College can be both exciting and fear inducing as classes can be competitive and stressful. Competition can be a positive force providing a constructive source of motivation, but the dynamic can also encourage a distortion concerning realistic goals and emphasize perfectionism. The more prepared and aware students are for the competitiveness that college life can inevitably create, the easier it becomes to proactively develop healthy coping skills in response.
It’s important to choose friends and groups wisely, based on what will positively influence overall mental health. Some organizations and clubs can be supportive, while others will encourage competitiveness. For someone in recovery who struggles with perfectionism, extracurricular activities will have the greatest impact when they are tolerant and encouraging of others and focus instead on their own balance and well-being.
Individuals in recovery should be more deliberate with practices that encourage identifying the difference between realistic and unrealistic expectations, and finding ways to become more accepting of errors and imperfections. Making a gratitude list is a good way to readjust values and daily attitude. Making a list of expectations and reasonable steps that can be taken to achieve them can also help prioritize goals and the attitude needed to accomplish them.
These practices can make it easier to identify periods of insecurity and the resulting need to compete for attention from teachers, peers and others. Enriching self-care is a positive coping response to stress and insecurities. Pay attention and notice when your self-worth begins to get wrapped up in a certain project or class, when you begin to need to be the best at something. This is a good time to take a breath and call a friend in recovery.
Being in recovery does not mean avoiding challenges or stressful life situations, and being in a competitive environment does not have to negatively affect your recovery or dampen the experience of college.
[cta]Alsana’s IOP Collegiate Track offers assistance programs throughout the school term to work with individual student schedules. Having a strong program of recovery in place can make all the difference in the ability to succeed despite the competition. [/cta]
