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
No comments:
Post a Comment