As a class the mean for life events stressors was about 323.5 which is very hazardous because previous research suggested that people that scored above 300 on the life events stressors survey are associated with greater risk of infectious diseases such as flu and other stress related psychological symptoms like anxiety. Also one other thing that grabbed my attention was that my scores compared to the class average were high. As we all know stress is a body 's method of reacting to a challenge. According to the stressful event, the body 's way to respond to stress is by sympathetic nervous system activation which results in the fight or flight response. Stress is known to be one of the major causal factors of depression. Large stressors in life, such as divorce or death in the family, are all known to be related to the development of depression in people. Such traumatic or sudden events can place severe stress on a person that can lead to problems such as depression. College requires significantly more effort from students than high school. Once you enroll in a college you will probably find many students are more motivated, your instructors are more demanding, the work is more difficult, and you are expected to be more independent. These higher academic standards and expectations are even more obvious in graduate school. As a result of these new demands, it is common for college students to experience greater levels of stress related to academics. Many students find that
Another reason why students are not successful in college is that of stress. Relationships, family issues and cost of tuition are stress-related factors that are dealt with a college student. The America Institute of the street website says, “a 2008 mental health study by the Associated Press and mtvU eight in 10 college students say they have experienced stress in their daily lives over the past three months” (Stress in College Students p. 1). The college that I
|Paula and her husbands relationship has also been strained as they |takes a little more time to complete normal task. In Paula’s case her |
Another obstacle that threatens success is health and emotional issues present prior to attending school. Fogg (2009) reveals that graduate school has a reputation for triggering and amplifying depression and mental illness, especially in those already afflicted by mental health issues. Depression may prevent the individual from fully engaging in discussions, completing assignments or even reaching one’s full potential. Strategies to overcome these obstacles include complying with prescribed mental health medications, seeking support from the university’s free resource center, and focusing on self-care activities.
Fortunately for us the human brain and body have been adapting to stress and are now evolved enough to know how to cope properly. Our bodies begin handling stress as soon as it is detected with a “Flight or Fight” response (King, 2014) and determines what to do right away. However, if the stress is too much for the body to handle it may lead to psychical or emotional trauma, which can cause PTSD or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Now I am not suggesting that college will give you PTSD but, I am allowing insight to what would potentially happen if one gets too stressed out. It would lead not only to PTSD but also eating disorders or sleeping disorders. The best option for dealing with stress in college, in my opinion, is what psychologists call Emotion-focused coping. Colleges today are chock full of stressors, so in the little down time that us students (and teachers) have we must find a way to cope. For example, I personally joined the schools all woman’s choir, and I work out. But if those two things just don’t seem to be right for you that is perfectly alright because there are many other options. Dr. Richard Lazarus and Dr. Susan Folkman determined that there are two ways in which us as
College students has a lot of stress that can lead to them to a condition like depression and decide to committed suicide. Those stresses can come from the individual loss a social network because this is make the individual feeling insecure, lonely or the feeling of no confidence about their self. College student also experience being pressure academically and socially, for instance having certain standard of pass and fail and the individual is expecting to meet, which this can put a lot of stress and worry to the individual. College also has a difficulty time adjusting to new demands of college life like living independent that they must take care of their self, in charge of their bills and making good decision about their life, which is can be very hard to college students and leaving them feel so stress. When their academic performance decrease, it can be very stressful because it would mean that they will not meet the require of certain GPA point or they must retake the class which is require money and time. College students also stress about losing financial aid and debt after graduate or worry about when they are going to graduated. There are just so many
Entering college can be overwhelming considering that most things have changed. Change is difficult as it can be a challenge to adapt to a new way of living. Going to college you most commonly move out of your home with your parents to live on your own. This can be hard owing to learn how to be independent. Meaning you need to most likely get a job as well as managing your classes and even finding time to socialize and make new friends. Such responsibility can make people feel vulnerable and so can lead to stress. The way that people react to stress is very different. Some people react to stress in a negative way by turning to alcohol, developing a habit of self-harm, and compulsive eating/shopping. To avoid going to college with no idea of what is to come I took the College/Life Success class to help me prepare
College students are showing greater levels of stress, anxiety and depression, and signs show the trend will become worse. The bottom line is that college students are already facing a mental health crisis. To quote one source “Statistical trends related to depression are hard to come by, but most experts agree that depression rates in the United States and worldwide are increasing.” (citation). Much of today’s research shows that college students today have greater levels of stress than any time in history. Stress can be good if it motivates, but it's bad if it wears an individual down. Many factors can contribute to the stress that one experiences, and this stress can cause changes in the body that affect an individual's overall physical, mental, and emotional health. The ramifications of this kind of stress are affecting the mental health of college students everywhere. Another social stress that can cause pressure on an individual and cause mental health issues is an unhappy living situation. Families living in poverty can suffer severe mental issues. This social issue is a common one that many people in today's society face. The World Health Organization has described poverty as the greatest cause of
Academic rigor, expectations, changes in everyday routine, and social interactions are all factors that play into a college students mental health. According to a study conducted by the UCLA Higher Education Research Institute, emotional and mental health decline have
Stress is unavoidable, no matter the situation, location, or time; stress is always present. Stress is found in higher levels during the duration in which students attend college. It is predictably higher among college students, freshmans in particular, because of the extreme expectations set upon them by their parents and, of course, society. The need to please their parents, longing for success in life, and being able to sustain a reasonable income in the future, all of which falls into the hands of college students who are making critical decisions which may decide the outcome for a large portion of their lives. If these students end up hating their future jobs, the stress of having to go back into college to study for a new career
College represents a form of higher learning. For many, it is also a time for personal growth as we transition into adulthood. This in itself is a stressful situation as one must make drastic adjustments to a new role, environment, and demands. Stress is a major contributor to the development of mental and emotional issues (Rodgers, L., Tennison, L. 2009). Research has been done to determine the impact of depression and anxiety on university students. It has been
Generalized anxiety is a problem that the United States faces nationwide. As we grow older and move into educational settings that are more taxing, anxiety becomes more prevalent. Today, college students are facing more stress than ever before. They are constantly pushed to be the best they can be, to be in the most extracurricular activities they can be in, and to attend the best schools possible. All of these goals and high expectations lead students to be harder on themselves, which makes other aspects of their life fall by the wayside, leading to high levels of stress and pressure.
There are a multitude of elements that influence the onset of depression and depressed feelings. The daily stressors of college life are one contributing factor to depression in college students. Some of the other stressors include: conflict between work and family, relationship problems, financial concerns, and poor grades, lack of social support or networks, a sense of not belonging, having fewer friends, and experiencing loneliness (Lindsey 2009). The economy has had an impact on every party of our society, including education. Heavy student loans are just another burden on these kids who do not know what their future career will hold for them (Curetalk). These different responsibilities are just other factors that influence the emotional health of college students.
Students’ state of mental and emotional health will contribute to the way that stress manifests and presents itself, once he or she enters college. “The emerging categories related to sleep and health problems could be a manifestation of a general increasing level of stress and psychopathology” (Murphy and Archer 26). There are a great number of studies, both past and on going, of stress and college students which have mainly focused on academics, personal relationships, finance and family status. A more in depth look has revealed that students with emotional disorders or those of poor health are even more ill equipped to
A substantial amount of Canadians experience stress in their lives. In fact, nearly one-quarter of the population over the age of 15 are stressed on a daily basis (Statistics Canada, 2013). Stress can be defined as a mental and emotional state of tension, in which one perceives the environment around them to be strenuous and overwhelming. Although some stress is necessary for survival, it can adversely affect both the physical and mental health. Its detrimental effects include but are not limited to: lack of confidence, concentration, motivation, decision making and increased heartrate, sweating, tension, as well as other physical and psychological problems such as headaches and insomnia (Canadian Mental Health Association, 2015). These health complications strongly emphasize the need for further research in ways to cope with, and reduce stress. Henceforth, the purpose of this paper is to use established research to better understand stress, then propose my own study that would investigate another stress-reduction method.
Which collects the health statistics of students from universities all around the world every second year, reported that 40.2 percent of Santa Clara University students identified that stress affected their individual academic performance during the last 12 months of their studies (Temple,2011). Temple (2011) reported a survey conducted in 2004 that assessed the overall well-being of 47,202 undergraduates nationwide. The findings were that 32.4 percent of students recognized stress as the main obstacle to their academic performance. This was said to be above the common cold, depression, death of a relative, sexual assault and eating disorders. Stress is “once considered as the nation’s number one health epidemic; prolonged stress can lead to ulcers, heart disease, stroke, major depression and to a shorter life span” (Temple, 2011).