. We are here to help.

Myth-busting: Appointment Wait Time

One common refrain we hear from students, faculty and staff is that it takes a long time to get appointments at the Counseling Center. In reality, there are many ways to engage Counseling Center services, many of which are available on the same day.

• New counseling screenings are typically available within 4-5 business days.
• Drop-in appointments with embedded counselors are available in certain departments and can be scheduled up to a week in advance:
  • Culverhouse College of Business
  • College of Engineering
  • Honors College
  • College of Human and Environmental Sciences
  • College of Communication and Information Sciences
  • Housing and Residential Communities
• “Let’s Talk” appointments are 30-minute phone consultations with a licensed counselor, that can be scheduled online for the same day.
• Mental health crisis support: Students can call or walk in at the main Counseling Center office during business hours to be seen immediately.
• After hours crisis support is also available in life-or-death situations. Students can access the on-call counselor by contacting UAPD at 205-348-5454 and asking to be connected to the on-call counselor.

If you hear reports that it takes “months” to get an appointment, this is not true. Please reach out to the Counseling Center directly at 205-348-3863 for information on current availability of appointments.