Stress: The Life of a College Student

If you go to college, odds are you probably already know how stressful college can be. You have to make sure you don’t miss the deadline for that big essay due next week while also completing your daily Spanish homework, which we all know is never one small task.

And then there is finals week. The absolute worst week of the year. We spent our entire day in the library trying to prepare for our first exam and as soon as we get done taking it, we go home and start preparing for the next. It is a viscous cycle. So it really isn’t a surprise that college students are most at risk for getting sick during finals week. With stress comes affects to our physical and mental wellness. Both acute and chronic stress weaken the body’s immune system.

But wait…what is the difference between acute and chronic stress you ask? Acute stress is had in short periods of time and can often be a result of stressor sequences such as losing your job. As a student, I experience acute stress when I have an upcoming presentation to give in front of the class. I am not the best public speaker so I usually end up stuttering or forgetting what I am meaning to say. This is stress that will only last a short period of time and then go away once my presentation is done. Chronic stress on the other hand is had over a long period of time. A chronic stressor that affects me is the fear of not being able to pay off my student loans after college. This is something that I cannot solve right now and has been a stressor in my life for at least three years now. Eventually, once I do pay off all my loans (hopefully!) then the stressor will go away, but I will experience chronic stress until that happens. The symptoms of acute and chronic stress are also very different. Chronic stress produces symptoms that are unnoticeable such as raised fluid retention, fat storage, and blood lipids. Acute stress symptoms are much more noticeable raised heart rate, blood pressure, and muscle tension.

When talking about stress, it is also important to point out that this is not the same thing as attentional fatigue. Thinking that these two terms represent the same thing is an easy mistake to make. The truth is that they are actually very different although they both require coping and adaptation. Attentional fatigue is caused by overuse of directed attention where stress is caused by either external or internal stressors. External stressors are physical and social stressors and internal are perceived and cognitive stressors. College students experience attention fatigue when they try to multi task and do homework for a long period of time without taking breaks or task switching. Our stress is caused by stressors such as the need to have good grades and a good social life (which it is also very hard to have both).

So how can we relieve all this stress that we have? One way is to do something that you enjoy that will take your mind off what is stressing you out. You could go for a walk around campus or watch a show on Netflix (although try not to binge watch the entire show because that will only lead to more stress once you realize you spent your whole night watching Netflix when you could have been studying). There are also relaxation techniques that can be done such as taking deep breathes or closing your eyes and imagining you are in a preferred environment. These stress reduction methods take little time so they serve as great breaks from studying. Exercising is also a great way to relieve stress. Whether it is going for a run or taking a yoga class, the exercise will relieve tension in your muscles and keep your mind free of anxiety.

Stress can have a large negative effect on our bodies both physically and mentally. It is important that we do not let acute or chronic stress ruin our lives. We have to find the positives in every situation and remember that we are at this university for a reason, and everything will work itself out eventually.

References:

American Psychological Association. (2011). Stress in the workplace: Survey summary. Online publication. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/phwa-survey-summary.pdf.

Kaplan S., & Kaplan J. (1982). Stress and the failure of preference: Introduction. In S. Kaplan & J. Kaplan (Eds.), Humanscape: Environments For People (194-199). Michigan: Ulrich's Book