Stress can be a difficult concept to understand and, involuntarily, a difficult concept to control. Students can face overwhelming stress, as they struggle to wrap around copious amounts of studying. Stress is a struggle. But the real struggle is learning how to deal with it - voluntarily.
What is stress?
Stress is a survival mechanism, a response to pressuring stimuli within the environment. It is the reason why we enter a ‘fight-or-flight’ mode when distressed. During this process, hormones such as adrenaline are released, which increases a person’s blood sugar level and heart rate. As a result, the person will be more alert and prepared in a distressed position; ultimately suggesting stress is a beneficial and helpful survival mechanism. However, when it evolves and brews into an uncontrollable superlative peak that is all-consuming, it can cause distress and harm to people and be considered dangerous.
How is stress harmful?
Many students are forced to go through pressuring stimuli that can take form through heaping piles of homework, or through the need to prepare before an important examination. Inevitably, this causes them excessive stress, which can build up and lead to detrimental distress and harm.
This is especially true for students, who are at a young and developing age. When asked ‘why do you feel stressed?’, one student stated,
Because I get anxious over not performing at a high standard, I procrastinate and don’t get any work done and I end up feeling tired.
Excessive stress within students can also lead to:
- Loss of appetite
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Poor academic performance
- Among other issues
How should students deal with stress?
When dealing with stress, students should always remember they are never alone. There are always support groups willing to help students, whether it be friend groups or family. Within the UK, organisations such as ‘Childline’ and ‘Place2Be’ are always available to support students with stress-related issues and more.
But, students should also take individual steps to improve their health and combat stress - voluntarily. But this is easier said than done, so how should students deal with stress?
What is most important is that a student should come to terms with why they feel stressed and how they could possibly mitigate this source of stress to help ease out pressure. Though this may be unrealistic in some situations, there is always something that can be changed to help combat stress. It should also be done through small steps, as big changes can feel overwhelming and only lead to more stress and pressure on a student.
Another tip is to strive for better physical and mental well-being, which can be achieved through a healthy lifestyle of eating healthy and staying physically active. This is due to the fact both can feel extremely fulfilling and are also good for a student’s well-being.
So next time you see a student feel stressed due to upcoming exams, help them to overcome the struggle of dealing with stress - voluntarily.
