The Effects Of Self-Stression On College Students

Stress is a word that many college students hear on a daily basis; it is a concept that resonates with all students, regardless of age or major. People of all ages experience stress at various times in their lives, but college is a particular time when an individual can be plagued by heightened levels of it. At any given time, a college student might feel academic, financial, and social strains, yet they might not possess the resources to satisfy the demands of these stressors. Accumulation of these stressors (and stress in general) can have a negative impact on the lives of college students, but authors of a recent scientific study made an attempt to find the best techniques for reducing stress in college students.

According to a study by the Associated Press and mtvU, “eight in 10 college students say they have sometimes or frequently experienced stress in their daily lives over the past three months,” (‘Stress in College Students”). College Students are inevitably going to be affected by stress at some point throughout their college experience; however, the cause of the stress can vary by student. Some of the causes of stress on college students can be tests, homework, home life, social life, and jobs. Many times, college students have all or most of these causes piled on top of one another; therefore, giving them extremely high levels of stress. There are many negative effects of stress on college students.

Stress is a nonspecific response of the human organism to any demand make upon it. It can influence the way we perform on tests and homework and how we act at home or work. There are different types of stress that can occur in the body. Acute stress is the body’s response to imminent danger. This short-term stress usually occurs when we are told we will have a quiz or have to give a speech in class. Chronic stress is a prolonged physical or emotional stress. This can cause damage to the body if the stress lasts for too long. Optimal stress is intense enough to motivate and physically prepare us to perform well but not enough to cause harm to the body.

Things like self-esteem, loneliness, self-doubt, and depression can often be factors some are forced to face (Michael, pg. 61). As it is the second leading cause of death and affects approximately 14.8 million people 18 years old and above, it is no surprise that college and university students are faced with this growing epidemic. According to the American College Health Association’s National College Health Assessment (ACHA-NCHA), the number of students diagnosed with depression had increased over a four-year span. In 2000, the ACHA-NCHA reported 10.3% of students suffering with depression and by 2004 that same time of year, 14.9% reported depression across 74 campuses in the U.S. with a sample size of 47,202.

Leaving High School, I thought I was prepared to go into college. I knew how difficult college was going to be. So i told myself I would do my homework the day it was assigned, I would go to the tutors if i needed help, and I would study more to succeed. But one thing I did not prepare myself for was, how to overcome stress and anxiety. According to an article, “Stress in College: Experts Provide Tips to Cope” by Megan Reed, “…30% of students reported that stress had negatively affected their academic performance within the past year, and over 85% had felt overwhelmed by everything they had to do at some point within the past year.”(National Health Assessment) This report really captivated me because 30%

The first strategy for coping with my stress is exercise. I try my best to exercise regularly and keep myself in the routine for physical relief.

The journal that I had selected deals with the relationship between health behaviors and happiness. Through the use of cross-sectional survey of 800 randomly selected university students, researchers were able to analyze what it takes for students to remain happy when undergoing many life struggles.

Happiness is not the only indicator of psychological wellbeing. There are some others such as life satisfaction (e.g. Neugarten, Havighurst, &Tobin, 1961; Wood; Wylie, & Sheator, 1969), emotional and mental health , or subjective wellbeing (Kozma, Stones, & McNeil, 1991). These concepts have been used synonymously with psychological wellbeing, however, even though they are related with psychological wellbeing, they are not identical and should not define psychological wellbeing (Stull, 1987).

I chose a video titled 3 Tips for College Stress! By Nicola Mora. In her video, she offered three ways to avoid stress while in college. The first tip to deal with college stress is to prevent procrastination. The second tip is to get more sleep, and the final tip is to find an activity relaxes you.

Self-compassion as a Buffer against Homesickness, Depression, and Dissatisfaction in the Transition to College was a study done to test to see how homesickness relates to depression and the disliking of college, researchers wanted to show if a higher self-compassion has a decrease in depression. The participants in the study were college freshmen, this was to see how in the first few weeks of school they felt and how they felt at the end of their first semester (Terry, Leary, & Mehta, 2013). The goal of the study was to test if self-compassion plays a role in students adjusting to college and how much they experience depression, homesickness, and how satisfied they are with the decision to attend college (Terry et al., 2013). The participants

One topic in psychology I find particularly interesting is the amount of stress that students in this generation are subjected to, specifically while in college. There are many reasons why this topic is interesting to me. The first and obvious reason is because I myself am a college student. Therefore, I have personally experienced the tremendous amount of stress that is put on students. I have also witnessed my friends and peers cope with this stress in various ways, some of which are healthy and some of which are not. I also am interested in this topic because I feel that it is universally an important topic. With the job market being so competitive, and the need for advanced degrees becoming commonplace, students are constantly focused on

The field of self-compassion research is emerging and gaining momentum as significance is found in the role of self-compassion to psychological wellbeing, social connectedness, and emotion regulation (Barnard & Curry, 2011). I am interested in investigating if future study results from this proposed project, using a sample of students at University of Alaska campuses, will corroborate with findings from existing literature. Also I am interested in examining the previously discussed cited qualities that are predicted by self-compassion such as, emotion regulation and social connectedness. Thus, the purpose of the proposed study is to investigate correlations between self-compassion, collective self-esteem, and emotion regulation. The term emotion

Research has established and continues to support the benefits of self-compassion. Indeed, there is evidence that self-compassion is associated with emotional intelligence, intrinsic motivation, emotion focused coping strategies, and life satisfaction (Neff, 2003b; Neff, Hsieh, & Dejitterat, 2005). Additionally, self-compassion protects persons from self-criticism, anxiety, and depression (Neff, 2003b; Neff, Kirkpatrick, & Rude, 2007). Self-compassion also involves taking responsibility for one’s mistakes, and in turn being motivated to change maladaptive thoughts and behaviors (Neff, 2003a; Leary, Tate, Adams, Allen, & Hancock, 2007). Furthermore, self-compassion, not self-esteem, accounts for the attenuation of people’s reactions to negative events (Leary et al., 2007). Together these findings indicate the importance of self-compassion as it promotes adaptive psychological functioning while preventing negative outcomes.

There isn’t a better, more comforting feeling, than coming home after a long, hard day at work or school and being welcomed at the door with a wagging tail, wet kisses, and an excited to see you face from your dog. For many, having any sort of interaction with a pet or animal is the ultimate cure to stress that is caused by work, people, and life. While not every college student is able to have a loving pet in their lives, even a momentary encounter with any animal can lower stress and anxiety levels. Multiple studies have proven that animals are a powerful form of stress relief by not only lowering blood pressure, but also lowering a dangerous stress hormone, cortisol, which is correlated with depression and anxiety. Interactions with animals have also proven to raise oxytocin levels, which are linked to pleasure, relaxation and happiness. Lowering stress and anxiety in college students will help them academically and socially throughout their college lives. College students will experience lower stress levels, a lower level of cortisol, and live a happier stress-free life by interacting with animals or pets throughout their time in college.

The impact of stress among college students may have a negative impact on the student’s psychological health. Research indicates that depression rates in college students have been increasingly rising over the years. In 2012, a study was conducted by the National Survey of Counseling Centers which resulted in 91% of the researchers found an increase in students with psychological needs. To resolve college students’ stressors, Surgeon General and additional research studies propose that students who are more active exhibit a decrease in stress, anxiety, and depression. In order to improve and retain a healthy lifestyle, physical activity