Student stress levels are consistently high. According to U.S. News, 66% of surveyed college students reported experiencing stress. With the weight of independent living, scheduling extracurriculars, staying on track in classes and finding time to see friends, students are always looking for a way to destress.
Personally, I find myself turning to the iconic dialogue between Rory and Lorelai in “Gilmore Girls.”
I have not only seen the show enough times to know any episode’s ending, but I can also recite large sections of the scripts of certain scenes. I find it comforting to know how an episode will end and what the next words coming out of a character’s mouth will be.
In an interview with Friday Things, Alexandra Gold — a licensed clinical psychologist and clinical fellow in psychology at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital — defined a comfort show as “something that people turn to because it reliably provides a sense of comfort, of relief, of destressing, of peace of mind. It’s something that helps people self-soothe.”
Students are not only balancing class loads, but jobs and extracurriculars as well. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 74% of part-time students and 40% of full-time students were employed in 2020. According to The University of Alabama, there are over 650 student organizations available for students to participate in.
Gold believes that rewatching comfort shows can help with this feeling of mental exhaustion.
“There’s also a cognitive aspect. When you watch a show you already know, you don’t have to learn a whole cast of characters and settings; it’s less overwhelming for the brain,” Gold said.
The stress of student life is not confined to the semester — it’s year-round. With the school year coming to a close, many students may be dealing with the uncertainty of not having secured internships or post-graduation jobs. Those who know they will be entering new roles may be dealing with feelings of nervousness, wondering what their soon-to-be daily life will look like.
“Unpredictability is very scary for many people. So, there’s something comforting about watching a show that you know. You connect with the characters in some way, you know what’s going to happen next — the act of watching the show itself is soothing, but because you know what’s going to happen, there’s not that stress of uncertainty,” Gold said.
No matter what stage you are at in life, it always comes with its own unique stressors. It is important to find stress-relieving activities that work for you and to make an effort to be intentional about these activities.
When times become stressful, grab your most comfortable blanket, your favorite snack and the remote. It’s okay to take time and watch what you’ve seen a hundred times already. Find comfort in a day on the couch and find familiarity in a world of uncertainty.
