The Negative Effects Of Stress In College

After graduating from high school many youngsters have the option to directly enter the work force. The majority of individuals who have the opportunity，nevertheless, decide to go to college before finding a job. The reality is that, they face lots of college stress, and some college students usually claim restate in English. For me personally, there are many stresses in college, such as family’s financial, a each of time management, the stress of learning itself, and many more. In fact, college has many pressures and challenges.

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

I get stressed out when things don’t go according to plan. I really like to plan all the things or events that’s going to happen ahead of time. Few months before my birthday, I was telling my parents and my siblings about my plan to have dinner on the day of my birthday. We seldom see each other because of our conflict on schedules. My mom, me, and my siblings have the same schedule, we go to work/school in the morning until afternoon. On the other hand, my stepdad works night shift. Everyone agreed on the plan, but on the last minute my stepdad cancelled on us. I was so stressed with that. I usually do everything so that the plans I made will proceed. Every time I get stressed I usually gets clumsy like I am not my usual self.

College is something you should not have to stress about. It is just continuing to a higher level of education, and later pursuing your dream job. At least that is what most people think, until it comes down to applying for colleges. It costs to apply for college, and when you get into college, you have to pay for a meal plan, your dorm room, textbooks, and personal belongings. You also have to worry about your tuition and student loans. All of this costs quite a bit, and most people do not know how to use their money wisely and they end up getting there self into a lot of debt.

If so, you are not alone. Many college students live through their college years at this heightened state of anxiety known as stress. Stress is inevitable and may feel impossible to articulate as stress levels vary between individuals. There are many variables that contribute to the ongoing battle against stress in college students. According to the American Institute of Stress, stress is defined as a “physical, mental, or emotional strain or tension.” For college students in particular, stress is “a condition or feeling experienced when a person perceives that demands exceed the personal and social resources the individual is able to mobilize” (Daily Life Stress, 2014). These demands include things like stress from school work, interpersonal / intrapersonal relationships, environmental, and economic stress. A nationwide survey of undergraduate students conducted by The American College Health Association shows that 40.8% of college students experienced a level of stress that is above average. Furthermore, 84.3% of college students felt overwhelmed by everything they had to do within a period of the last 12 months.

Stress is common for college students. The transition from high school to college can become stressful because they're deciding what they want to do for their future. The lack of preparation for adulthood when choosing the right major for someone can become stressful. Once someone chooses their degree, then they must take classes to get them to the degree. When college students step into reality knowing what classes to take can become overwhelming. College students must know how to recognize and manage stress in these situations to become successful at what they want to achieve.

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 following is an experimental proposal that exams the relationship between stress and the effect of a college student’s health. The following hypotheses for the study is that stress does affect an individual’s health. The study consisted of thirty college students (n=30) in total, fifteen of these students (participants) were assigned a control group while the remaining fifteen students were put in an experimental group. The researchers recorded the results of each college student’s heart rate and blood pressure before, during and after their midterms, and at the end of the week, the results were converted into a bar graph and then examined together. The results support the given hypothesis. College students who did not receive a nap are more likely to have higher results of heart rate and blood pressure. If the hypothesis is proven to be correct then the students should be aware that taking a break from school can help reduce the accumulated stress and it could give a better chance of having lower health problems.

Stress not only affects the work performance and grades in the classroom of a college student, it also affects their personal life too. With stress, people usually have too much pressure. They are overloaded with whatever is pressuring them, it brings them down and eventually over runs them. This frequently occurs with the lives of college students, especially if they have many assignments due. Thankfully, there are many ways to relieve and/or reduce stress levels. Three main ways to relieve stress levels are to form time management skills, to practice good sleeping habits, and to exercise regularly.

The sensitivity of the senses is dull. Mental functions like the ability to learn, remember, and concentrate are affected by insomnia. The performance level of the student in school drops.

Stress plays a large role in a college student’s daily life with the abundance of tasks and responsibilities that they must take on. These stressors can lead to numerous risky behaviors which can affect the health of college students. Likewise, stress is one of the perils to academic performance (Pettit & DeBarr, 2011). Caffeine usage has become prevalent among college students where 98% of participants in a study by Norton, Lazev, & Sullivan (2011) consumed caffeine before. Caffeinated drinks, especially energy drinks have alarmed health professionals since there is a lack of regulation and overconsumption which can lead to major consequences such as hospitalization and possibly death (Pettit & DeBarr, 2011). Many college students consume

In the research article by MacNair and Elliott, it is stated that college students are more prone to stress (D’Zurilla & Sheedy, 1991) because of the transitional nature of college life (Towbes & Cohen, 1996). The main contributing factors to the stress is being away from home for the first time, trying hard to maintain academic achievement and adjusting to a new social environment. How they handle the stress will affect the way they make decisions and solve problems that arises as they go through college life.

The word stress is directly relating to the psychological state of what a person believes is considered being successful and the way he or she can adjust to the demand of society to make achievements (Bhujade, 2017). “Academic stress is mental distress with respect to some anticipated frustration associated with academic failure” (Lal, 2014, p.123). College students take on predictable amounts of stress each semester due to academic commitments, financial pressure, and lack of time management skills (Misra, Ranjita & McKean, M & West, S & Russo, & T, 2000). Students in college know that managing time is crucial to studying for exams, quizzes, and tests. Students also recognize that balancing college and personal life is very important. Plenty of time each student will find that they are slacking in either their schooling or personal life, this can be a simple find and fix or become a process for many that leads to academic stress.

Over the years many studies have been conducted to determine what creates stress and how college students can cope with stress. Stressors in a student’s life can be created through personal, educational and social experiences. A student faces many experiences while transitioning from high school, to college, and into adulthood. These experiences include: living arrangements, personal finances, important career decisions, experiences of failure, interpersonal relationships, and personal finances. These stressors involved with daily hassles can create an unhealthy high pressure environment which makes stress for college students inevitable. During one study, researchers found that physical activity throughout a student’s life can increase one’s stress tolerance and positively cope with stressors (Bland, Melton, Bigham, & Welle, 2012).

Stress is an emotion that is against nature to enjoy; yet it cannot be avoided as a human. A bum on the side of the interstate, who is considered the scum of society, experiences stress as he pleads for food and money in order to live another day. With this being true, stress increases as ability and opportunity increase. No one can deny the fact that college is an exhausting time for any student in the pursuit of a career due to its overwhelming workloads, stressful exams, and time-consuming projects. Because of this, students consistently fail to complete class work, drop out of classes, and eventually drop out of college altogether. Management of stress is the skill that separates those who attempt from those who accomplish.