With an academic workload, financial concerns, work obligations and social issues – roommates, family, friends and dating – it’s no wonder that college students are plagued by stress. According to the Journal of Adolescent Health, college students are found to have a higher level of stress than people at any other stage in life.
“Sometimes everything builds up so much, and sometimes it’s just a lot to handle,” senior Anna Lofswold said. “Students have to juggle everything, which can be hard, and school in itself can be extremely stressful.”
Dr. PJ Kennedy, head of UW-Eau Claire Counseling Services, defines stress as a normal response that is experienced as individuals react to circumstances and events called stressors that threaten or tax a person’s coping ability.
“Life places demands on us as we attempt to adapt and succeed in our environment,” Kennedy said. “When we cope effectively, our response is referred to as good stress.” Appropriate levels of stress to which people are able to cope effectively allow for the accomplishment of goals and tasks, but it is when people are overwhelmed by an overload of demands that overall well-being is jeopardized.
“It’s a mixture of things that could begin with stress,” Lofswold said. “Stress not only affects mental health, but also can effect your physical health.”
According to a College Health Association study conducted in 2006, 94 percent of students feel overwhelmed by all they have to do, and it is in this state that students are overcome by the signs of stress, from anxiety and weight issues to fatigue and relationship problems.
“If you are experiencing these symptoms, you might schedule an intake session with Counseling Services to see if stress is at the root of these problems,” Kennedy recommends.
If unrecognized and poorly managed, stress can lead to any number of negative issues including heart disease, obesity and depression as a consequence of the body ‘working overtime’ as a means to adjust.
“Personally, when I’m stressed I tend to lash out at people who are undeserving of my wrath,” said sophomore Katilyn Donovan. “Stress makes people monsters.”
It is when our body is in this state that it calls upon our coping skills and resources – from attaining an adequate amount of sleep to aerobic exercise and conversation, etc. – which negate the negative results of stress.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention advises that the average adult should sleep somewhere between seven and nine hours each night. The Journal of Adolescent Health reports that 30 percent of college students get the required amount of sleep each night. Furthermore, 20 percent of students stay up all night at least once a month, and 35 percent stay up until 3 a.m. once a week, according to Medical News Today.
Along with getting the average recommended amount of sleep, allotting time to aerobic exercise is a healthy way to relieve the tensions of stress and release energy, while talking to a friend or respected person may allow a person to sort through the issues that are weighing heavily on their mind.
“Counseling Services offers stress-management training – both in workshops and individually – to help students cope with stress and build personal resiliency,” Kennedy said. “The services are free and confidential.”
“The stress of wanting to succeed, fit in and discover yourself quickly becomes too much and leads to feeling like a failure and getting depressed,” Donovan said.
The Journal of Adolescent Health states that college students have a higher predisposition toward experiencing depression sometime during their four years attaining a higher education. During students’ time in college, they may be unsure of who they really are, what they want to be when they “grow up,” and whether their day-to-day choices are the best or not.
It is common that the pressures of college life may lead to an overwhelming feeling of stress, leaving you feeling “down and out” Kennedy said. But “while we are all ‘down’ sometimes and go through brief periods of ‘the blues’ – such experiences should be short-lived and related to some clear event,” he added.
When these feelings become disassociated from a specified event or span weeks at a time, you may be one of the 10 million people who deal with depression. According to Counseling Services, 3 to 5 percent of the teen population experiences clinical depression, which means that out of 100 friends, 4 might be depressed.
Depression is characterized by symptoms that include, but are not limited to, feelings of sadness, helplessness, indecision and fatigue, along with changes in behavior, appearance, academic performance and physical health. It is imperative to note that the causes of depression and means for coping with it are multifactorial and that each individual with depression will not necessarily exhibit similar signs. But with the common link made between depression and suicide, it is important that students be aware of common signs and symptoms. According to Counseling Services, between 80 and 90 percent of people with depression can be helped.
“Symptoms of stress and depression can interfere with your academic success and enjoyment of life,” Kennedy said. “The psychologists and counselors at Counseling Services have made a career of working with college students and understand the demands of the campus environment.”
For more information, visit the UW-Eau Claire Counseling Services Web site at: http://www.uwec.edu/counsel/index.htm or call 836-5521 to schedule an appointment.
