Overcoming Academic Stress Abroad: A Guide for Indian Students

Do you want to study abroad? Then, take into account the academic pressure that you'll feel from time to time. The new culture, homesickness, and inability to interact with one's peers may further create a stressful situation for students.

If you're a student harbouring aspirations of foreign education, don't get demoralised thinking about the academic pressure. There are ways you can cope with academic pressure-related stress.

In this blog, we’ll discuss how you can do so. Without further ado, let’s begin.

Indian students can find the academic environment abroad entirely unfamiliar. The teaching styles and curriculum are completely different and may lead to stressful situations.

Moreover, many Indian students take up part-time jobs for their financial requirements, which may increase their stress. Students often experience a major culture shock when they first step into a foreign country for higher education because the way of life differs drastically from India.

Homesickness may also lead to students feeling demotivated and nervous. It’s one of the significant challenges faced by students while studying abroad. Lack of confidence is another primary reason why students feel stressed. Students may not be able to interact well with their peers and teachers and may not be able to voice their opinions.

There are various ways you can deal with these stresses. We’ll explore some of them in the following section.

How Can You Cope with Academic Pressure-Related Stress While Studying Abroad?

Check out the following effective ways you can employ to cope with academic pressure-related stress when you study abroad:

1. Make Proper Plans and Prioritise Can you break down bigger tasks into smaller ones and complete them more effectively? First, understand the deadlines of all your assignments and tasks and examine their importance.

Then, create a schedule that you can follow easily. Stick to this plan and set about steadily completing the tasks one by one. This way, you’ll see you can complete much work without feeling overwhelmed.

2. Avoid Procrastination Procrastination is the most common reason behind students feeling pressured academically. It can lead to the submission of sub-standard assignments. As students abroad, you should know that it’s a common phenomenon.

What you need to do is take active measures to address procrastination. For example, set up self-imposed deadlines and follow the Pomodoro technique for completing your work. It works wonders.

3. Set Up Realistic Goals Often, students focused on academic achievements end up setting quite unrealistic goals for themselves. It leads to academic pressure and creates stressful situations which can become unbearable.

So, students should be honest about what they can achieve within a given timeframe. Clarity regarding this can make them feel confident about setting and achieving goals.

4. Adopt Proper Time Management Techniques

Time management is an essential skill that will help you immensely in your student life. Start refusing non-essential commitments, prioritise tasks, and begin to allocate time more wisely.

Using proper time management techniques, you can usher in a balance between your academic, social, and personal life in a foreign country.

5. Focus on Self-Care

Remember that a healthy mind and body can take you far. Poor sleeping patterns and eating habits can lead to stress, which should be avoided while studying abroad. Try your best to cook your meals instead of eating out every day.

Don’t forget that exercise can improve both your physical and mental health. So, incorporate walking, yoga, swimming, or hitting the gym into your daily routine. Deep breathing exercises and meditation can help you cope and overcome stressful situations.

6. Talk to Others

Talk to your peers if you feel the stress of dealing with academics is a lot. See if some of them are feeling the same way. Discussing your situations and devising ways to cope together can feel therapeutic.

You can also consider talking to professionals- various organisations and qualified individuals can help you cope with stress caused by academic pressure. Talking to counsellors or advisors in the university's student support centre can also be quite helpful.

Many students and even professionals aspire to study abroad for a superior quality of education. However, many need to learn how to go about it. Going through a well-researched guide to study abroad would help such students make informed decisions.

Final Words

Before sending applications to study abroad, you should be aware that you might be tremendously affected by stress caused by academic pressure. However, there is nothing that you cannot deal with.

You can minimise the negative effects of academic pressure by taking proper care of yourself, allocating proper time to each task at hand, and maintaining a healthy and disciplined routine.

If you’re thinking of pursuing an overseas education, you can avail the services of Azent, a reputed foreign education consultant.