“Marcus, what happened last semester that led to these grades? What were you doing?”

“Nothing.”

“What does nothing mean?”

“Nothing.”

“Tell me about a typical day?”

“I would get up at 10 am and get a late breakfast. Then I would go back to my room. I just stayed in my room all day.”

The above scenario is all too typical. Students get into a funk and just give up. What causes the funk? The causes are many but mostly result from:

• Giving up after a round of bad tests
• Facing depression due to personal issues (e.g. parents’ divorce)
• Being homesick
• Being lonely
• Not meeting the expectations of others, especially parents

How do you get out of a funk?

Stage 1

Find a mentor to talk to about your situation. There are people on every campus who are notes for being good listeners and helpful to students in getting them out of a funk. The key to this state is to ask for help early on. The longer you wait, the more difficult the recovery will be.

Stage 2

Start your recovery with small steps. The key is to win each day with respect to class attendance, doing homework, reaching out to classmates. Do a diary of each day’s events and communicate this to your mentor. Your mentor will react to each day and help you work through the challenges you face.

Stage 3

Develop a coping strategy that lets you get through the tough moments without relapsing into a funk. As you recover from a funk, you need to start discovering what works for you. One of the benefits of dealing with a funk in college is that you learn how to deal with tough personal situations.

Stage 4

Accept the reality of what you can accomplish as a student and work toward goals that are based on that reality. Once you accept what is a realistic outcome from your classes, your stress level will decline and pressures will become more manageable.

Stage 5

Hold periodic meetings with your mentor to review your progress and to renew your academic sustainability.

Stage 6

Help someone else work through a funk. This final stage can help you learn from your own approach. Think of Jarrod the Subway spokesman. His testimonial on behalf of Subway has added even more incentive to maintain his weight.

Being in a funk is a fairly common experience for college students but one that can be resolved using the approach outlined above..