I Can't Stress This Enough

 

Today’s students are the most stressed they’ve ever been.

60-90% of our doctor’s visits each year are related to stress, with 10-25% seeking help from counsellors. Infact, we have the worst emotional health of any batch of students, including those in the Great Depression. What’s going on?!

Why are we stressed?

Without going to deep into analysing our generation, it’s safe to say we are all under an insane amount of pressure; we are set to graduate straight into a Recession, and every day we’re being told to work harder and harder due to a fear of failure that seems just around the corner if we don’t put in 150% percent all the time. Being constantly connected to the internet and it’s infinite source of “I don’t want to live on this planet anymore” worthy bad news sure doesn’t help either.
So what is stress?
Simply put, it’s a biological & psychological response experienced on encountering a problem that we feel we do not have the resources to deal with. This problem, or stressor, could be anything from an upcoming exam or deadline, a break-up, moving, or any big change or issue. When the body judges a situation to be stressful, it mounts a chemical response to increase our blood sugar and adrenalin to help the body deal with the stressful situation.
A bit of stress isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as it allows the body to learn to deal with the situation if it arises again, and stress has been proven to help us to learn. Too much stress, however, is a different story, as it can wreak havoc on our bodies. Stress has been found to cause rashes, ulcers, nervous tics, back pain and even lead to heart disease, weight gain and long-term anxiety disorders. No fun. We need to make sure we keep our stress at a manageable level. But how?

Take care of yo’self!

Have a support system; friends, family, someone you can talk to when feeling under-pressure so that you can get these worries off your chest. Break up a stressful routine with exercise, hobbies and relaxing. Be good to your body and make sure you’re eating well, staying active and getting a good night’s sleep as often as you can. Go easy on the alcohol and stuff when stressed, as trying to drink your problems away will make the stress worse (the hangover won’t help either). As much fresh air as possible and fitting walks outside into your schedule is a good idea too.
A good long-term strategy is to make sure you’ve got a plan when you’re gonna feel stressed. Identify the events or parts of the semester that you tend to feel the most stressed during. This may be around deadlines, or exams, the beginning of a new term, whenever. Before these times come, make sure you have plans to deal with any stress that may come your way. Build up a routine involving adequate work and relaxation time, and try to stick to it when circumstances become too stressful. This routine should include just the right amount of work time (enough to get stuff done without frying your brain) sprinkled with anything that makes you happy.

FOR MORE TIPS, SEE THE LATEST ISSUE!