Attending post-secondary school for the first time often means a change of address if you don’t live in the same city as the school. Perhaps you’re living away from home for the first time. Maybe you’ve moved from a rural to an urban setting. Or maybe you’re adjusting to life in a dorm or living with one or more roommates. All these changes can be stressful.
Leaving home
Getting your own place can be very exciting or daunting…or both! Being in university is a bit of an in-between situation though as you have technically left home but move back-in, between school years and don’t quite have your own place yet. It might feel lonely to leave your parents and siblings and live in a new place without having those people to come home to at the end of the day. Even if you didn’t always get along, you’ve shared a home with your family for your entire life. You might miss having them to interact with and you might feel adrift without someone like a close family member to have your back.
Small town to big city
Perhaps you’re coming from a rural setting, small town or a small city to one of the bigger centres in the province. This can be a real culture shock if you’ve never spent much time in a large city. Learning the names of the neighbourhoods and streets can be tough enough, let alone navigating them by public transit or driving. It can be so frustrating to be lost and you can feel anxious trying to figure out which road, bus or train to take to get to your destination on time. It can be enough to make you stick close to campus, turning down opportunities to explore your new city, and making your world feel small.
New housemates
Maybe your family just consists of you and a parent, or maybe you come from a large family. Regardless, living with roommates in a dorm, house or apartment will take some adjustment. It’s a leap of faith to share a living space with people you don’t know. It could be a great adventure and you could be finding a life-long friend, or you could be a horrible match and it could feel like a nightmare. Even if you’re moving in with friends or people you already know, there is still a need to navigate all sorts of tasks like chores, entertaining, finances, food prep and storage, and more.
These adjustments on their own can be stressful, but when you add in the pressures of the workload of post-secondary studies, keeping up grades, socializing and more, it can be overwhelming.
If you are experiencing, and struggling with these changes, and are feeling overwhelmed, it may be time to speak to a therapist. The therapists at Insight can help. We deal with:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Life transitions
- Grief and loss
- Much more!
Support is just a phone call away. Contact the team at Insight to book an appointment with a therapist.
