After nights of coming home from the Rathskeller Pub empty-handed, you’re finally able to change your relationship status on Facebook from “single” to “in a relationship.” You’ve locked it down. Good for you. Now you won’t have to worry about stress from the opposite sex, right? Think again.

Dating is a large part of the college experience, and many end up meeting their spouses in college. However, juggling friends, clubs, and a boyfriend or girlfriend while still trying to maintain a decent GPA may be a challenge.

“Having a healthy relationship is about balancing your schedule and the ability to prioritize,” Karen Aizaga, a second-year graduate student in clinical psychology who works in the Marriage and Families Lab on campus, said. “You need to make time for yourself and do things for your interest and not for theirs.”

Meagan Jean, a sophomore pre-law student, has been dating her boyfriend for a little over a year now. She currently has a part-time job and plays on two club sports teams.

“It was a lot harder last year because I played Varsity lacrosse and he was pledging a frat in the spring,” Jean said. “But this year, we have basically the same class schedule, so we see each other then and at night. On weekends, I’ll go out with my team and he’ll go out with his frat, and we’ll just plan to meet up later. It helps to just do our own things.”

The Binghamton University Counseling Center Web site lists personal relationships as one of the five most common causes of stress.

“Just as certain foods are nourishing to your body while certain others are toxic, so it is with human relationships,” the Web site reads. “We all realistically expect and accept that relationships are characterized by occasional conflict and disagreement. As a result, we experience minimal distress from such events. However, when the frequency of conflict and disagreement increases so that it is the norm rather than the exception, then symptoms reflecting that distress can emerge.”

In even the healthiest relationships, disagreements can occur. When conflict does arise, it may be tempting to yell and scream or give the silent treatment, but there are better ways to deal.

According to the University of Texas at Austin health services Web site, “Resolving conflicts requires honesty, a willingness to consider your partner’s perspective even if you don’t fully understand it, and lots of communication.”

An important thing to consider is how your partner’s family dealt with problems or conflicts because they will have a tendency to do the same. Contrary to popular belief, sometimes the best time to address a conflict is not immediately. Give yourselves a cooling off period to avoid saying hurtful things you will regret later.

“Fighting and arguments are usually stress-related,” Aizaga said. “You need to make sure that you stick to the topic and express your feelings without using blame.”

A good method to resolving problems is to restate what the other is saying.

“Allow your partner to express how they feel and repeat it back to them,” Aizaga said. “Once you both have a clear understanding of what the problem is, then you can address it accordingly.”