First Year Experience

Managing Emotions

Very few students escape emotions such as anger, fear, hurt, boredom, and tension. In fact, anxiety, anger, depression, desire, guilt and shame have the power to seriously impede the educational process when they become excessive or overwhelming (Chickering & Reisser, 1993). These emotions need to be managed well. Students shouldn't ignore these feeling, instead they should be able to recognize they're there and deal with them appropriately. Development proceeds when students learn how to release irritations before they explode, deal with fear before it immobilizes, and heal emotional wounds before they interfere with other relationships.

Some students may find that they are very good at expressing their emotions while others have a harder time expressing how they feel. As you learn more about how to balance self-control and self-expression, you will find yourself better able to possess a healthy emotional attitude.

There are also some positive emotions which students experience. They include relief, sympathy, yearning, wonder, and awe. These may not need to be managed so much as brought into awareness and allowed to exist. Chickering & Reisser report that you will need to learn how to balance self-assertive tendencies, which involve some form of aggressiveness or defensiveness, with participatory tendencies, which involves identifying or bonding with another individual or group (1993).

Emotional development is another area that first-year students will experience growth. You are at the stage in your life where emotions play an integral part in your daily life. To assist you with emotional development, we encourge you to use Health Services.

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Reference:
Chickering, Arthur, & Reisser, Linda. Jossey-Bass: San Francisco, CA 1993.