How to alleviate "back to school" anxiety as a graduate student? I find myself experiencing back to school anxiety as a new semesters begins in less than three weeks, mainly because the unpredictability associated with graduate life. 

In some ways it feels less structured than other endeavors such as starting a new semester as an undergrad, starting a new job or moving to a new country, since in graduate school you have to constantly prove yourself using your creativity and intellect and you have to do it alone. Whereas in industry (or some other structured work) you always have the opportunity to move up, or stay where you are at just by showing up to work, in academia there is plenty of room to free fall. 

Things are on my mind at the moment:


How do I maintain a healthy relationship with my professor(s), how can I get them to look favorable toward me as a student while not appearing overzealous?
How can I find a new research topic that is interesting to me AND has
practical application AND leaves room for future works AND satisfies
my supervisor's research direction AND get it published AND host a
conference about it AND grabs attention AND leaves room for collaboration AND... ... ...
How do I balance these extremely open ended research oriented
courses? Will I find time to keep up my health and keep up my grade? Is my body even capable at waking up at 8:00 in the morning anymore?
Can I still learn given that I have forgotten so much and can't even understand the things I learned 4 month ago?
What if I hit a dead end and fail? What happens next? It is unthinkable.


Yes we all experience anxiety from time to time, but never is there a time when all these anxieties are bundled together then unleashed all at the same time.  

Of course I could always pretend that things are going to be okay and just "deal with it"...but I find going into a new semester with a lot of anxiety does create problems, such as getting extremely upset at professors when they make a small mistake (it would be as if they are "intentionally" ruining my year), becoming overzealous at proving myself that I miss the point of a course altogether and professors are annoyed by high-fi questions only tangential to their course.

Is this feeling normal and is there anything one could do to alleviate some of the anxieties?
Early in my grad school career, I dealt with many of the same feelings that you describe. Often, I could not sleep or function well academically or personally because my anxieties were uncontrollable and intrusive. If you are finding it difficult to deal with your anxiety, I would suggest visiting student mental health services or a similar resource available to you as a graduate student. They may be able to help you determine whether your anxieties are typical or reaching the level of clinical impairment, and suggest behavioral and/or pharmacological strategies for managing your anxiety. One of the thoughts that most delayed my seeking help was the notion that I should just be able to "deal with it" or "stop stressing out." But sometimes it's not possible to do that without help.

Today, even having received, and continuing to receive, help for my anxiety, sometimes I find myself at particularly stressful intervals and dealing with the types of thoughts you describe. In addition to continuing to follow my medication regimen, I use some of the following tools:


Regular exercise
Good sleep hygiene (http://www.sleepeducation.com/essentials-in-sleep/healthy-sleep-habits)
Meals with adequate protein and fruits/vegetables (e.g., not just fast food/delivery even though it's easier)
Progressive muscle relaxation--you can find cheap or free audio files on Amazon or iTunes that will lead you through this exercise
Try exercises in the Anxiety &amp; Phobia Workbook by Edmund Bourne.
Avoid becoming overwhelmed by setting concrete, achievable goals and breaking larger goals down into smaller pieces. Make daily, weekly, and monthly goals. Ask your advisor(s) to help with accountability for certain self-imposed deadlines. I have found habitica.com to be a fun way to help keep myself on track with my to-do lists; you could set up a group on there with fellow grad students to help each other stay on track.
Inviolable "you" time, set aside at the same time every week. Don't work all the time. Make time for an activity you enjoy. You'll be more productive and creative afterwards.