Emilia Szmyrgala turned into a zombie during midterms and finals — a sleepless, non-showering, isolated study monster focused entirely on acing her exams.
The 21-year-old senior at UCLA remembers it being worse in her freshman and sophomore years. When she got into this mode, she might not eat anything all day, except for some Twizzlers. Fears of failure crept in, and life became overwhelming.
“As I got older, I realized I have to take care of myself,” Szmyrgala said. “Even in those finals weeks, there needs to be some semblance of normal life, otherwise it feels unbearable.”
This week, about 10,000 new students are beginning the fall quarter at UCLA, and many will come to experience the same anxieties as Szmyrgala. Some will have an even harder time adjusting to college life, perhaps plunging into severe depression or self-destructive thoughts.
[For more on this story by Brian Rinker, go to http://khn.org/news/ucla-offer...f-incoming-students/]
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