• Follow us on Twitter
  • Join our Facebook Group

University Survival

  • Student Success Skills
    • Picking a College
    • Financing Your Education
    • Choosing a Major
    • Preparing for College
    • Managing the Personal Side of the Transition to College
    • Developing Discipline to Do Well
    • Managing the Social Side of College
    • Being an Efficient Learner
    • Taking Tests
    • Ensuring You Receive The Grade You Want
    • Managing Group Projects
    • Becoming a Campus Leader
    • Student Athletes
    • Navigating College Practices
    • Succeeding on Internships and Co-ops
    • Making Critical Decisions
    • Overcoming Challenges for Specific Types of Students
    • Setting Goals
    • Being an International Student In The United States
    • Using Resources
    • Communication Skills for College Graduates
    • Building a Professional Network
    • Using LinkedIn to Develop Your Network
    • Preparing for a Career
    • Understanding Job Protocols
    • Developing Essential Career Skills
    • Becoming a Leader
    • Overcoming Career Challenges
    • Planning for your Financial Future
  • Parent Connections
    • Parent Topics
      • Being a Supportive Parent
      • Making Critical Decisions
      • Financing Your Student’s Education
    • Parent Emails
  • Teacher Resources
  • Resources
  • Community
  • About
You are here: Student Success Skills » Managing the Personal Side of the Transition to College » Getting Out of a Funk

Student Success Skills

Getting Out of a Funk

by jennifer
July 13, 2012

“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..

← Learning How to Communicate With Your Parents About Your Grades
Understanding the Difference in the American Grading System →

Suggest a Topic

Looking for a topic and can't find it? Why not submit one...

Suggest a Topic

Share This

Rate This Topic

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (No Ratings Yet)
Loading...

Testimonials

  • The biggest improvement I have made this semester is waking up earlier. Previously, even if I had an early class I’d sleep until the last minute never questioning if I’d get to class on time. Well after being late to class several times or oversleeping and not even attending I realized that I should just wake up at the same time every day and get on a schedule. I now know that going to sleep at a reasonable hour each night is very important. Being on a steady sleep schedule makes my life a whole lot easier because now when I’m in class I am well rested and I pay attention and actually understand what my teachers are teaching me..

Sign Up For Student Emails

Enter your email below to get weekly student emails.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Suggest a Topic

Looking for a topic and can't find it? Why not submit one...

Suggest a Topic

Share This

Sign Up For Parent Emails

Enter your email below to get weekly parent emails.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Suggest a Topic

Looking for a topic and can't find it? Why not submit one...

Suggest a Topic
© Copyright - University Survival